14 month old will be starting nursery while I’m still breastfeeding. Any experience?

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My daughter will be just over 14 months old when she starts nursery. She will be there for 8.30 -2.30pm. She’s never been without me. She is breastfed. Not very good with her food at the moment so I would still say she pretty much relies on my milk for now. I am trying to get her to eat more.

any positive stories from parents who have been in a similar situation?
I don’t plan to send any breast milk. Will she be ok without milk for those hours?

I will be working 18.5 hours a week so only plan to send her on the days I work which will be roughly 3-4 days a week with the aforementioned timings.

I could really use with some optimism as I am dreading it. I feel she is still small. My older kids went to nursery around 2.5 years of age so this is a new experience in itself.

Mine was a complete bottle refuser and went to nursery 3 days per week at 13 months. She ate at nursery. Drank cow's milk from a cup and had boob before nursery and as soon as she could get it afterwards. BF until age 4.
I was a bit worried about it when she first started but without me there she ate fine and drank fine.
Good luck!

It will be fine.
She will be fine.
You will be fine.
After 12 months, it's so much easier.
I was away for work for 9 hours when dc was 5.5 months...I don't recommend that. After 9 months, it's is a lot more manageable.

After 14 months, 6 hours apart...no issue.

I sent my DD to nursery at 18 months because she would not eat. I had intended to go back to work but she was so attached to me it was impossible. I needed her to be better with others and eat. Nursery was amazing. She liked sitting down to meals. You can try feeding before she goes and when you get her, but I’d try and wean her with nursery help. My dd was keen to be like the other dc and I got my life back.

How old is she now? How long do you have to prepare her?

What I started doing was kind of adopt a work routine the week before I went back.
E.g. for you I would bf at 8.20am, before dropping in, if you can. Then try and give meals at e.g. 10.30am / 1pm. Whatever the nursery times are. She can have drinks from a cup. Then bf again at 2.30pm on collection.

She might be better with food as no breast milk.

Mine went at 12 months and it was totally fine. She ate fine at nursery, breastfed mornings and evenings, and I kept breastfeeding until she was 2yrs 3 months-ish.

It will be fine. You might need to express a little for your own comfort for a few days until your supply adjusts. She may feed more at night for a while so be prepared for that.
Both baby and your supply will adapt. I went back to work for 22 hours a week and continued to bf for another year.

This! My son was

She’s currently 12 months and will be starting after the Easter break so there’s about 6 weeks left.

hoe did your little ones adjust? How long did it take for them to settle? Also, my DD doesn’t crawl or walk so she’s not as independent as I would like her to be.

Mine went at 9 1/2 months for 3 days a week. I just carried on bf at other times and it was fine. It did take him a few weeks not to cry when left but he did then settle well. He ate well at nursery - I think it helped as he just seemed to copy the other babies. The nursery did make noises about loose poo on a few occasions suggesting he had diarrhea but it was just normal bf baby poo - which they should have been used to.

Thank you all for the reassurance. I do think if I’m there she will want me to feed her. I’ll be able to be with her for about 4 weeks as she’s settling into nursery but after that I will be working.

I was still breastfeeding my DS at 9 months when he went to a childminder. He adapted and would just feed when we were together. No need to send in breast milk.
It will be fine OP.

For those who sent their children at 9 months with no milk, how are they with their eating now?

My eldest was the same. I fed in the morning, straight after nursery and before bed. He didn’t eat much at nursery but filled up afterwards and it was fine. He’s now a strapping rugby player so didn’t cause any harm! All will be fine.

I went back to work when DS was 9 month doing 18.5 hours. I had successfully reduced DS feeds to morning and night by then so he was fine and had water in the day plus food. I had to pump in middle of day though for. A month or so while my boobs adjusted. (Work gave me time to do this)

The peer pressure of nursery meals really helps them to eat and drink, and makes their food choices more adventurous. It will be ok! Mine went 1 day a week to nursery from 6 months and then 3 days a week from 15 months. I breastfed until 8 months and only stopped because baby was a biter!

What do you mean by being with her for 4 weeks? What usually happens is the child goes for a couple of settling in sessions, perhaps an hour with the parent there, then an hour with the parent not there. After that, the parent doesn't stay. A child will settle so much quicker by doing this. When their parent is constantly in the room, that doesn’t help the child to settle.

My eldest (8) went at 10 months, she’s a champion eater, I can’t get her out the kitchen 😂 she likes spicy food, beetroot, sushi, obsessed with fruit (always has been though), she will eat almost anything but won’t eat beige food (hates chips, pastry etc.) and doesn’t like food in sauce (like from a Chinese takeaway for example).

A child at nursery/school is so different to the one you have at home, they adapt to what they have (cows milk at nursery for example).
My DD never learned to crawl, started walking at 14 months and has been a ball of energy ever since.

Both mine were EBF for 14 months and never had a bottle.

By the time they start nursery, you could aim to only be feeding them twice a day, first thing and last thing.

You have a couple of months to get things aligned. Good luck.

Mine started at 14m and I was still BF. No one had ever looked after him apart from me or my husband and whilst he had taken a bottle, he was never a regular bottle drinker. It was absolutely fine. He started 2 days then upped to 4 days a week after a few months, 8.30-4 at first. I fed him first thing and did breakfast, then he just ate lunch/snacks there and I fed him as soon as he came home. At first he didn't eat well there but after about 2 or 3 weeks got the hang of it. As we built it up slowly I didn't need to pump and didn't leave milk for him there. He just had water, their milk from a cup and their food.

He was very upset settling in and we realized that lots of short settling sessions was actually not helping, he did much better once he realised he was there for a while and I wasn't coming after an hour. He did better with dad doing drop off. They were so lovely with him, lots of holding him at first and supporting to sleep. I'd say he took maybe 5 weeks to properly settle and then slept and ate very well there.

Hes now 3 and eats great there but less well at home. We carried on BF until he was 2.5

She will be fine. Humans are incredibly adaptable and learn from.one another. She relies on breastmilk now because that is her experience. In a nursery with other babies and toddlers the finger food will be there and she will copy what she sees other people doing encouraging her to eat more food isn't the way, going to nursery will show her by demonstration and example.

Because I had no choice financially, my daughter went to nursery at about 6 months old. I continued to breast feed her till nearly 2 years old, but while at nursery she just consumed other things. It was absolutely fine. I remember feeling sick and in despair knowing I had to send her at such a young age, but I honestly do not feel she has been traumatised by it in the least.

(She would certainly have been more traumatised by me losing the house and becoming homeless..... )

Don’t drag out the settling in sessions - it only makes it harder. Many children don’t settle until they are going for long periods in one go.

Children do all sorts of things at nursery that they won’t do for you at home, including eating a varied diet!

In the next few weeks start getting her used to being left with different people for a few hours at a time.

Mine started at 11 months and was still BF at that time. I sent formula which he had occasionally at home but he refused it. He was good with solids already though. It was absolutely fine.

he also wasn’t walking, crawling but jot brilliantly and that was fine too. Nurseries frequently have under 1s, most of whom will not be walking, they’re used to it and will be set up for it.