work & breastfeeding question

[dziwozony]

okay, so my wee man is 8 months old & i have had the priviledge of being with him full time thus far, so he's had unlimited access to the breast. he likes to feed fairly often, though sometimes we'll have 5 hour stretches if we're busy doing stuff in town or something. pretty soon i'll have to start looking for a part-time job. i'm trying to put it off until he's 12 months old, but it might be before that.

my question is this: if i'm away from him for two full days a week & on those days he only nurses morning & night (throughout the night usually because we cosleep), what will happen to my milk supply? not sure what my job will be like yet, so i don't know how pumping will go. i'm guessing i'd probably get engorged if i didn't pump at all? (he'll have to have formula during those days because i can only manage to pump a small amount...he already has it sometimes...i've come to terms with it even though i'm way into breastfeeding!) if he's nursing often the other days, will those 2 days still make the supply go down? will this encourage weaning?? cause i want to go for at least 2 years...

any advice from anyone who's done something like this? thanks! =)

[turtlewomyn]

One of my friends and coworkers bf'd her daughter for a year, she returned to work at 12 weeks pp and pumped until her dd was about nine months old (when work got so hectic that she couldn't do it anymore, it was sort of a seasonal thing). She continued to nurse at night and on weekends (this was working full time, five days a week) and she did say she felt a bit engorged by the end of the day. She used formula while she worked and never had a problem with supply.

I also pumped, and pumped until DD was 12 months old. I gradually weaned off the pump (going from four pumping sessions a day at 12 weeks to 1 session a day at 11 months) and stopped pumping completely. She and I still nurse on the weekends and at night, and I don't pump at work. She is 27 months old now. I do sometimes leak at work, like yesterday, in a meeting (DD didn't nurse yesterday morning, so I was a bit more full than usual). It is good to wear breastpads for a while.

Good luck!

[LilMomma83]

I think it will be more that you are uncomfortable, if he is still nursing a ton on the other days your supply should be ok.

I am a student and don't really have a way to pump at school so I pump before I leave, as soon as I get home and I carry a small storage bottle with me and if I am feeling full I just go to a bathroom stall and hand express enough to take the pressure off at least.

When I was working FT I had supply issues from being away so much - but it always came back over the weekend when DS nursed like crazy so I really think your supply will be fine

[Thalia]

I would try to avoid using formula if you can help it. Keep in mind that it takes time to increase your supply for pumping, especially while your child is still with you and nursing. At least it did for me. Have you tried supply-boosters like oatmeal or fenugreek tea? Are you watching out for things that decrease your supply (like peppermint?).

At first I was only able to get an ounce or less out of each breast when pumping, but now it's usually 2-3 ounces out of each breast if the baby has just nursed, and even more if I am at work away from the babe. You can also pump on the days you are home to store up fresh milk for the two days you are away, since fresh milk is good for a week in the fridge. This also will help boost your supply. That's exactly what I'm doing right now, in fact: I pump enough fresh for two days away from DD, and her grandparents can supplement with frozen breastmilk if she wants more than I have already pumped. I take the milk I pump while I'm away and use it for the next day if I'm working that day, or if not, I add it to my freezer stash.

Good luck!