Going to back to part time work - how to FF and BF?

[Mrs P]

I am going back to work 3 days a week in July. DD will be 11 months. She is currently fully BF but I don't think I will be able to have enough EBM for her while she is at daycare (2 days daycare, one day with MIL). I find it hard enough to find time to express now, and am lucky to get 50ml when expressing, and it can take 40 mins!

I would like to keep BF when I go back to work, but it probably won't be feasible for me to express while I'm at work. So I'm wondering if it will work to BF on the days when I am home, and then FF on the days I work? I would still give her a morning BF before work and then night BF - but could this affect my supply?
Also in late August I will be away for a week without DD - I am willing to express twice a day while away to keep my supply up, but maybe that won't work? So then I think maybe I should just wean her before I go back to work... but I love BFing her

It's so hard! I want to work this out early so that I can find a formula that she will tolerate (she's had S26 gold a couple of times in the early days and vomited it up, so I think it may be tricky to find one she likes).

Any thoughts, experiences etc would be great!

[~Minny~]

Hey there i went back to work once DS was 3-4months old only a few night a week, i could express then but since i am back a school 2 days a week i cant express the older he gets (dunno why!) Anyways once he was at care twice a week he was given goats milk (cant have cows milk) while i was away otherwise he just waited until i was home. 2 months down the track we are still successfully breastfeeding with no probs. The days im home it hasnt made any difference to my supply

[Kmn]

When you are away from her you may be very surprised at how much you need to express for your own comfort, and also at how much you get out.
I wouldn't worry about the formula - just give her whatever EBM you have and food and water.

I went back to work full time when my DS was 10 months old. I would express at lynch and maybe one other time, depending on how uncomfy I was. He decided he didn't really like EBM, so he had some on his cereal and had food and water during the day. He then would have a feeding frenzy when I got home, and unfortunately started waking up for more night feeds.
The main problem (other than lack of sleep) I had was Mondays - when after a weekend of feeding I had a huge supply.

If you go without DD for a week you will have to express for your own comfort - I'm guessing 4 times a day. So you may want to get a double pump and get good at double pumping!

Before you go back to work, have a practise day or 2, where you leave DD with someone you trust and go play for the day, taking your pump! Then you'll have a better idea of what's involved.

[MantaRay]

Going back to work can be a really stressful time. I think as mums we always worry about our babies having enough to eat and drink! However by 11 months your DD will not need formula to replace breastmilk and will be fine without breastmilk during the day while you are at work. It's up to you whether you continue to breastfeed during the day on non-work days, but it is definitely an option that works well for many mums. Your supply will actually adjust to the new pattern so that you will make more milk on non-work days to cover the extra feeds.

From about 9 or 10 months many mums struggle to express enough milk, so lots of babies go without breastmilk during the day and do just fine. At 11 months especially, solids and water will provide all her needs until you get back from work.

All the best with it. I found that it was actually easier going back than I had thought it would be, but it did take a little while to find a routine that worked for us.

[Mrs P]

Thanks ladies - some good ideas/comments. I think i will try continuing to BF only, and see if she can get through my work days without it. A practice day is a great idea though, will do that with MIL a couple of weeks before I go back. I guess the most important thing is I don't stress out over it

[Frangipani]

I could've written your exact post a few months ago (actually i did do one very similar. I went back to work 9weeks ago (3 days a week though my mum is looking him the 3 days until 2 of the days become available at childcare....still waiting)- DS2 was just over 11months old and pretty much BF except i'd already introduced formula a few months earlier cause i was doing some 'me' time 1 night a week so my mum or DH would give him a bottle before bed. S26 was DS2's preferred formula but DS1 seemed to only like Karicare Gold. But leading up to DS2 turning 1 i was starting to introduce cows milk which seemed more of a hit then formula- so the last tin of formula was thrown about 2 weeks after DS2's first birthday(and it was a similar age for DS1 too). We also found sippy cups worked better too.

As for BF- we continued to do it morning, evening and through the night- DS2 has only just started to work out the whole sleep through thing. 2 months on and still going strong.

So yeah...it can be done. Good luck. Hope you have the same success as we've had (which i didn't get with DS1).