Working moms/mums - come share tips and get support too! #2

[Khalam's Mama]

Ah thats a pain. Is it worth keeping doing it to get the 2oz even if you don't end up with a bottle just to keep your supply up a little? You could always put it in food?

[Khalam's Mama]

Ladies I go back to work in 2 weeks when DS will be 13MO. I have left an approximate schedule and a list of food ides for the person looking after him at their request. Anything else I need to think about putting down on paper?

[MommytoJashn]

Medication and ped's no. A second no other than yours in case of emergency

[Khalam's Mama]

Thanks. We don't really have peads routinely over here but we all share a GP so that is good. Do you mean like pain meds or regular one? We don't have any regular but I will mention some fr teething etc. Thanks.

[KingGinge]

any advice on why feel depressed having stopped BFing?

[Khalam's Mama]

Did you want to?

[bexandlucy]

Hiya! I thought I'd join in early, I'm going back to work in April and Lucy will be 10 months old. I'm really panicking,. I know i've got 3 months to get organised but... she will not and has never taken a bottle. We tried so so hard to get her to take it when she was younger but was so stressful I just resigned myself to not going anywhere without her  .

She'll take a beaker of water ok at mealtimes (we're BLW) but still dribbles a lot of it down her chin! I've been too nervous to try her with a beaker of milk yet. We're leaving her with my mum for a bit of a trial tomorrow so finger crossed, she'll attempt a feed then a nap, if its a disaster then we're not far away.

I'm a nurse and will be going back doing 1 night shift a week and a short day at the weekend. At 10 months will she likely need a feed in the middle of the night? My OH is worried, she usually sleeps through most nights nowadays but occasionally she'll wake and the only way to resettle is to feed her. Also, I'll be able to do her last feed and get her to bed before I go to work, but will miss her morning feed, and won't have a chance to pump on time. Would I be better off expressing that am feed in the early hours (about 1 or 2 hours early) or when I get home which would be 1 or 2 hours late? It'll only be 1 (sometimes 2) nights a week and don't want to muck up my supply too much. I really need to get exressing regularly again, and stockpile!!!

Please also I want to hear success stories!! I'm looking forward to going back to work, will actually feel like an adult again! But I'm so nervous I don't think I've left her for longer than 2 hours her whole life!
xxxxxxxxxxxx

[Khalam's Mama]

I was really nervous going back to work when I had never left K but went back at 13mo and it has been fine. We are still BFing morning and night when I am working FT at 19mo.
She shoudln't really need the BF in the night at that age from a nutrient POV but it would be worth getting her used to settling without it asap so she isn't expecting it if she does wake. Personally I have never been able to pump since about 9 or 10months as the milk is made more on demand the older they get and I haven't ever worried too much about timing but that may vary with the individual so not sure about whether early or late pumping is better. Let us know how you get on.

[olkan]

Hello!

I've been on this thread for a while with my DD, and then supporting other moms. I've BF DD until 14 months old, and I poured 30 litres of frozen excess milk at the end. I always managed to get 8 oz every 4-5 hours, so as my daughter was eating more and more solids and taking less milk, I just kept pumping. DS is 8.5 months old now, I work for 2 months now, exactly the same pumping routine. Recently we all had a flu and DS was refusing to take a breast at night, sometime took bottle. Anyway, maybe because of illness, or overall fatique, my supply visibly dipped, and I can only get 5-6 oz every 5-6 hours. In the morning breasts feel soft and I can't get the full 12 oz as I used to if he wasn't eating much. I hardly make it for his day and I'm close to start defrosting some of the milk. This scared me hugely, as I'm about to go on 3 different business trips, and my frozen supply is not huge, I was hoping to at least keep adding to it, not taking from it. I do not want to put him on formula.
Never thought I;d ask the question (never had supply issues whatsoever), I'm drinking plenty of fennel tea and eat a lot, I pump until breasts are really really soft, and now they are just soft, they are not getting full if I'm late for pumping time.
Do I force him to eat at night? What else can I do to get my supply back?

Thanks all!

[Vicku]

What else can I do to get my supply back?

