Advice on continuing breastfeeding when going back to work after mat leave

[professionalnomad]

I go back to work on Monday and I'm dreading it. My baby is 5 months and we have had a very tricky bf journey. It took me two months to be able to ebf. I'm now really worried that my milk supply will decrease when I go back to work this coming Monday. Also we started giving her the bottle with expressed milk but let it lapse the last couple of months because selfishly I just wanted to feed her as much as possible before I went back. I guess my questions are as follows:

1. how much did you have to pump during the day to maintain supply?
2. will my baby take the bottle again after not having it for so long 3)should I wake my baby to breastfeed before I go to work?

I get up at 6.15 and leave the house at 7.30am. I wont be back before 17.15. I

At the moment I feed her when she wakes up from the night sleep/ naps and I nurse her to sleep for both too.

Our schedule roughly looks like this..
7am - feed
10.30 - feed
13.00 - feed
15.30 - feed
17.30 feed
19.30 - feed
20.30 - feed
00.30 -pump
05.00 - pump

Some feeds are big and some are small. there isn't any consistency day to day. I also give her a drink if we've been out and about as it's currently 35C here and I worry about dehydration. I pump because I get very engorged and I've been using it to build my stash.

Any hints tips or reassurance is gladly welcomed as I'm working myself into a tizzy that she will go hungry as I'll let her down not being able to feed her

Also I'm worried about pumping at work. I'm the depute head in a busy secondary with not much privacy. I'm worried about taking too much time out a day for pumping and having to do it locked in a cupboard so I'm not disturbed

Bumping this for you, as although I went back to work at 7 months, I was wfh and DH was on paternity leave, so was able to feed DD as and when.
I definitely found once she was eating a reasonable amount the day time feeds naturally reduced. She won’t take a bottle, but is fine with water and extra snacks if they go out for the day, or the odd occasion I go into work. She does ask for milk as soon as we are both together again.
No advice on pumping I’m afraid, I literally get nothing out, and had to hand express to relieve discomfort when I spent the night away recently.

I returned to work when my oldest was 16w. She never took a bottle but BF well over 2 years. When she was tiny I did pop to nursery on my lunch break to top her up, but once she started solids she was fine without. Look up reverse cycling - basically she just did all her feeding at night.

She never went to sleep without a boob for me, but at nursery settled in with all the other babies without a whisper.

Your DD may or may not take a bottle. Sometimes they do better with bottles when you aren't there.

You have a right to pump. Don't feel guilt, although of course the more milk you remove the more you make, so long term this doesn't help with enforcement. I'd probably do a long lunchtime pump, feed last thing before work and straight after, and resign yourself to a couple of long night feeds for a while. That should keep your supply up, and she will be fine with 4 good feeds and one bottle plus solids from next month.

Fwiw, I'm now a sahp with DC2 and 3. Second self weaned at 20 months due to pregnancy and the littlest is a boob addict at 1. Both quite happily went without if I needed to be out after 6m, despite being very used to having access 24/7. Out of sight, out of mind!

I went back to work when ds was 4.5 months old and EBF. Whenever I was with him I always fed on demand and direct. From going back to work till he dropped a feed I pumped at 10, 1 and 3 iirc (having fed at 7.30am latest and would pick up and feed at 5.30pm). A couple of weeks after he'd reliably dropped a feed at nursery (which let me add to the freezer stash) I reduced to 11 and 3, and then eventually dropped to just 12. I double pumped in the first aid room as my office had a large window, but if I'd had an office I would have used a door wedge and poncho.
I continued to feed ds till he was 2

This is very helpful. Thank you.
Off to look up reverse cycling.
@LimpLettice did you wake your baby up for night feeds?
@CMOTDibbler in was planning to pump at 10am and 2pm only but do you think I should at 3pm as well to begin with?

One of my colleagues uses an Elviie pump. It’s extortionately expensive, but it’s really discreet, wireless, just slips in her bra. So she just slides it in and continues working and no one is any the wiser. As baby is still young and hopefully you’ve still got a long breastfeeding journey ahead of you, could it be worth considering?

Hi, I went back to teaching when my DS was 9 months, he had always had a bottle of expressed milk from being tiny though. I would really try the bottle the next few days, no one can tell you if she will take a bottle now - hopefully if she has once then she will again!

Have you pumped before? I would invest in a double pump as schools are so busy I found it hard to find enough time to drain both sides, the lasinoh one is good. With my LB I didn’t have much of a freezer stash so he had to have some formula while I was at work because I couldn’t pump enough for him through the day, but I was fine with that at 9 months when he was on solids. I find now one quick lunchtime pump is enough to keep me comfortable and my supply adapts and still keeps up with him on days when I am at home (I work 3 days a week). I think for you 10am and 2pm should be fine, you can always hand express a bit at lunch if you’re feeling uncomfortable. I found myself hand expressing into the sink quickly in the loo a few times! I would wake to feed before you leave, for your own comfort as much as anything and it’s nice to have those morning snuggles, if you leave at 7.30 that should be reasonable? Xx

Never wake a sleeping baby, OP , not once they are past the newborn stage. I wish I'd needed to! Fed in bed first thing, breakfast at nursery, feed on collection, feed at bedtime then usually a 2am feed. Chuck in a lunchtime bottle and you're done!

Gosh you're all so wonderfully helpful. Thank you.
I would love the Elvie but I live abroad and my access to decent pumps is quite limited. I'm renting a hospital grade Ameda and plan to drag that too and from work. It's heavy and bulky but it's efficient.

Based on everyone's feedback I'll going for the following
7am - feed
10.00 - pump
14.00 - pump
17.30 feed
19.30 - feed
20.30 - feed
00.30 -pump
05.00 - pump

Not sure how to stop the night pumps..