Breastfeeding
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Going back to work
Anyone have any advice on how to prepare to go back to work? LO is currently 7 weeks and I will be going back to work in 3 weeks. I have been trying to pump as much as I can and get about 8 extra ounces a day to freeze. I currently have about 80 oz. I am really worried I won't have enough milk for him. I have my husband feed him a bottle at night and he eats about 3 oz. What are other mother's experiencing and any tips for transitioning back to work? Do you do any supplementing? Do you breastfeed or bottle feed at home?
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Re: Going back to work
I went back a little later (5 months) but the transition really wasn't very difficult. As pp's said, 80 oz is fine. You really only need enough for the first day - you'll get so much more when you're pumping to replace a feeding.
At 5 months when my son started he was eating 4oz and eating every 3 hours. So I sent in four 4oz bottles (3 for the time I was gone and an extra just in case). He ate all 4 bottles. This continued the entire time he was on bottles, and was a battle I was constantly facing. I pumped twice at work and once before bed, and nursed at home before and after daycare. But those 3 pumping sessions weren't enough for 4 bottles, so I ended up having to dip into my freezer stash. I added a couple more pump sessions (one on the way to work, and on weekend mornings) and was able to make enough to keep him on breastmilk until he was 13 months.