Advice on pumping/formula

lounakin

I will be going back to work in January, only evenings. My baby will be a week short of 8 months. I never successfully pumped before, I tried but never could get enough supply so I ended up having to pump while someone was feeding her my milk that I'd painfully extracted all day long to get a few ml.
I haven't tried pumping in months and the idea of it makes me nervous. My supply is much more regular now than it was back then and I've no idea how to go about pumping so she would get her last feed of the day with a bottle.
A friend of mine told me to give her one bottle of formula so I can pump that feed but for some reason I'm scared to do that as not only is she not used to bottles, she's never had formula before.
Does anyone have any advice?

How Strange

lounakin if you're working in the evenings could you breastfeed her before you go to work? At 8 months she's definitely old enough to be nutritionally satisfied on 3-4 breastfeeds in 24 hours.

Babies are incredibly adaptable and you may find that she'll adapt to you being away from a certain time in the day so she'll ensure she gets her feeds in beforehand. When you're not there whoever is minding her can offer a sippy cup of water.

I went back to work full time during the day when my son was just over 6 months and I fed on demand when I was at home and he was very happy with that. My son rarely had a bottle from 6-11 months and by 12 months he was drinking cows milk from a sippy cup.

There's no need to pump to offer milk when you're not there or give a bottle of formula if you feed on demand when you're together.

lounakin

I'll probably work from 4 to 8 pm, so when I get back it'll be passed her bedtime, won't she be hungry without any diner? She's still refusing to eat solids, only little bites here and there through her mesh feeder. It's only a couple of weeks away, she'll hardly build up an appetite in such a short time.
She usually has milk around for and then before bed.

How Strange

lounakin don't underestimate the resourcefulness of babies! She will soon figure out that mammy leaves at x time so she has to get her feeds.

It's a bit of a leap of faith but isn't breastfeeding in general as you can't quantify and measure how much they take in.

I think it would be less stressful for you if you try it out and trust that she'll create a feeding pattern around the hours that you're available to her. If you're home at 8 or 9 then just feed on demand after that.

You could always keep a few cartons of formula on standby for emergencies but do you really want to introduce the habit of regular night time bottle feeding at such a late stage?

lounakin

The thing is we'd have to post-pone her bedtime, she usually goes down around 7:30... that's my issue. It's never worked out when we tried to make her sleep sooner or later than usual.

How Strange

I suppose you'll just have to try and see how everything works out on the first few evenings. If you are going to give formula I'd recommend using a sippy cup over a bottle.

Unfortunately it's trial and error as every baby is different so what works in one family may not work for another.

liliq

Honestly, don't panic about it. She will work herself around when you're there.
There's no need for bottles or pumping or formula or any of that crap, they would just add stress to life. R would never even take any of what I'd pumped and left for him, so much of it ended up down the drain.

lounakin

liliq wrote: »

Honestly, don't panic about it. She will work herself around when you're there.
There's no need for bottles or pumping or formula or any of that crap, they would just add stress to life. R would never even take any of what I'd pumped and left for him, so much of it ended up down the drain.

Actually the few weeks I pumped most of it also went down the drain too...
Thanks both of you for your precious advice! Never thought of it that way

Emcm

I always found pumping first thing in the morning worked best for me. My baby would take a good feed from one breast in the morning and be quite satisfied with that and then I would pump the other one and I always managed to get out a few ounces. Like you I struggled to get any during the day as he was a hungry boy and fed very regularly. I used to just freeze it and have it if I needed it it case of an emergency or something.

At least that way you could have a wee supply built up till you both find your feet and you settle into your new routine. Like the other ladies said baby may not even need it but it might reassure you to have some in stock just in case

Oral Slang

I went back to work in August, my little one was 9.5 months. I leave the house at 7.30am and don't get back until 5pm. At the beginning, I was pumping once during the day in work (around lunchtime) and leaving a bottle of milk for her. Within a month, she started refusing it, so now doesn't get any expressed milk at all. I used to pump after she went to bed at night too, if I needed extra milk etc. She now gets a bit of cows milk during the day while I'm gone, which she loves. I feed her before work, at 5 when I get in, going to bed & a billion times overnight haha.

If she's asleep by the time you get in, why not just pump that feed every evening, so she has her milk for the following evening. Seeing as you'll only be gone for 4 hours, there definitely shouldn't be a problem.

dahamsta

lounakin wrote: »

The thing is we'd have to post-pone her bedtime, she usually goes down around 7:30... that's my issue. It's never worked out when we tried to make her sleep sooner or later than usual.

Move it gradually, 5 or 10 mins at a time. She won't notice.