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BFers that went back to work...

HappycoupleHappycouple member
in Success after IF
Im gong back to work when DS is 6 months old.  I BF still evry 2-3 hours.  He sometimes get BM in a bottle if I am out.  Anyways, I want to continue giving him BM, but obviously wont have enough frozen to give him BM all day, every day in a bottle.  Should I start easing him by introducing a bit of formula?  He will HAVE to have formula in addition to the BM as I wont have enough bottles for him.  I plan to pump at work to keep my supply up and I guess save the milk i pump during the day.  Regardless I just dont know HOW i should transition to formula.  Should I just give him a bottle of formual here and there and then when Im out just have them alternate bottles of BM and formula all day long??  Thanks
Severe MFI resulting in IVF/ICSI #1 in Nov 2007. BFP!!
Our beautiful son was born July 2008.
2010: 2 IVF's,1 FET = 2 BFN's, 1 c/p :(
Feb 2011-Unmedicated FET= BFP!! DS #2 born Oct 2011!!.



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Re: BFers that went back to work...

  • lrrblrrb

    I have no idea...I don't BF but I wanted to say that your son is so freaking cute!!!!  I love his outfit - my girls have the same thing (in a girly form of course) and its soooo cute!!!

    Anyways good luck with your question, like I said I have no idea haha!!! 

     

    "I have four children. Two are adopted. I forget which two. -Bob Constantine

    "All for Love,' a Saviour prayed 'Abba Father have Your way. Though they know not what they do...Let the Cross draw men to You...."

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  • LucyPevensieLucyPevensie member

    I feed pumped bm and formula.  Just introduce it slowly - you can even mix bm and formula and introduce it that way (but the way you mix bm and formula is to add bm AFTER the formula has already been prepared correctly - you never substitute bm for water if you are mixing powder and water.)  I use ready to feed liquid formula that doesn't require any mixing (no powder or water) - I have done bottles with half formula, half bm - and Jack also takes bottles of just plain formula. 

    You may also find once you start pumping at work that you can build a stash - and may not need to keep giving formula if you can catch up within a week or so of being back to work.  GL to you!!   

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    "When it comes to sleeping, whatever your baby does is normal. If one thing has damaged parents enjoyment of their babies, it's rigid expectations about how and when the baby should sleep." ~ James McKenna, Ph.D., Mother Baby Behavioral Sleep Center, University of Notre Dame

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  • candmcandm

    Sorry, I missed something in your post b/c I didn't understand how you know you'll need to supplement? If you're providing him wiht sufficient BM now why would you need to supplement when you go back to work? What you pump should roughly equal what you were giving him before.

    Also, some babies (like my daughter) naturally cut back on the BM intake while mom's at work and then make up for it when mom is home.

    Up until last week, I pumped once at 10 am, went home and fed DD at lunch, and then pumped again at 3 pm. Although I stopped pumping recently, I still nurse DD in the mornings, at lunch and at night.

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  • AvaLikeLavaAvaLikeLava member

    Our lactation consultant recommended to start pumping 20min after DS' morning feed. Start saving that amount for when I returned to work. It wasn't much, but it was retraining my body to introduce another feeding.

    I did that each morning and then I added another "feed" at 10 each evening. Slowly it adds up.

    I'm really glad I have the milk stash now too because I just don't pump enough during the day at work to provide for what he needs to take in.

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  • HappycoupleHappycouple member
    True--that makes sense.  i guess I was just thinking I would not have enough BM pumped to cover all his feedings because I cant imagine pumping at work every 2 hours.....
    Severe MFI resulting in IVF/ICSI #1 in Nov 2007. BFP!!
    Our beautiful son was born July 2008.
    2010: 2 IVF's,1 FET = 2 BFN's, 1 c/p :(
    Feb 2011-Unmedicated FET= BFP!! DS #2 born Oct 2011!!.



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  • meringue57meringue57 member

    I went back to work when DS was 3 months old and have continued to be able to feed him BM exclusively.  Not that I don't think every day that I'm going to run out...I just haven't yet.  :)

    During the days that I'm at home with him, he eats every two hours roughly, as well.  I don't pump that often at work.  More like I pump three times a day at work, usually around 9:30, 1:00 and 4:00 p.m.  Then I go home and he BF for the rest of the evening.

    One way I've been able to keep my supply going is to pump in the middle of the night (usually early morning) after one of his feedings.  He only eats off one boob at a time at night, so once he's done, I head out to the living room and pump the other side.  The pump isn't nearly as efficient at getting milk out of the boob, so he seems to get plenty when he wakes up a few hours later and eats off the boob I pumped off of last.

    HTH - it's a really daunting thing, but so far it's working...we'll see what happens when I go back to school at the end of this month! ;)

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