I think I have left this a little late, but am going back to work 2 days a week, in 2 weeks time. I am a shift worker so there will be no regularity to my work day. I am still breastfeeding my daughter 3 times a day, I have let her lead our feeding and we have developed some bad habits that work for us. Namely breast feeding to sleep. I still feed first thing in the morning, before her day nap (which is about midday) and again at night. I had wanted to be down to at least 2 times a day, maybe even only once a day But havent managed it. The reasons are.
1. We both enjoy it
2. She is so aware of the boob, and can now say boob, and pull my shirt up to get to it.
3. There seems to be constantly something like immunisations, teething, illness, starting daycare, upset routines etc that make me go, oh its just better to feed her than refuse when she needs comfort.
I introduced a sippy cup of milk some time ago, but she still insist on boob over cup to sleep (comfort)
I am currently sticking my head in the sand saying things will work themselves out when I go back to work, she'll be right mate.
Does anyone have any advice for me, do I just stop the midday feed or keep feeding her on the days I am not at work, and not worry about the days I am at work? Do I need to express to maintain my supply (not something I want to do). How did other people wean off the day feed? I was hoping she would self wean but not showing any signs of that AT ALL!
Help!
Hi Hawksey
I was in a similar situation to you when I returned to work, my DS was a little younger though.
He is now 14 months old and we still bf exactly the same as you on the days i don't work, and on the days i do work, he is happy to go to sleep with cuddles from nan (mum looks after him whilst i'm at work). I was so stressed before returning to work as the only way he would sleep was to feed to sleep, he also never took to ebm or formula (he was 6 months when i went back), but when it came time he simply learned to survive without mummy for a few hours. I never thought it would happen but they do sort themselves out!
None of this has probably been much help to you but I just wanted to let you know that you can work and still bf!
Actually it does help, thanks! Just knowing someone else does something similar helps!
Do you find your supply is still good enough on the days you do feed during the day? I am worried about that especially thinking it will be up and down. There is no one else left still bfing out of the mums I am in contact with, and I am starting to get the "oh, are you STILL breastfeeding" so its hard to talk about it with anyone.
Any other advice or examples would be appreciated!
Well I can't offer any advice as my baby is only 12wks, but I do want to say well done for b/feeding to 1 and beyond, especially with the others giving up. I find it very odd that people are suprised when you're still breastfeeding a 1 year old when they fully expect that if bub was bottle fed they would still be having a bottle at that age??.
Your supply might drop off, but someone correct me if I'm totally wrong but my pregnancy/baby book says that at 1 they don't absolutely need breastmilk since wide variety of solids by that age, so even if if supply drops off it's not a big deal if you want to just feed with the milk you do have and comfort. Good Luck with returning to work too!
Hawksey, I haven't had any personal experience, but I would assume that like Janine said, if you are not there, your DD will likely just as easily fall asleep a different way. No doubt she'd be upset if you tried to put her to sleep another way (i.e. I know the boobs are there, why can't I have one? But she's old enough to know that if the boobs aren't there, then that option just isn't available, KWIM?). Course, that's a guess Only one way to find out for sure!
I would think that if you are only feeding 3 times per day you won't notice a massive drop off in your supply. Lots of people feed sporadically in the toddler years and your milk sticks around for ages.
Again, this is without any personal experience, only what I've heard from others. Unfortunately, we weaned at around 11 months. And even though DD was completely weaned, my milk stuck around for a couple of months after (in one breast... Don't get me started, LOL! I'm a weird one).
I don't have specific advice because I haven't returned to work.
But I wanted to say regarding "we have developed some bad habits that work for us. Namely breast feeding to sleep." If it works for you, it's not a bad habit My DS fed to sleep for a long time and slowly outgrew it. It wasn't a bad habit, just a need of his I was happy to meet Don't let other people make you feel bad about anything you do with breastfeeding, especially if they're not breastfeeding!
I would say the other poster's advice is good. Just feed when you can and don't worry too much about it. My DD gets rocked to sleep in the pram by nana, and DS was cuddled to sleep holding a musical toy. They find other ways to settle when they have to
My DS isn't quite 12 months and I am currently working 5 days for 2 weeks and then will cut back to 3 days a week after that for awhile. He doesn't seem to miss it too much, I feed in the morning before work and he isn't always that interested, I feed after tea and a bath and the it's bed. He might wake once or twice through the night and usuasually wakes between 5 - 6 am for a feed and straight back to sleep. My supply seems ok but I think it's too soon to tell. On the weekends I feed him his lunch feed (which is really the only one I am missing) and through the week he just has water in a sippy cup. It did take him awhile to get use to it but he has got the hang of it now.
Hi Hawksey
My supply seems to be fine, the first month or so I would be quite full by the end of the day but it seemed to even out after a while, boobs have a funny way of knowing when they're needed
I think you'll be fine and well done on continuing to bf, I think it's fantastic! I'm also getting the oh you're still bf'ing thing but you know what, I'm happy, DS is very happy to continue and that's all that matters to me!
1 year weaning and return to work
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Only one way to find out for sure!
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