Need to start work 8-10 weeks after baby is born

[GinkgoBiloba]

Hi, my baby hasn't been born yet but for various reasons I will need to return to full-time work, at least temporarily, when he/she is only 8-10 weeks old. My partner will be looking after baby during that time, and depending on how our breasfeeding journey goes I might be pumping with a portable pump whilst I'm in the office.

I know this sounds like a very early return to work, so I'd love to hear from any mamas who had to return to work this early. Any advice? What was your experience like? I appreciate each baby is different etc. Thanks!

I didn't go back with so soon - but close. At 12 weeks. I found it hard to pump enough milk at work so hard to mix feed. But we did have a tricky start establishing feeding and every baby and mum different.

It is v tiring going back so soon. My DC was sleeping from last feed around 11 to around 6 or 7 but time I went back which really helped. I can't remember but I doubt they were doing that at 8 weeks.

Will you be commuting? Any flex on some wfh? You would still need your partner to look after baby but you could the feed a few times a day?

That should say I had to mix feed.

Watching with interest as I’ll be going back at a similar time, although only pt to begin with. I’ve negotiated to work from home mostly until the baby is 6 months.

Thanks for your input@Duchessofmuchness , I will have to ask them if I can do a mix of wfh + office, hopefully it won't be an issue as it would certainly make feeding easier, but it's not guaranteed at this stage. I'm hoping to start pumping very early to see if baby and I can get the hang of bottle feeding in time for me to go back to work! That's one of my main concerns, as well as sleep deprivation.

@GinkgoBiloba - wishing you good luck. I went back to work six weeks after DD was born. I didn't breastfeed, though. Although very unusual in the UK, in the USA it is quite common for mothers to return to the workplace much sooner than they do in the UK (I'm not suggesting that either of these is better or worse - just noting the differences). I didn't breastfeed because the nature of DD's birth was so traumatic that milk just didn't come, so it wasn't a choice. However, in retrospect it was a blessing (for me), as it meant that spare time could be spent with her without worrying about expressing, and it also meant that DH could do the night feeds sometimes, and let me get a full night's sleep (he was actually working away from home at the time, so this didn't happen often, but it was amazing when it did!) I'm not suggesting you shouldn't breastfeed if that is your choice - I am just giving you my experience and how it worked for me.

Hi I went back after 7 weeks (not UK) and breastfed. I worked part time 5 hrs per day which meant I only had to pump once during work in my break. I stored the milk in an insulated bag with ice packs and fed my little one as soon as I collected her from nursery (by then I was getting pretty engorged). I then pumped at least once during the evening so I had enough milk for nursery the following day. Before I went back to work I pumped to build up my milk supply ready for when I went back - it took a few weeks to build this up and at first hardly got anything out but froze all that I did!.

At the time it felt extremely tiring but I managed to feed her solely on my milk but I know plenty of mums who either did formula or a mix of both successfully so do what’s right for you and your little one :)

I had an agreed place at work where I could go and pump and used to eat my lunch while doing it.

as my little one was going to nursery she caught every cold going and the first year was rough with a lot of snotty noses and coughs (not so easy to manage in a newborn) but she now has a pretty solid immune system and never catches anything!

as your partner will be taking care of yours it’s no different to the traditional set up of one partner working while the other stays home to take care of the baby. Don’t let society’s idea of ‘normal’ put you off from working and doing what’s right for you and yours 😊
good luck!

Oh and look for bottles designed for breastfed babies, mine would only take one kind of bottle due to the shape of the teat. A good Google and try different ones.

Thank you all for your thoughts, all really helpful. I have asked if I can work from home in the first weeks (if not for the whole project) and am yet to hear back...but I'm also getting more confident about my plan to pump, to try and continue breastfeeding for as long as possible. I'll let you know how it goes...!