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Original poster

Breastfeeding and returning to work

10 replies

Ddmcm · 28/01/2016 22:03

Hi, I'm going back to work 4 days a week in a month.

Has anyone got any experience/advice about my continuing breastfeeding my 8 month old son when I go back?

I would be away from him from 8am to 6pm ish on 2 days and 7.30 am to 4 ish on the other 2 days

If feasible I would like to keep feeding him till 1 year

I have an electric breast pump and have built up a supply in the freezer for him to have at nursery, (also have to get him to have milk from a bottle/cup this month as he isn't keen so far!)

Any advice would be appreciated!

OP posts:

Iguessyourestuckwithme · 28/01/2016 22:07

I am a nanny to a baby who is breastfed. Mum works full time so she pumps at work and I bottle feed expressed breath milk during the next day.

CasualJersey · 28/01/2016 22:13

You can do it!
I did pretty similar though shorter days 8-4
Your body will adjust to the new routine pretty quickly but my biggest tip is express at the same time each day you are at work and feed on demand the rest of the time. That way you will be sure to make it to a year.
contact work and sort a place for expressing, you might find you need to do this more than once a day and they have to accommodate this, so sort that asap.
But a couple of boxes of milk bags and have a little kit ready that you take to work daily/ leave at work so you always have somewhere to put your milk.
Tbh I found hand expressing the best method. I could eaaily get 4oz in 10 mins by hand.
I've managed to keep
Feeding and DS is 16 months so it's more than do able.
I don't express in the day anymore as DS doesn't have milk at nursery in the day.
I do feed as soon as I get home most days though as he seems to want it then and in demand at weekends.
We mix feed now with some cows milk too but it's working and we are all happy.
I hope you manage to find your solution
Best of luck x

CasualJersey · 28/01/2016 22:14

Ps
Don't worry about the cup
He'll take it from nursery so much better than you
Or at least that was the case with DS
No boobs around to distract him

TheWomanInTheWall · 28/01/2016 22:27

I made one of the four feeds (mid morning) formula before going back then expressed lunchtime at work. At home I fed first thing, last thing and mid afternoon. Nursery gave formula for the two feeds they had and expressed milk got used at weekends.

WLmum · 28/01/2016 22:35

I worried about this too, but it was easy! I didn't express at all, so she had bf before work for as long as we had time for, then immediately I got home she'd be clamouring for it - I wouldn't even get my coat off before the boobs were out, then again at bedtime. And of course any in the night. I fed her til she was nearly 3 doing this, decreasing at my insistence! Go for it.

WLmum · 28/01/2016 22:36

Oh and she had formula or cows milk in a cup during the day as she was a bottle refuser.

slightlyglitterbrained · 28/01/2016 22:46

I also didn't express at work - if you decide to try this make sure you have plenty of breastpads stashed! I expressed enough at home to send a couple of two ounce (sometimes more like 1.5) feeds in on his full days, and DS was fine. He stopped bothering with the expressed milk as he got near 1 (went back at 9 months) so it wasn't that long. He's still feeding now at almost 3.5.

If you do express, don't stress about having to pump enough to cover a normal day's feeding, they will pounce on you for a mammoth long feed as soon as you're in the door. It's actually quite nice to have that long cuddle to catch up again.

mrsmugoo · 29/01/2016 07:36

When I returned to work at 7.5 months I sent ready made formula to nursery (just two feeds I think?) and he had boob before and after work and on my off days just breastfed as normal.

Original poster

Ddmcm · 29/01/2016 09:30

Thanks everyone! Going to give it a try x

OP posts:

mrsmugoo · 29/01/2016 10:43

Mine was also a bottle refuser - he drank a few oz of formula in a sippy cup but just had solids and eater mainly throughout nursery and a nice long bedtime breastfeed when he came home.

I don't think the nursery had taken many babies that were still EBF as they kept suggesting he use a bottle to get more milk in him as he didn't chug his milk like the FF babies did but as he'd been a bottle refuser all his life I had happily just progressed to a sippy cup and asked them not to try to get him on a bottle at that late stage.

I did try to send expressed milk but all my freezer stash was spoiled and I just couldn't express enough to make it worthwhile so I sent formula and he just got on with it.

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