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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

Can anyone help me on dropping breastfeeds?

9 replies

BeatrixRotter · 07/05/2009 09:39

My DD is 10 months and is bf 4 times during the day in addition to 3 meals a day.

I have to go back to work part time in a few weeks (wobbling lower lip emoticon) so I am thinking I need to start swopping the mid morning or mid afternoon breastfeed with a snack. Should I just give her yogurt and a drink of water in place of a breastfeed, or EBM or forumla in a cup?

I can't decide whether to go for dropping the morning of the afternoon feed. These are probably very silly questions but am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

OP posts:

Original poster

BeatrixRotter · 07/05/2009 09:40

morning or the afternoon, not of

OP posts:

warthog · 07/05/2009 09:46

is there a particular feed where she seems a little less interested? in which case instead of giving her the feed, give her a bit of fruit, or a packet of organix corn thingies or some such. just a little snack, and a drink of water to tide her through.

drop one feed, give it a couple of weeks, then drop the other.

SouthernLights · 07/05/2009 09:48

I'd say it depends on what hours you're going to be working. If it's full days but only every other day, for example, would there be anything wrong with giving your DD water and yoghurt on the days you'll be at work, but a BF when you'll be home? If, on the other hand, you're working 5 mornings, or 5 afternoons, then it's pretty simple; just drop the one you won't be there for.

Also take into account how "routiney" she is. Mine is very flexible and TBH when we were winding down BFing I would BF whenever it was convenient and FF when that was better (I work variable shifts so there's no specific pattern). If yours has a set routine and gets upset if it's changed, then focusing on one feed at a time might be better.

Regards what to give, it's really up to you but if she hasn't had formula before there's probably not much point introducing it now - she should be able to have cow's milk in a few months anyway. EBM in a cup might be a good idea to start with, especially if, as I said above, she's not keen on change.

Good luck with it!

warthog · 07/05/2009 09:48

oh yes, the other thing you can do in prep is only give her one side at the feed you're planning to drop.

mears · 07/05/2009 09:51

I would not drop any feeds in anticipation of work to be honest. When you are not there she will not get a feed and you can give water instead if you prefer not to express. Your breasts will cope with missing a feed or you may need to express for comfort if it is more that one. You can then breastfeed as normal on days off. That is what I always did.

Original poster

BeatrixRotter · 07/05/2009 09:55

Thanks warthog, I hadn't thought of approaching it like that.

And thanks SouthernLights, DD is also not very routiney and we tend to take each day as it comes so I could probably be very flexible with this.

I have no idea what hours I'll be working as yet but will hopefully find out soon, which should help clear things up.

OP posts:

Original poster

BeatrixRotter · 07/05/2009 09:59

Mears - so did your DC get water/snack at her childcare and then just bf as normal at home? Thanks, I had not thought of this (I am very clueless!).

OP posts:

mears · 07/05/2009 10:04

Yes they all did. I gave dilute juice mainly (and no teeth or obesity problems. The oldest is 22 yrs and youngest is 15yrs so there wasn't such an emphasis on water then). They didn't take water well and I wasn't going to start formula at that stage. Only one of my children liked cow's milk to drink but they all had good amouints of dairy in their diets such as milk in breakfast, cheese, yogurt etc.

They didn't seem bothered about not being able to feed when I was at work. As I said, when I was home I fed as normal. Breastfeeding can be more flexible than you think.

mookickkick · 09/05/2009 14:12

my dd is also 10 months. a month ago, i returned to work. a week before working, i dropped the afternoon bf and gave formula, as this was the feed she seemed least interested in. then dropped the morning feed the day i started work. no problems with the boobs and i bf morning and evening. now at nursery dd drinks two bottles of formula during the day, 5-6 oz each. she's a big baby and clearly needs this milk, so i'm sticking to it for now.

i can understand the others on this thread, but just wanted to offer you a different view. tbh i was quite keen to drop bfs during the day anyway. if you're worried that your dd won't like formula, you can try a one-serving sized ready-made box and not waste money on a big tin.

whatever you decide, i hope it goes well. it was hard for me the first week but i'm glad i chose to return to work. and now i can plan things on weekends and not worry about bf!

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