When did your baby breastfeed just morning and night?

[carrie3003]

9 month old baby EBF. Never had formula or expressed breastmilk.

Due to return to work when baby is 11/12 months old but will be doing 2/3 days of short shifts say 8am - 1pm or 8am - 3pm. Obviously every baby is different and can’t plan it but when did your babies drop their day feeding?

By this age will she be okay with breastmilk in the mornings on waking up then okay until dinner time and bed time?

Also - did baby drop their day feeding themselves as they were having more solids? Was the transition easy?

Thank you so much for any responses - FTM here who is dreading going back to work if baby will be missing the boob!

My DS is 14 months and if I'm available he'll take feeds during the day but when I'm working he's quite happy with just morning and evening feeds from me and water or cows milk the rest of the time. I reckon he's been fine with that since about 12 months (I went back to work when he was 9 months but expressed milk for him for the first few months which he took from a cup, never needed to introduce a bottle)

Hahaha, never! I fed mine to natural term and they never just fed morning and night.

like @Trovindia we are still here at 2.5y feeding as and when throughout the day

Both of mine managed morning, after nursery and bedtime from 13m when I went back to work. They both found the transition to childcare challenging because they were used to being with me 24/7. I think that would have been the case whether they were breast or bottle fed - it was the separation from me that was the issue, not hunger from lack of breastmilk if that makes sense. Even younger babies eg 9m plus can usually manage a day of childcare with bits of food, yoghurts etc and whatever water they will take and then make up for it with more nursing evening and overnight. I think with your short days you will be absolutely fine.

Mine were around 11-12 months old.
With DD1 I went back to work when she was 10 months and breastfed her morning and evening and she had one bottle of formula at nursery.
DD2 was 12 months when I went back to work so she just had breast milk morning and evening and milk in a cup at nursery.

I can't quite remember tbh but I think it was after 2. From around 18 months, some days were just morning and night and some days a lot more! From when I went back to work at a year, she was fine with no day feeds when at nursery, but on my days off I continued to feed to sleep for naps etc.

Sounds good thank you so much for replying!

I think this will be my situation too! I can’t imagine her being able to drop a feed within the next 3 months xx

This is also what I wondered! Because I would only work say 2 days - on the other 5 days will she want the breastmilk as I’m there? Is that confusing for her?

12 months for my first child, went back to work at 7 months and breastfed on my lunch hour!

14 months for my second child which was when I went back to work.

Dropping feeds after 12 months or because you are at work was quite easy.

I think around 2.5/3 years when they were old enough to understand if the woke and asked for milk during the night then there would be no more bf ever again.

@carrie3003 I don't think it's necessarily confusing for them - your supply regulates and they expect and want different things from different caregivers. I also worked only 2/3 days and fed to sleep for naps so had to keep it going for a while but at childcare she fell asleep herself no problem - they're very adaptable! We did get to morning and evening only but as I say I can't remember when exactly as it was a gradual tapering. We stopped altogether when I fell pregnant with no 2 and could no longer stand the sensation - was worried it would be difficult but she was feeding so little by then that she happily replaced it with cuddles. That was around 2 and 8 months.

I went back to work at 6 months but hated pumping and paedetrician said at 9 months I can drop the day feeds if I want. So he stopped having breastmilk between 9am and 4pm around 9.5 months. But I did put a lot of effort into weaning and he was a fabulous eater, on 3 meals a day by 9 months.

He's 13 months now and Mon - Fri he only breastfeeds morning, late afternoon and bedtime, but on the weekend a lot more as I'm around.

They adapt to different settings I.e. he knows the nanny won't give him milk and he has a snack. But when i'm around, he asks for milk.

Your supply adjusts as well

I went back to work at 9 months and my baby just refused milk when I wasn't there. He would just fill up on solids/water instead. When I was around, he would still want a lunchtime feed but he preferred nothing to milk in a bottle/cup.

For a while he would have a feed when I got home and then again at bedtime, I think he stopped that at around 11 months