Community› The Bump Message Boards› Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding
New Discussion

Going Back to Work at 11 months old

MamaInMNMamaInMN member
in Breastfeeding
I am hoping you ladies can help me puzzle through this.

LO and I have been through everything in terms of my supply in the past 10 months.  She had a poor latch, severe jaundice (sleepy eater), pumping/supplementing around the clock, lip/tongue tie releases, acupuncture, chiro, 6 LCs, craniosacral therapy, domperidone - you name it, we've done it in order to be able to continue BFing.

I have stayed at home with her and the past few months have been so rewarding - my supply is finally pretty stable, her latch is finally not painful.  She gulps down milk. We both enjoy it and it's no longer a source of stress.  

So I will be returning to work in about a month and I've made the decision not to pump.  I'm a teacher and at best I'd be able to pump twice a day.  My body just does not respond to the pump.  Even when I pump every day, the most I ever get after 20 minutes is 2 ounces (I've tried power pumping, etc).  I know that every drop counts but for the sake of my sanity, I don't want to go back to breastfeeding being a source of stress.  I know how discouraging pumping is to me and I'd rather not go through that. 

Our pediatrician has given us the thumbs up to give LO whole cow's milk at 11 months when I return to work.  So my question is, how should I make that transition?  Do I just start day one when I go back to work?  Or should I slowly start giving her WCM now and increase the amount over the next month?  I plan to continue nursing her as much as possible in the morning and evenings.  She eats 3 meals of solids a day now - by 11 months, will she be pretty close to being able to get most of her calories from solids?

Thanks in advance!
Report Reply to Post

Re: Going Back to Work at 11 months old

  • mommatotwo2mommatotwo2 member
    Congrats on making it this far, it sounds like you have had quite the struggle!

    I would not start on the day you go back to work and I say this because my LO ended up being intolerant/maybe allergic to milk in it's straight form. She had been completely fine with cheese and yogurt for 3.5 months to that point and I have not been dairy free the entire time we've been breastfeeding (since birth). It's probably rare, but I'd probably not risk it.


    Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • MamaInMNMamaInMN member
    @mommatotwo2 - I didn't even think about that because she has been just fine with me eating dairy and yogurt, cheese, etc!  Good point though - thanks so much!
    Report Reply
  • mommatotwo2mommatotwo2 member
    Sorry, I totally don't mean to freak you out! My LO is a bit of mystery, we can't figure out why she'd be sensitive to straight milk and no other dairy!

    It's most likely not going to happen that way for you (thankfully!), I just didn't want you to try giving it to her your first day back and end up with a problem! Better to gradually give it to her now, working up to a full transition by a year.

    BTW- I've been nursing just morning, after work, and before bed for about 3 weeks now, and so far so good! :) You can do it!
    Lilypie Second Birthday tickers Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • MamaInMNMamaInMN member
    Oh you didn't freak me out, just gave me something to think about - thanks!  That's very helpful to hear how often you are nursing.  I think that's the biggest part I get confused about because right now she's still nursing about every 2 hours when she's awake (give or take, of course).  
    Report Reply
  • MamaInMNMamaInMN member
    @milkergirl1 I don't have a freezer stash but will start building one up once we move (we're moving across states for this new job). I doubt I'll be able to build up more than 30oz or so before I start working though.  That's helpful to hear that it took you about a week to transition.

    I certainly could try to pump during lunch but I would only get about an ounce I'm guessing.  So I'd have to supplement it somehow anyway. It just doesn't seem worth it because I know how discouraging it is to pump and only get drops at a time. 

     
    Report Reply
  • opheliainwadersopheliainwaders member
    I would probably also try giving WCM with meals first to see what she does with it. DD has refused to drink anything at all besides BM, water, and an occasional smoothie (I make with yogurt). She also started dropping feeds right around 11m, and upping her solids intake. She went from about 8-9 nursing sessions per day to 3-4 when I'm working, 5 when I'm home.

    Anyway! Very long way to say that we've been OK just nursing a few times a day, and making sure she has plenty of food/water while we're apart. It's actually been really nice to have BFing be something that we want to keep doing and have it be a bit more casual, if that makes sense?

    (I checked in with the pedi after she refused all milk in any container, including bottles, and she said that they don't NEED to drink milk, but it is a convenient source of calories. So don't freak out too much if she doesn't want milk that isn't straight from the boob!)
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
  • MamaInMNMamaInMN member
    @theresat858  I know how much I'll pump because I've done it. Even just a week ago, I had to be away from LO for a licensing test.  I was gone for 5 hours, pumped twice and only got one ounce total.  

    I'm honestly not worried about being engorged or plugged ducts because we've had a few (rare) situations where LO has skipped nursing sessions and I've never even felt full.  I guess I could bring my manual pump just in case but I will literally only have lunch breaks to pump so the most I could is once a day.

    Knowing that LO only needs 3 nursing sessions at that age is helpful and reassuring - thank you!
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"