[Alexander's Mommy]

Hey all... I'm hoping you can help me here because I haven't really found any decent answers elsewhere. Thanks to very generous maternity leaves here in Canada I am going back to work in two weeks when my son is 11 months old. I can't imagine how hard it is to go back to work when babies are just weeks old and I sympathize with anyone having to do that.

My question is how much breastmilk does my 11 month old need? He's never had formula, or cow's milk. So far, just me. I've been trying to pump and freeze milk for my husband to give my son while I'm at work, but truthfully... I stink at it. I've got about 24 ounces and over the past two weeks. It takes forever to get such a piddly amount unless I pump while he nurses... but then he inevitably kicks and spills it! LOL My son is eating all sorts of solid foods and loves his sippy cup full of water and just a flavouring of juice. Currently he nurses anywhere from 4 times a day to several times, depending on his mood and how busy he is. I'm not the least bit worried about him being hungry or thirsty while I'm at work but I want to make sure that he is getting enough milk. I plan to breastfeed him before I leave in the morning and as soon as I get home in the afternoon. And on demand in the evening. And of course right before bed or if he wakes up in the middle of the night (which currently he rarely does). So... a minimum of three times a day. I'd like to come home for lunch and nurse then too, but that's not always going to be possible and might make it hard for my husband to soothe him, if I'm here for half an hour and leave again.

So... my question is... do I really have to continue the pumping or is 3 (the minimum) sessions with mommy enough. We have discussed starting him on Whole milk during the 8 hours I'm not here, but I don't know if it's necessary or not. I just want reassurance that if I don't pump and don't supplement, he is getting enough nutrition. I'm also worried that he might start to self-wean or my milk will dry up if he constantly goes for 8 hour stretches during the day.

Anyone else wonder about this?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Laura :2bfbabe:

:

 

[LaughingHyena]

I'm also planning on going back to work soon, DD will be a year old. I'm hoping to pump for a little while at least but I think she would probably be fine with water or something while I'm away. It seems like many people stop pumping at work around a year and thier little ones carry on nursing when mum is around.

I'm aiming to pump enough for a morning and afternnon sippy, she's rarely intersted in milk at lunch time.

 

[stashalou]

My dd is 14 months and takes two 4 oz sippy cups of milk while I am gone. I recently switched those from breastmilk to cow's milk. Some days she takes less and I don't worry about it. I think at this age they can go the length of a workday without milk. I weaned from my pump during the work day over a period of about a month and have had no problems with supply to nurse her when we are together.

stashalou

 

[G&B'sMama]

My DS is 11 months also. He is now down to 4-6 oz. of breastmilk while I am gone. I have been at work since he was 8 weeks and he has more or less reverse cycled so he gets the majority of his breastmilk in the evening and at night and has never taken more than about 10 oz a day. When I noticed a couple months ago that he started to really cut back during the day when I was home I cut back a bit on pumping at work too. He has been a pretty enthusiastic eater since we introduced solids, so I don't worry about him going hungry. He is allergic to cow's milk, though, so we don't give him any dairy. I do have a pretty touchy milk supply, though, so I will probably continue to pump for another 6 months or so- just to make sure I don't lose my supply. I want him to be able to nurse when we are together for as long as he wants. Many women, though, are able to stop pumping or nursing during the day and have plenty of milk.

With my DD I went to work when she was 12 months old. She had already fallen into a pattern of nursing only in the morning and night, so I didn't even consider pumping. She also tolerated cows milk and would eat yogurt and cheese. She also weaned herself at 16 ½ months. I am pretty confident that DS will not wean early like that.

I would say that you should let the child lead- if DC still nurses often throughout the day do what you can to pump and feed that milk. Don't worry too much about the amount- many babies don't get any breastmilk at all at this age. If DC doesn't nurse much during the day, then you probably don't have to be so diligent. If you are nursing on demand when the two of you are together that should be enough for a one year old child.

 

[KC in KS]

My DD is only 8 months old, but I've worked since she was 3 months.

I would suggest trying to replicate his current nursing schedule. If nothing else, it'll make weekends more consistent for him. So, if he nurses four times during the period you'll be gone, plan on four bottles. Plus, I always provide one extra in case of a growth spurt. :LOL

I'd plan on 4 oz bottles at first, and if he regularly goes through the spare bottle you can move up to 6 oz.

I have a hard time building up a stash of EBM, too. It's just hard to pump and nurse both. Generally, I send DD to school with yesterday's pump proceeds. You'll just want to make sure you have at least a couple of days' worth in the freezer in case you have an "off day", or your son gets unexpectedly hungry.

For building up your stash, I have my best luck by pumping after DD goes to bed. I kind of simulate an extra feeding that way. Also, on the weekends I like to try to nurse DD early and then pump immediately afterwards, because I have enough milk first thing in the day to make it worthwhile.

Don't get too discouraged yet. You're actually going to need to build your supply some to support the bottles. Try to simulate your baby going through a growth spurt - frequent, small nursings. A couple of days of concentrated effort and you should be prepared.

HTH
KC

 

[kerc]

if you have limited luck with a pump, then I'd say have him drink something else when you're gone. Honestly having stressed over pumping and not getting enough I can say it is a lot of worry and my daughter was ok and didn't wean until I got pregnant...and then not until she was 30-ish months.

At 12 months I switched her to cows milk. I know some people have issues with cows milk, we are a dairy family so it wasn't a big deal for us. I stopped pumping on her birthday and we mixed 50/50 for a while until the stash was used up.

 

[katallen]

You might try scheduling a time everyday to pump and not starting early. I found that when I was pumping I had to do it at the same time daily or a little after otherwise I got barely anything. Also, it may work better to hand express your milk. I was trying to get up a store of milk so I hand expressed one side into a clean cup while dd nursed the other side and that worked very well.