So I go back to work in 8 wks and I won't be able to express whilst there (which is fine). DS will still be having 2 feeds during that time. I have a stock of expressed milk to get him through a few weeks.
Will formula feeding him those two feeds but breast feeding the other Feds cause him trouble? Also how long will it take for my milk supply to adjust? I don't want to be at work with bursting boobs so I
Trying to work out how long before should I start
I think the first thing you should do is try and master quick hand-expressing - so that if you get too full you can get comfy again.
The standard advice for "dropping feeds" (which is kind of what you want to do) is to drop no faster than one a week.
SOme babies detest bottles, and it takes some fiddling around with cups or spoons or whatever to work out how to actually feed them - so you may want to start that now just to be sure. Some also refuse formula.
If he's 6 months+ it may be simpler to just give him food and water while you are at work rather than bothering with bottles, etc.
I went back to work 3 days per week when my DS was 7 months. He was in care from 8am-4pm. He flat out refused to drink milk from a bottle or cup, ebm or formula He did, however, do just fine on food and water! He was eating pureed veges etc and yoghurts/custards and drank water from a sippy cup. He was probably missing 2 feeds as well (from memory)
I fed as normal on my days at home and had no supply issues. We BF until 14 months.
I should have explained better in my original post. DS takes the bottle fine as I have always expressed and give his 10pm feed from a bottle as he was always too sleepy to drink and I hated not knowing if he'd had enough. So I'm comfortable that he will take a bottle.
He will be six months so will be eating a little too.
Amaunet- did you express at work or did your boobs do fine without bub feeding on those days?
I'm thinking I will feed him his 11am feed and drop the 3pm two weeks before he goes and then the week before drop the 11am so when I'm at work my boobs won't burst. I have a fair supply of ebm so I will be able to give him breast milk still for those feeds for some time. I'll still feed him his morning dinner and then continue to express the 10pm feed and see how we go.
Again if anyone has any other ideas that would be great
Some mums find they can still feed bub all feeds on home days, and they (the mums) are ok to miss feeds on work days. its a mind-breast thing where the body knows when it is needed or not.
When i began work, my DD was older but having more feeds during the day than your little one. Initially, i had her come to me for one feed or i took my pump, but i was able to adapt pretty quickly. I still fed her as soon as work was finished, but was ok to go the day without expressing or feeding. And on non-work days, she still had her many feeds.
I'm just wondering why you can't express at work? Most employers (when the situation is explained to them) are happy for mothers to express at work, and employees are pleasantly surprised once they speak to their boss. It will make returning to work a much more pleasant thing for you. All the research shows that mothers who are able to express at work have fewer sick days and and are more loyal employees.
I weaned #1 onto formula so I could go back to work - she was really hard to get on the bottle. Continued with night breastfeeds for another 2 months but the bottle won, it was so much easier to use. Probably a good thing, given what I weighed at that point ... if I kept breastfeeding I would have looked like an anorexic.
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Breastfeeding and going back to work
He did, however, do just fine on food and water! He was eating pureed veges etc and yoghurts/custards and drank water from a sippy cup. He was probably missing 2 feeds as well (from memory)
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