Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

Did you wean dc or just started with the bottle? I want to get Maddie on strictly on the bottle (with breast milk) but I don't know if it'll be traumatic for her if I just cut her off from the breast.

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

Why can't you continue to nurse her when you are with her? I fully agree with continuing for as long as you can but you will not produce milk the same as if you nurse her too. Have you pumped at all yet? I wasn't able to get even 5 ounces a day with pumping but nursed DS for 9 months (at night and in the mornings) even after I went back to work. I had to supplement since I wasn't able to pump enough to sustain him.

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

I continued to breastfeed while I was home and DH gave the bottle while I was at work.

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

I breastfed while I was at home, pumped at work and he took breastmilk in a bottle while I was away. He never really liked the bottle much, but he would take it.

Unless you want to stop breastfeeding for another reason, you don't have to stop when you go back to work.

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

our situations might be different because ds took bm from a bottle from when he was two weeks old... he was never really too attached to the breast... so i just nursed him when i was home and gave him a bottle when i was at work. it worked out just fine (it was the pumping that didn't work for me, but that's another story...).

maybe try adding one bottle feeding every couple days until she's exclusively on the bottle?

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

BFed DD when I was with her (early morning, evening, and night) and gave her bottles of formula while I was at work (so I didn't pump at work).

What's your bottle situation? Is DC taking one?

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

when my parents helped us ds's first month, i would pump after feeding him in the morning and my parents would use those bottles of bm if i had to go out or at night when they'd wake with him.

try adding a bottle each day to the routine, but pump in place of the feeding so u don't compromise ur milk

i pump at work and he's still nurses whenever i'm home

Message edited 3/19/2008 8:19:38 PM.

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

I introduced a bottle to DD when she was 3wks old so she can adjust to a different way of getting food. Dh gave it to her and she drank it like a champ. I continued to EBF when I was around and just pumped when I was at work. She had no problem taking a bottle from DH but the few times I tried giving her a bottle she gave me a hard time about it. She must have got a whiff of the fresh stuff and got annoyed at me.

Re: Moms who were EBF and had to go back to work...

She refused taking the bottle up until last week and then she started taking it. Then as of yesterday she was fighting me on it. I'm at my witts end, I just want to put her on the bottle so she stays with it. I wanted to know if I could cut her off cold turkey. I feel bad though. She loves the boob so much! I wish she could be interchangeable with the breast and the bottle. It would make my life a lot easier!