Returning to work and breast-feeding - changing hours?

[Greedygirl]

Hi. I am hoping to continue breastfeeding when I return to work in September. As my DS won't take a bottle I am going to have to feed before and after work (3 days a week). Several people have assured me that this should work out alright but obviously I am anxious about being away from him all day.

I have to drop him off at the childminder's house at 8 o'clock so I will arrive at work around 8.30 but my official hours are 9-5. I am wondering if I could use breastfeeding as a valid reason for leaving at 4.30 as I will be working from 8.30 anyway and it would be great if I could leave a little earlier and get home and feed my DS. I know it is only half an hour but it is my half an hour! Has anyone successfully changed their working hours in this way?

How old is your DS? I started back at work when my DS was 11 mo and he gets dropped off at 8am and I get back home with him at 6pm. He has a bf in the morning and normally when we get in at 6pm. Then a bit more before bed, then probably more in the night.....

I have found it to be fine now we are settled in this routine.

btw, I leave work at 4pm now (long commute unfortunately), but lucky that I have flexible working arrangements and quite a lot of autonomy over my hours. If your hours are 9-5 and your employer is pretty flexible I'm sure they would be ok with you doing 8.30 to 4.30 instead.

Thanks Preggers, my DS is 9 months and still feeding a lot during the day which is why I am slightly anxious so nice to hear from someone who has been there and done it.

Yes, when I returned to work after DD1, I asked to go down to 3 days, and to work either 8 - 4.30 (pref) or 8.30 - 5 while I was still bf on the understanding that when I stopped feeding, I could go back to working later. That was fine. My case was that I had to be home to feed at a reasonable time. Both my DCs adapted OK to being fed at 6.30am, and then again as soon as I got in from work 5 - 5.30pm and then as and when until they went down for the night. This obviously got easier as time went on, at first they would be desperate for a feed as soon as I got in - if I could have, I think I'd rather have gone back on 6 hr days at first. I never left ebm, although it helped that I took the max mat leave I could both times so they were older when I returned to work.

Oh good thanks, this is very encouraging, think I will put my case to my manager asap. Of course I will be happy to go back to normal hours when I stop feeding. I now wish that I had worked right up until having my DS (left at 8 months preg) so I had more time at home with him now but I was at the end of my tether so easy to say now.

Thanks again - good to hear your experiences