Exclusively breastfed baby starting nursery, advice please

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How did others navigate this?

Babe has 2-4 milk feeds during the day, 1-2 overnight. Never taken a bottle or formula. I expressed early on when we tried to give a bottle but not recently, found it quite difficult to express enough. Nursery mentioned bringing in expressed milk. I'll be back at work 4 days a week. When do I express, at work? What if she doesnt take any milk during the day at nursery? She's cow's milk allergic, worty trying an appropriate formula again?! Not sure how to navigate all this!! Any advice welcome!

Happy for milk feeds to reduce but she's not eating enough solids yet to wean entirely.

You really need to work on her having milk from a bottle or a cup. Maybe try formula if you don't like expressing anf thrn leave baby with your husband/partner to try. I always found if i was in the house LO wouldn't take the bottle.

And yes you'll be able to express at work if you do want to, you'll just need to ask for acceas to a fridge and room to be able to express privately

Really depends how old.

My youngest just fed when I was around as I could not get her onto formula. And later she took a bottle. It was fine. She had water when I wasn’t around (up to 15hr days by the time she was 9mo).

How old ?
min the olden days when baby’s weaned at 4 months mine went to nursery at5-6 months with a bit of mush and a bit if expressed milk but basically fed all night instead !

It really depends how old your baby is. Mine was 12 months when starting nursery and although she took milk from a bottle she never took milk at nursery. However she ate the meals at nursery.
i fed her in the morning, then at pickup and then again in the evening before bed (and 1 wake up at night).
how does your little one drink water? Can you offer milk in that cup?

how are meals at nursery?

The answer will vary massively depending on if this is a 12 week old or 12 month old baby.

My first was CMPA and now second is suspected CMPA, they both started nursery at 11 months, my second started 3 days a week yesterday 😢. they both ate (small) 3 meals a day and breast fed on and off throughout the day before going to nursery.
With my first, who fed a lot beforehand due to reflux as well as CMPA, I tried expressing but found that as long as I fed first thing before they went in and then when they got home, I didn't need to express and they weren't interested in drinking expressed milk and were fine with water, so I am trying the same this time and haven't expressed anything so far.
My second is doing shorter days this week and I may try expressing to see if that helps them drink doing a longer day starting next week. I found a straightforward manual Hakka was best to express in to with my first when I occasionally did need to, so will use that again this time when needed.
Work should make provision for you to express in a private space - there is guidance here that can help www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/breastfeeding-and-lifestyle/back-to-work/

It’s really hard to get a bf baby to take the non dairy formula. Mine would at 6 months from a sippy cup with vanilla essence in it. We tried many cups before finding one that suited
If a bf baby doesn’t get enough feeds during the day they will feed a lot more at night. So you may find it returns to feeding every 2-3 hours.

Really sorry everyone, vital information not included...
-11 months old
-Happily drinks water, from both beaker and open cup
-Not started nursery yet so not sure about meals but friends with children there report that their children get on very well with it

Water and meals at 11 months sounds fine to me if that’s what they end up doing. Then milk before and after nursery. Hope it goes well.

Thank you. Will try working on milk from a beaker/cup/something this week. Is she too old to try introducing a bottle?

I guess it's impossible to know how much I need to be expressing to give to her...?

I went back when my little one was 11 months. I had started expressing before so I had some milk to send. She only ever drank about 4oz at a time. I bought a hands free pump and pumped 3 times at work. Once I felt my boobs have a let down I would pump.

You don’t really get as much pumping as you would feeding especially if it’s not something you have done consistently before.

She is now 18 months and still has 1 or milk feeds but only 2-3 oz. I now just pump once at work. (Sometimes twice depending on my shift)

Also to say I now just use a hand held pump. Medela manual.

DS was 12 months when he started, only drank water at nursery - I BF him at home. He actually did used to take a bottle in the evening but went off it almost overnight about a week before I went back to work! 🤦🏾‍♀️

I don't think it's worth introducing a milk bottle at this age, they aren't recommended over 12 months. A water bottle with a straw might be good though!

