working/BFing moms-i need your help!

i go back to work tomorrow i have NO clue how to do this-

DS is a little over 4 months old. He nurses about 5x a day plus one 6oz bottle in the PM.
he is already on solids 2x a day-AM/PM
My work day is basically 8am-2:30pm (home by 2:45/3)

my questions are:
1. how many bottles would you leave? is one enough?
2. can i get away with pumping one time at work if i nurse 2x before work and about 3x after work before he goes to bed?

THANK YOU so much for your opinion/advice. i am terribly clueless as i have never done this before!

Re: working/BFing moms-i need your help!

What I did was figure out the eating schedule. S/he's hungry every 3-4 hours. Then I pumped at work using the every 3-4 hours.

I would try to pump at least 2x in the 6.5 hours, so your supply won't drop. Also before I went back to work, I was nursing one side & pumping the opposite side to increase my supply. My theory was supply & demand and as long as I could keep up the demand (even artificially), I'd be ok.

I dropped them off fully fed. I always left minimum 2 extra bottles for the time I was away. There was always a chance I could have a train delay or a bottle could spill.

Re: working/BFing moms-i need your help!

Hi; not sure I can help but...

my DS is 6.5 months & my work sked is basically the same...(although I leave earlier). I leave my MIL/mom 2 bottles (8am, 1:30 pm) & he's on solids 3x a day. I pump 1x a day at work at 1pm & it works out fine. (although I've been taking fenugreek to keep up my supply). Like Barb said, I'd definitely leave at least 1 extra bottle b/c you don't want that "nervous/OMG" feeling if you're at work & get that call that he's hungry & there's no milk.

Maybe try that schedule today & see how it goes

Message edited 11/30/2009 6:21:49 AM.

Re: working/BFing moms-i need your help!

DD is 3.5 months and i've been back to work for a few weeks now.

I work full time (8-4:30) and I leave 4 4oz bottles of BM. Sometimes all 4 are used, sometimes 3. If I were you, i'd leave enough for 2 feedings... it can always be used the next day if it's not used that day.

I BF DD at 7am before I leave for work and I pump 3x while at work (10am, 1pm and 4pm)... every 3 hours. Then I BF her when I get home at 5 and again before bed. She is not on solids yet.

I think you can get away with pumping 1x at work (i'm so jealous by the way! ) if you BF him right before work and right after.

Re: working/BFing moms-i need your help!

I work about the same schedule as you. I pump twice at work

He is 6 months but, he has always had two bottles at day care.

He nurses at
6 am
7:30 am
(goes to day care at 8;15)
A lot of cereal and fruit at 9:30
One bottle at 12:30
Fruit after that
Second bottle at 2:30
I am home by 3:30.


At four months he was taking a bottle around 10:30-11 and at around 2. No fruit for lunch. At that point he was taking about 8 oz total. Now he is at about 9 oz.

I have always pumped at 10;15am and at 12:30.. but, I am not the best responder to the pump. Both sessions only get me 7 oz. I still have to pump over the weekend and sometimes at night to get that extra 2-3 ounces I need each day.

It all depends how well you respond to the pump. At first I sent 3 bottles each day and I kind of monitored what he needed. The first two days he hardly ate at all. But, by the second week he had adjusted and was eating nicely.

Good luck and hang in there! It will all work itself out.

Re: working/BFing moms-i need your help!

THANK YOU all SOOOOO much for your very helpful replies! i am so grateful for your advice. i am not the best at pumping either so i am so worrried. anyway your repsonses are greatly appreciated and very helpful!

Re: working/BFing moms-i need your help!

DS wasn't on solids until 6 months. He ate every 3-4 hours and was at daycare for a full day. I'd nurse him in the morning and I sent 3 bottles to daycare. He usually finished the 3rd bottle by the time I picked him up. When he started solids, he'd get meals 30-60 minutes after a bottle.

I tried to pump as often as he ate so I could maintain my supply. Good luck!

Re: working/BFing moms-i need your help!

Today is my first day back at work and pumping while I'm away. In my case, DD is 11 weeks old and nurses 7x a day. She's missing 3-4 nursing sessions while I'm gone, but I'm pumping 3x at work to make up for it.

1. I would leave the number of feedings you're away from DS plus an extra bottle just in case.

2. I would pump the number of times you would normally would have nursed DS while you're away, unless you can get more milk in fewer sessions. Maybe twice in your case.

Good luck! I'm hoping I can keep up with DD's feedings while I'm gone. I'm so afraid of my supply tanking now that I've gone back to work.