You could try Fenugreek Info here: http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/milksupply/fenugreek.html

[sarahjoy]

Bexandlucy - HUGS.  I know it is so hard to think about leaving your lo.  You wanted success stories so I thought I'd share mine.  I've been back at work full time since my lo was about 6 months old, he's just now 9 months.  It took us a good long while to get him on bottles, and everyone kept telling me that it would have to be someone other than me to train him on bottles I found that was not the case.  About a month before I went back to work I strated replacing one of his daytime feeds with a bottle, it was SLOW to make progress but eventually he got it.  I often had to remind myself to just stay calm, my mantra was "it's no big deal it's just a bottle, you can do it", had to say that to myself and sometimes to my lo!!  During that time I was pumping after his morning feed since I always seemed to have more milk to pump at that time and was able to freeze some too.  So don't give up on the bottles, or if you think your lo will transition to beaker or cup than keep trying that.  I've found that I have try things many more times than I think to get it to stick

I'd also never left my lo for more than a shower when I went back to work so the first day was really hard!  It gets better and easier each day.  As one of my friends likes to say, Mom's have a love hate relationship with working, you love to get dressed have a reason to brush your teeth and talk to grownups, but you hate being away from home and not getting to snuggle your lo all day.

Good luck!  Oh and ENJOY your time at home.  I know it's hard not to think about working but just enjoy it!

 

[sarahjoy]

Olkan - I've had 3 bouts of plugged ducts and mastitis and each time I've had to struggle to get my supply back up.  What I've done is for 3-5 days I've pumped every 2 hours all day and I've pumped atleast 15 minutes each time (I have a double electric pump).  This has always worked for me to get my supply back up, oh and I drink lots of water.  I was also told by a lactation specialist to keep pumping as long as you're getting little dribbles, hence the 15 minute pump sessions.  I hope that helps.  I've take 2 busincess trips in the last 3 weeks and it was hard to fit in pumping at a hotel but it was well worth it!

[Mama Kate]

Bexandlucy - I am in the same boat - going back to work in May when my LO will be 10 months.  I will have to travel for work but I am trying to put off my business trips until she is 12 months old so she can settle into her new routine with the nanny before I go away.  My little girl is also EBF and I never gave her bottles but I have recently been teaching her how to use sippy cups.  I use the Nuby straw type and she caught on really quick.  At the moment I just give her 30 or 40ml every second day at the start of a feed from the sippy cup, then finish her off on the breast.  I think I will start replacing daytime feeds with the cup a couple of weeks before I go back to work.  I'm nervous too but reassure myself by telling myself there are thousands of women who do it and make it work - when their LOs are much younger than ours too!  Let me know how it goes for you in April.

[ErinMPeacock]

I am sooooo stressed! DS is 5 months old and I have been back to work 2 days a week for 2 months for financial reasons. DS is EBF and I pump ton leave bottles when I'm gone. I feel like I spend my life either nursing, pumping or washing my pump! DD is 4 and I feel like she isn't getting the attention she needs. On top of that, DS's EASY is all messed up and it is so difficult to get him back on track when I am away from him. It is my sister and his godmother who care for him when I'm gone, but neither of them have kids and I'm sure they do their best to stick to the routine, but I'm not sure they are completely comfortable with my methods for sleep training. (If he wakes early I go in and put my hand on his back, only if his cry is "real". Sometimes this takes a while to get him back to sleep, and there is crying involved. I have found that pu/pd is way to stimulating for him). I feel like they may not spend the requisite amount of time to get him back down or maybe even go to him too soon and reinforce the behaviors I'm trying to change. I know I'm rambling, but I needed to get it out! I'm also so sick of people suggesting that maybe he's hungry every time he cries (which I know he's not). I am also frustrated when people suggest I switch to formula (there is nothing wrong with my supply). I intend to breastfeed for the first year, and people (including my mom and MIL) seem doubtful. It is annoying that people would suggest I switch to formula because it would be easier and "more convenient". Since when is raising a family about my convenience? I understand that a happy mom makes for a happy family, but I enjoy bfing and don't want to stop. The problem is every time I express my frustration to anyone (including DH) they make the suggestions/comments above. Why can't anyone just listen to me without offering unsolicited advice?!

[Khalam's Mama]

When you are at work and away from him  can youpump then and not waste time you would be with him? Do you have a freezer stash? Have your caregivers seen you working on his sleep so they get a good idea of what you do/don't respond to? Any chance they could/would read the Bw books? If you want to continue BFing then all the power to you. Many mum's do it. Esp when it is only 2 days a week. Maybe it will be easier when he is on solids as he can have that if he is hungry between feeds.