Supply after 10 months?

[anna*]

Hi there - when Stan's 10 months I'll be going back to work part time in an office. At the moment he is in childcare two days per week but because I am at home I can express as often as I want/need to so he has EBM for his milk feeds while he is at nursery.

When I go back to the office (it will be 3 days per week), I really don't think I'm going to want to express twice a day. It's so time-consuming and I actually quite hate it. I've been told that by that stage I should be able to BF his milk feeds when I'm with him, and he'll have formula for those feeds when I'm not there, and my supply should be able to cope with that. I'll BF his first morning feed and before bed feed every day.

Does this sound right? It seems counter-intuitive to me.

anna
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[Samuel's mum]

It is sooo hard to say as everyone's supply behaves differently. I would be concerned about your breasts as much as your supply i.e on those 3 days with a long interval you would be more likely to get blocked ducts and mastitis. You might not want to express twice a day but just once might really make a difference and reduce the need for formula. Or even just 2 minutes of hand expressing to reduce some discomfort and provide some stimulation.
What you are describing is possible but it is hard to say.
What hours will you be working?

[anna*]

I hadn't even thought of that, doh! Last weekend Stan stayed with his Granny overnight for the first time so I missed out giving the bedtime BF and the dreamfeed - I woke up at 7.30am in a puddle of milk!

I'll be dashing off to work at 7am, immediately after waking Stan and feeding him (DH will get him ready for nursery and take him) and I'll leave work at 4.30 to get back to pick up Stan at 5.15.

Is it a legal requirement that we can request privacy and time to express milk? It sounds really silly, but I've got a meeting with my bosses tomorrow about my return to work and I'm sort of embarrassed to ask them about it, because they are both older men. (although they both have children themselves). It is just that it is a small company in an open plan office and I know it is going to be logistically difficult to find that private space with a lockable door which I can have access to every day.

Just thinking aloud here. I'm intending to keep giving Stan his first and last feeds of the day til he's at least one, so maybe if he has formula for his 2 daytime feeds that won't be too bad. I guess it's possible that he will have dropped a milk feed by then (10 months) anyway? It would just suit me better if I didn't have to faff about with bottles on my days with him because I am lazy and it makes for more washing up!

anna
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[Samuel's mum]

7am to 5.15pm - I think you are going to need to pump really.
Don't be embarrassed. It's worse to have to ask for time off because you've got mastitis. We also know that working mums who have babies receiving breastmilk are less likely to need to take sick days to look after their babies - it's in their interests. When you speak to them I would say something like - "Can I leave you with something to think about? You don't have to resolve this now. I will be using a breastpump to express some milk for my baby while I am at work so can you consider where it would be best for me to do that? Ideally I would have access to a sink and a place to sit down privately. I need to do it x number of minutes x times a day."

Click on the guide to new and expectant mothers on this page. Providing a room in the UK is not 'the law' but it is "strongly encouraged" by the health and safely executive and considered good practice. The booklet suggest you provide written notification that you will be breastfeeding and pumping so if you feel super shy you could always put it in a letter and give them a chance to think about it.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/WorkAndFamilies/DG_065153

You do have a legal right to "rest facilities" if you are breastfeeding. This literally means a place to rest but some take it to mean a room where you would obviously hope to pump - although that isn't specified.

There is an NHS leaflet which is intended for you to print off and show your employers:
http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/en/materialforclients/downloads/leaflet_4.pdf

[mummy_bec]

I know it's different in every case but when I went back to work when my toddler was 6 months I found that I had to pump at least once a day to be able to keep up my supply because my breasts adjusted to not giving the 11 and 3 oclock feeds really quickly. I also found that the dreamfeed was handy to keep the supply up because then you're still giving 3 feeds a day. I actually kept the dreamfeed up longer than necessary for the sole purpose of helping my supply. After I stopped pumping in the middle of the day and went to just two feeds I managed to last until he was 15 months before it got to the stage where there just really wasn't enough milk to make a decent feed anymore and I was pregnant so then I stopped.

I was embarassed about asking about expressing also but when I did found the male supervisor I spoke to surprisingly accomodating and chatty about his experiences with helping his wife with breastfeeding! I don't know what your boss will be like but fingers crossed for you.

Good luck with your feeding.

[anna*]

Oh rats, I hadn't even thought about the dreamfeed! We've been bringing it forward gradually and he's now having it at 9 and I am just about ready to drop it and see if he will sleep through!? Do you think I should keep it up? Argh wish I didn't have to go back to work 

anna
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[15milner]

I work 2 days a week.  I bf at 7 when I wake Andrew and again at bedtime.  I don't pump when at work as like you i've never liked it, it's way too stressful for me and i'd never be able to relax enough to get a letdown at lunchtime at a primary school and I don't really fancy pumping in my classroom or the staffroom, the only other available room would be the headteacher's office .  Andrew is now 14mths, and to keep up with things, I still bf 4 times a day and the odd 'snack' feed inbetween too.

andrew has formula for those times I'm not there and I bf when i'm not working.  It took a little while to adjust and I did end up dashing to the loo a couple of times, mug in hand to express a little.  I always made sure I wore my nursing bras to work so I didn't pinch the breast tissue in a normal bra. 

Alex