bf question

[LISAMJS]

I am going back to work in three months. Ds will be 9 mo then. I will be doing shift work and will be away from home during most feeds. I will only be working 2 days a week and would like to bf ds on days off and maybe on days I am working (maybe 1 bf) do you think this will work or will my milk dry up?
Thanks xx

 

[millylillyrose]

if your only working 2 days and your home to bf 5 days, i would imagine your milk would be ok for a while.
how long did you plan on bf'ing for?

 

[LISAMJS]

i wanted to do it till he was one ideally

 

[Lola's Mummy]

I went back to work 3 days a week when my little girl was 10 months old and we're still breastfeeding now

I would just feed her as normal on my days off and while i was at work she would just have water and her normal meals. I would always make sure she'd had a feed before i left for work. Even if it was only a dream feed, then feed her again as soon as i got in.

It will be fine hun! I remember being so worried about it all as i could never get her to take a bottle. I just had visions of her screaming for the full 8 hours i was away but of course this never happened. She's always being perfect for whoever has been looking after her.

 

[LISAMJS]

Lolas mummy - did you express at all? Thanks.

 

[beanie]

I echo what Lola'smummy said, I went back to work 2 1/2 days when Seren was 5 1/2 months and I never noticed any issues with my milk supply on the days I was at home

 

[babynumbertwo]

I've been worrying about this too so it's good to see that it can be done! I'll be going back before baby is 6 months so probably won't have started weaning by then. i was thinking of expressing a fair amount and freezing it so baby can have bottles or cups of milk when I'm at work (and still breastfeed morning and night) and hopefully still totally breastfeed on my days off. I do wonder though if I will have a reduced supply for my days off as my body will get used to baby not feeding when I'm at work?
Good luck, I hope it works out for you.

 

[Lola's Mummy]

I didn't bother expressing as she got older as i couldn't get that much out maybe 1oz at the most so it was just a waste of time. She never took to a bottle anyway and i tried loads of different types she just wouldn't entertain it

To be honest though no one has ever said she cried or looked for milk she's not even bothered about it when i'm not there and never has been

If you do decide to express though you could always do it at work, My company has a set policy for this but i'm not sure if it's the law or not?

 

[Squiglet]

I went back to work when lil miss was 5 months old...and we are still bfing Heavily too I was working 5 days a week, 7 hours a day. Never had to resort to formula either (not that she would drink it...she thinks all milk is naff in a cup unless it comes from a boob )

I fed lil miss in the morning, then expressed a tiddly amount before work, then came home and fed and expressed.. fed through the night etc. On weekends I fed as normal.

Now I work 5 days 8 hours a day and I feed, got to work, come home for lunch and express, work, and feed lillmiss when I get home on my days off I feed as normal Like lola's mummy I don't express for lil miss really, I express to make me more comfortable...and sometimes she will entertain boob juice in a cup nowadays.. She actually prefers icy cold white moo juice

By 9 months your milk supply is well and truly established... I don't think you will have problems. Lil miss has miss booby...not mummy of course just booby... But thats more of a comfort thing I think, and we are trying to get her more attached to bebe (a hand me down dolly from Tia) to see if she will be pawned off with her instead The only thing I can say is be prepared to feel a little worn out though at first but you'll get back into the swing of things.

 

[Natural mamma]

I am away from my Lo for two days a week..i feed her as soon as i get in and she is fine...my milk is fine. These are not two consecutive days a Thursday and Saturday. I have been doing this since September. So don't worry...and as for expressing whats that ??? xx

 

[LISAMJS]

thanks for all your replies amd support. I love feeding my ds so I am glad I should be able to feed him when I go back to work. My work has an expressing policy but if I do express it will only be to make me more comfortable. Any ideas on how many bfs a day he will be on at 9 months?
He is currently as follows
0600 bf
1000 bf
1400 bf
1830 bf
0100 - bf night feed if he wakes

thanks xxx

 

[LISAMJS]

sorry to bump this up but how many bf will a 9 month old be on? Thanks xxx

 

[loz]

sorry to bump this up but how many bf will a 9 month old be on? Thanks xxx

Emms has about 3 in the day and then might have a couple or more in the evening/ night. It depends on the baby. I went back to work part-time when Emms was 6 months and she had formula during the day as I found I couldnt express enough as she was awake a lot of the night. She wont drink much but then has several feeds when we get home.
Babies who are bottle fed tend to have 3 bottles at this age but BF babies decide for themselves as it depends how much they take at a time!