Our little one started at 13m, so just a bit older. I didn't bother expressing, my work set up isn't appropriate for this. He just had solids and water. I feed him first thing on waking, as soon as we get home, before bed and usually once overnight. He has become quite demanding for it when we are together which is quite new. At this age the recommendation is to try and move away from bottles so I wouldn't introduce now, try working on a cup instead but for the sake of a few weeks until they are 1 I honestly wouldn't worry about sending nothing in, unless they aren't a good eater. My supply adjusted well and on non nursery days we still feed for naps or whenever else he insists on it

My little one never took a bottle either. She started with the childminder at 11 months and I used to send 2 x 2-3oz bags of breastmilk with her. She drank them out of a cup. I used to pump on my lunch break and because I was breastfeeding I was allowed to finish work an hour early until she was 2.

When she turned two I stopped pumping at work and now she only has milk with me in the morning, when we get home from work/daycare and at night before bed. I’m trying to wean her but she loves it and has no desire to.

This was me in March! Ebf baby, hadn’t taken well to solids, refused milk in a bottle or cup completely and hadn’t ever taken a bottle. He was 11.5 months when he started nursery 4 days a week. At that point we were breastfeeding roughly 7-9 times in 24h including at least 2 during the night. In particular due to not taking well to solids and bottle refusing I was very worried.

I did an online group workshop with Lucy Webber who is a midwife/ IBCLC lactation consultant and she really reassured me that once they get to 12m they really can survive ok on water from a cup and solids.

My son is now 7 weeks in and I have tried sending him in with expressed milk to drink from a cup but he refuses, BUT he has come on so so much with his solids, often eating seconds and drinks water from his cup perfectly fine. I think seeing other children eating really does encourage them.

We still breastfeed when together and on my non working day and the weekend. Usually this is straight after nursery, to sleep at bedtime and 2-3 times during the night. He is usually still full for a wake up feed too and will go straight to cereal, but sometimes he will have a short feed on waking up too.

I think she'll be fine with just water and food at nursery and you can feel her before and after. Both of mine were bottle refusers who never had formula. Oldest was 7 months when I went back full time, I fed her at lunchtime at childcare as it was close to work. I stopped this as soon as she turned 1 then she just went without milk during the day, she fed into her toddler years but would never drink cows' milk and still won't. Youngest was over 1 when I went back to work so she just had water and food at nursery - she didn't mind as I wasn't there. They also gave her cows' milk in a cup and unlike her sister she will drink it and quite likes cows milk now and didn't breastfeed as long as her sister did.

Another voice to say don’t express - water and meals are fine at nursery, milk when he’s home

babies are excellent at taking as much milk as they need, so you might find that he ups his night feeds a bit short term. I used to do a feed as soon as mine were home from nursery, then a bedtime one, then the morning. Then dropped the one straight after nursery a few weeks in

My son never took the bottle at nursery and we tried like hell before he started to get him to take the bottle from Dad but he flatly refused (he did when he was little but not from about 6months on). In the end he took it from Dad when he collected him from nursery and I was out the house so we just ensured he had a feed / bottle before nursery and after and when he was there he had mostly yoghurt at first and then slowly started eating more as he became more comfortable. He started 3 days a week from about 8.5 months old so was early in the weaning journey too. I think yoghurt was the staple for a fair while!

Ebf bottle refuser with multiple food allergies and refusing to eat food. Started 2 days a week at 9 months with formula and bottles. She was offered food 3 times a day and 3oz formula twice a day she had between 0-5oz a day not a lot of food. She had a good feed before and after nursery. At 10 months I had to stop breastfeeding and they were instrumental in getting her to drink formula from a bottle after I had to stop feeding her cold turkey. She then had 2 5oz bottles a day. Since 2 she has had oat milk from a cup. I would try with formula for a week or two and then try oat milk in a cup. You just need to make sure it has high fat (3g/100ml), 120mg calcium and added iodine. It can be given from 12 months but if we hadn't been able to get my daughter on to formula we were going to have to try oat milk next at 11 months. Her diet wasn't good enough to not need the calories from milk until 20 months

Do you have dietitian support?

If he's on water and meals then he's not EBF but I get why you put that if he doesn't currently take bottles. Hell be fine, get comfy when you get home and expect him to have a mammoth feed when you get home to makeup for what he hasn't had. Babies and children often behave entirely differently in childcare (or with other adults in general) than they do with us.

Besides if it's his first time in childcare he'll be at home more than he's at nursery with every bug and sniffle going.