how much to express? how to do it?

[Jasmer]

I am going back to work (a new job) in two weeks for 4 full days a week. We have a nanny arranged to take care of our then 5.5 months old son.

I am still fully b/f and have started to wean him according to Gina Ford Weaning book, but am not sure about how to replace the b/f with expressed milk, as I am planning to express as work.

Can anyone tell me how they have done it, i.e. when to start replacing and how, how to know how much he takes (I have a lot of milk and am not sure as how much he takes), etc? Am I supposed to now give him bottled milk and at the same time express?

Jasmer, Unfortunately I hate GF and can't comment on what she says, however, I returned to work at 18 weeks and ds had been fully exclusively breastfed too. I used to feed him every morning at around 7 am, then express at lunchtime at work, then feed him as soon as I returned from work, again at around 10 pm, and also at 2 am. Nightfeeding was tiring but helped me keep up milk supply as prolactin surges at night time. He also used to have bottles of expressed milk in the daytime, and if it ran out, then milupa formula, which is supposed to have long chain polymers like breastmilk. I did not give him a bottle or try formula until the day I went to work, and he had to take it because I was not there. You have to decide how much time you have to express at work, ie whether you can keep him entirely on breastmilk, or whether to combine with formula. You also need to decide whether you are prepared to keep on / reintroduce nightfeeds, or whether you can accept a reduction in your milk output if you are nursing / expressing less often. It is hard to look at milk in bottles and work out what is normal consumption, but after a few weeks you will know. As long as the baby is looking well and has normal nappies then you know he is getting enough milk. As ds got weaned on to solids, the nightfeeds stopped naturally at around 8 mths. I breastfed before work and at bedtime up to 15 mths. I think you must tell your ds that you are going back to work so it is not a total surprise to him. He will sense that you are anxious and need reassuring anyway.

Hi Jasmer
congrats on new job.
I can't offer any great advice myself I'm afraid but I can tell you how things went with my ds. I work pt so fit most feeds in. At first I expressed also for supp feeds but after a few weeks got sick of being stuck in the toilet with my avent pump on my breaks. But a friend of mine fully breastfed:expressed until her dd was 2 so it is pos. But she had an electric double action pump and I think that made a big dif - much faster to express.

As far as amounts go, I can only express small amounts - about 3oz - I guess you manage more if you say you have a lot of milk so should be no prob. But whenever ds is given a bottle he only takes about 3oz anyway so perhaps this is all he gets off me too. I feed him about 5:6 times a day so I think this must make up the total amount he needs per day of about a pint.
But once he started solids it got much easier and I think you'll find that too - you would be cutting down on bfs anyway.

A friend of mine only bf at night when she went back to work and her baby only got water during the day - not sure it sounds a great idea but there you go!

Sorry so waffly

Jasmer,

I would strongly suggest that if you haven't done any expressing yet, you start now, as it takes a bit of practice! The best time to express is early morning, as the prolactin levels are higher then, but you can do it at anytime- your body will replace the milk that you express. My dd would only take one breast at a time for many months, so I would feed her from one side, then express from the other. I am lucky to have a lockable office to myself at work, and I'm pretty much my own boss, so for the first few months I was able to express three times during the working day.

When I first went back to work dd was four months old, and I used to send 3 four ounce bottles of EBM to nursery with her each day. Initially I had no difficulty expressing this amount, but it is true that expressing doesn't stimulate milk production as well as suckling,so over the months, the volume I could produce did decline. Of course she was by then taking solids, so didn't need as much. I only recenly gave up expressing at work (dd now 15 months old), so it can be done for a long time! Another thing I used to do, when dd had given up feeding at night (not her choice, I hasten to add!)was to express last thing at night before I went to bed. There was always plenty of milk for her morning feed.

As for how much to leave for him, why not get your dp/ dh to give him a bottle of EBM at a time when you're at home. Start with, say 4 oz, and if he polishes that off, and wants more, then b/feed him and try 6 oz another time? Don't give formula if you're expressing, as your body needs the stimulation of either expressing or suckling to keep up the milk supply. When I used to agonise about not having enough milk, the advice I got on here was to give dd the amount that I was able to express the previous day, watered down if necessary!

HTH

Jasmer - I expressed in totally the wrong way - but it worked for me. I did GF, went back to work at 4 months, and am still bf at 11 months. I used to express after every feed dd had. Once she had had enough I could usually get another 7oz out -- but I had been expressing from the beginning and produced huge amounts of milk. I was then able to keep expressing morning and night, and produce enough milk for 2 5oz bottles. As dd got older, I would give her more, until we got up to the 7oz she now has.
I did try expressing at work at 11.30, but it was just too much hassle to go down to the medical centre, sterilise everything, have people asking what my bottles of ebm in the fridge were... If I hadn't been able to express am and pm I probably wouldn't have continued bf (probably not what you want to here)
you could start with one of the feeds you want to cut out (2.30pm) You have to remember that it will take time for you to stop producing at that time as well. Good luck