Breastfeeding & Going to Nursery

[Charlie:-)]

I am due back at work on 1st April after 2 weeks short of a year off and at the moment not particularly looking forwards to it

Maia will probably have to go into nursery or will be looked after by family for the 3 days I will be at work.

I'm not sure how practical it will be to still breastfeed, I have no idea how much milk she will be taking at that time (she will be 10 months old). If she is taking a feed in the morning, then a bottle during the day and another feed at bedtime (6:30pm) then I think I will try and continue and express the bottle for during the day, but I honestly have no idea how many milk feed she will be taking.

Has anyone got any experience of this or have you found something that works for you?

 

[valentine]

Hi Charlie,

I was worried about this too - although it turned out not to be an issue for me as DD self weaned at a year, about 2 weeks before I went back to work.

At 10 months though, she was only taking such a small feed in the afternoons (plus 2 longer first thing in the morning and evening feeds), that I'd have been tempted, had I been in that situation, to just keep her on solids throughout the day and let her catch up with her milk feeds when you come home - I know that this has worked successfully for others. However, this does depend on how long you'll be out of the house for.

I found it very difficult to express (having been a pro when DD was younger) at around 9 months - and finally gave up at 9.5 months I think. I used to express a couple of ounces every morning between 6-9.5 months to mix with her porridge, but found this increasingly difficult as DD got older and my milk supply lessened.

Valentine Xxx

 

[Zodiac]

I was planning on getting my LO weaned onto a bottle/cup of milk for at least one of his daytime feeds before he went to nursery.... He had other ideas!!!

I tried introducing him to a cup about 6weeks before I started back at work. I tried various different cups (free flow spout & valve), a bottle, EBM & formula. But he was having none of it.

I ended up just dropping the feeds altogether & by the time he went to nursery at 10months old he was quite happy with his 2 breastfeeds a day - first thing in the morning & just before bed..... although he does wakr up for nighttime feeds again now too. Grrrr!!!

Good luck

 

[Charlie:-)]

Thanks Valentine & Zodiac.

Think I will just have to wait and see what happens nearer the time and see how many feeds she is taking and play it by ear. Luckily for use Maia already has 1 bottle of EBM each day so I know she will take a bottle if she needs to.

 

[charlie84]

I am in the same dilemma, i go back to work when Calleigh turns 9 months and she wont take milk from a bottle or cup.
So currently she has around 4/5 feeds a day so either she will have to drop the ones whilst i am at work and just have a morning and evening feed or take milk which i will be sending with her to nursery.

 

[Squiglet]

I work full time and still breastfeed lil miss... I was worried too because when I first went back lil miss was only 5 months and still very much a fully breastfed baby. But once I started to regularly express I found I started to produce more and more until I was over producing the amount lil miss would take in the day so had to cut back.

Now she's 10 months. She has her big booby feeds at night, morning and before naps. But tends to snack during the day when I'm around. When I'm not she will drink water instead and only seems to require a milk feed after breakfast. The rest of the day she's happy with food and water.

Its mainly a wait and see thing... but try not to fret too much by 10 months they tend to be quite independent in terms of feeding... Although like Zodiac's LO lil miss wakes up in the night to feed too... They will tend to make up their milk feeds when you are around..

What I will tell you though.. is that bfing and working has a wonderful advantage... When I get home lil miss is so happy to see me and desperate for a feed that she immediately demands booby and we have this wonderful little cuddle for over half an hour together, she even comes off has a little chat goes back on, strokes my face etc... and its a lovely way to reconnect with each other.... every minute I work is worth that experience