Back to work...pumping

[beckycook1]

Hello

My lg is ebf. She never took a bottle of expressed milk despite spending a fortune on every kind imaginable. I return to work in September when she will be 9.5 months. At the mo she has a bf when she wakes up, mid morning, mid afternoon and bedtime so on my working days (2 days a week) i will not be able to do her mid morning and mid afternoon feed. She will drink water happily from a cup so I hope she will drink her milk from a cup. I really do not want to give her formula but I am struggling to pump. I stopped pumping as she never drank it and now when I try I struggle to get 40ml. Is there anything I can do about this?

Also, I'm worried she will not get enough milk from the cup as she just sips it really. She does eat reasonably well and when I have left her with my husband for an afternoon she usually just eats and drinks water.

Thank you

[Martini~]

Hi Honey! I would be so worried as I am sure everything will be allright. Does she have any NFs right now?

In terms what I would do:
- in general kids need milk until at least 1yo at the amount of minimum 18oz a day but at 12mo it goes down to 12oz so really quite soon even 2 BF a day could be enough for her, it's just 1-2 months until 1yo for her
- around that age you could go to 3x times per day in terms of BF but I would keep 4x if you get back to work until 1yo so she can get more milk in two feeds even if this is only two days a week
- bottle is not a problem, cup is also very good; have you tried 360 cups or straw-cup; i also like normal cups like IKEA Frog cup which isn't a non-spill cup and it's easier for a baby to drink from it
- she can compensate what she misses when your are out on other 2 BF or at night - it's possible that kids get back/increase NFs when mum is back to work and stops BFs during day - so I wouldn't worry she won't have enough, the only problem you can have is that she will try to compensate in some ways
- in terms of pumping - it's happens that pumping is not easy for some; so it depends on you if you decide to do it; being honest right now when you pump when she eats, it's possible you can get small amounts, but if you would pump at work when her feeds were, you could get slightly more; it would be great probably if you can do it twice a day, so you can stimulate breast a bit more and get more milk
- I would say 40ml is also something! if you do it twice a day when you are at work it's 80ml and if she gulps it, hey - its still milk in her tummy:)
- if you still are not keen to pump I think it also could be fine - the only problem is that she may need more milk somewhere else during the 24h but if that's fine for you, just go with it.

Hope that helps!

[*Ali*]

Breast milk quantities tend to be quite different to formula or cows milk both in terms of how many feeds LO will need to get enough milk as well as how much milk they will typically need/want in total. There is some useful info on Kellymom about this. It states :

"Sometime between six months and a year (as solids are introduced and slowly increased) baby’s milk intake may begin to decrease, but breastmilk should provide the majority of baby’s nutrition through the first year. Because of the great variability in the amount of solids that babies take during the second six months, the amount of milk will vary, too. One study found average breastmilk intake to be 30 oz per day (875 ml/day; 93% of total intake) at 7 months and 19 oz (550 ml/day; 50% of total energy intake) at 11-16 months.

Several studies have measured breastmilk intake for babies between 12 and 24 months and found typical amounts to be 14-19 oz per day (400-550 mL per day). Studies looking at breastmilk intake between 24 and 36 months have found typical amounts to be 10-12 oz per day (300-360 mL per day)."

http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/milkcalc/

I think it would be very difficult for a 9.5mo to get what they need from from less than 3 or 4 feeds in 24hrs. If you don't want to offer formula then really the only choice is to pump, even if it is just a couple of ounces a day. As PP says you will likely get a lot more from pumping once you are missing feeds while at work. Have you tried pumping in the evening just before you go to bed? If your LO is STTN without feeds that might be a good time to add in a pumping session without affecting her feeds. You could also consider a dream feed to fit in an extra feed. As Martini says it isn't long before you get to 12mo and then you could easily get away with a morning and BT feed probably if LO is taking sufficient solids.

I'd try different cups. A straw cup can be good for EBF babies. If LO won't drink the milk you pump you could try using it in foods like on cereal. Depending on your working hours it might be possible to feed when you get in and then again at LO's BT if that would be a couple of hours apart.

[Shiv52]

Honestly for 2 days at work I wouldn't worry too much. What time do you finish work?  Can you fed as soon as you pick up and then still do bedtime feed?

[zissi]

I can second what others have said. your baby will be fine as long as you pump in work and she most likely will take some from a cup or something. I worried myself silly about going back to work at 11 months. my LO never took a bottle either but I introduced water in a sippy cup (the cheap one from tommy tippy) and she used to take only small quantities. when i went back toward she would drink EBM from it no problem. the DF option is a good idea too.
I used to feed when we got home around 4.30pm and then again at 6.30pm for BT and then in the morning again. honestly your baby will be fine and she probably will feed more on the days you are at home.

[*Ali*]

Sorry, I misaid that you said it is only 2 days a week you will be away from her. In that case I think it would balance out over the week as long as she can feel satisfied with solid foods on your work days.