Can I Keep Nursing

Could you pump? I've been pumping since my daughter was 3 months old. If you can do that, I'd do that and avoid the formula all together.

Definately keep nursing! Does he currently drink formula? If not - you can pump & mix it with the formula so he adjusts easily to it. But I did the same with my daughter - breastfed her when we were together and she got formula during the day. Its definately possible and congrats for breastfeeding this long! Oh and your supply will adjust to the difference. I would be fine all day and then about an hour before I picked up my daughter I would start to "fill up" so that I was ready for when I got her at the end of the day. We nursed when I picked her up, a way to reconnect after such a long day away, then quickly agian before dinner and then again at bed. Good Luck!

I had a similar situation when my son was 8 months. He had been in daycare for a few months and I was providing expressed milk but I wasn't able to pump enough so we supplemented with formula for 1 or 2 bottles a day. I continued to nurse morning and night, without any issue until he was about 13 months, when he started to lose interest.

Your body usually adjusts very well to your child's needs, but you may need to be prepared to do some occasional pumping during the first week or so, in case you find yourself getting engorged during the day.

I think it really depends on your body and it couldn't hurt to try! I nursed exclusively for 4 months before returning to work. After that, I tried to nurse in the morning, pump once around noon and then nurse again in the evening before bed. Unfortuately, my body didn't take the adjustment well. The first week I was over producing because my body was still creating milk for when it thought my baby was going to feed. After it figured out that I didn't need all that milk, my body went into complete remission. At noon I was barely able to produce and ounce and a half on each side. I started to suspect that my morning and evening feedings were turning into more of a snack than a meal for my daughter so I threw in the towel. I hope you have better luck than me!

D.,

My daughter is now 14 months and quit nursing at a year, she was back in day care taking formula at 6 months old. First I gave the day care 2 bottles and I would visit her at lunch to give her my own snack so she would see that I wasn't abandoning her while nursing her all other times she was with me. After a few weeks I only nursed her while she was out of day care and then once she really depended on solid foods I would only nurse her in the morning and at night and then again it went down to only nursing her at night before bedtime until she reached a year when we finally decided it was time to move to milk.

So my suggestion to you is to gradually move your son over to formula while still nursing as often as possible and then gradually make the transition to nursing only at home - he will catch on real quick and make your nursing time that much more special!
Good Luck!
L.

hello D.,
i congratulate you on breasfeeding your baby up to now. From my personal experience,when I stopped pumping (at work) for my son & started him on soy milk during the day. I had no problems with milk supply when i was with him evenings and on weekends. So keep up the good work & your son will continued to flourish.

Hi,

I think the only way to keep nursing in your situation is to pump when your child would normally eat, while you are away from your child at work. You should also try to feed him each morning and evening and on weekends. What will you do with all the pumped milk? Why not have him take this at daycare instead of or in addition to formula? You can also mix the two. If you don't pump while at work, your milk supply will diminish over time.

Good luck!
D.

I'm just not clear on why you don't want to pump an dhave him take breastmilk. If you want to keep nursing, you do want to keep your supply up, and pumping and sending the milk with him will help with that.

I nursed part-time when I went back to work. I nursed in the morning before work, when I got home from work and before bed and the rest of the time my daughter got formula when she was at day care. (I did not pump at work.) I did this for nine months. I hear not all babies will do this though. Sometimes they decided they like formula better or vice versa.

Good luck!

K.

I am a mom to 5 beautifull children. I just want to put your mind at ease. It is possible to continue to nurse your son when you are with him. Your body will adjust to the decreased demand by producing less milk. If you keep a regular schedule you will only produce milk when you are with your son. Although it may take a while to get your body used to the schedule. You may want to start the schedule a week or two ahead of the time when you plan to go back to work. I did work with my fourth child while I was still nursing, but I continued to pump while I was away. When I get ready to wean my children I only nurse them acouple times a day and had no problem with excess milk if I decreased by one feeding a day. I hope this has helped to relive your mind some.

L.

You can absolutely continue to nurse! If your milk supply is steady, you will just need to pump periodically throughout your work day and that will a)give you some milk stores that you can send to daycare and/or freeze and b)continue to keep your milk supply available. I did the same with my daughter and while your supply may slow down b/c the demand isn't there as often, you should still be able to nurse in the evenings, etc. Good luck!!!

I think you should keep going if you want to. I was a 'high producer' as well - and am in month 12 of breast feeding my first (and have tried to stop twice). I have tapered off to mornings and before bed - but his "day" bottles are formula or frozen milk, depending on where he is. I drink a lot of water, but indeed - the system still works! Good luck to you!

Hi D.,

I agree with the other moms about pumping while you are at work to help with your milk supply. (The Medela Pump-in-Style is pricey, but it worked really well for me.)

Is there a particular reason that you choose to send him with formula rather than breastmilk? I ask because with you pumping, you can send him with some breastmilk either by itself or in addition to formula.

I'm sure he will be happy to nurse with you - that bonding time is pretty special, and my guess is that he will still need that closeness with you.

Good luck!

S.

Absolutely you can do both :)

Have you considered pumping at work to help keep up your supply? Even if you don't intend to pump enough to send with him to day care, two fifteen minute sessions with a hand pump during the day will keep your breasts accustomed to producing milk.

Is it possible to pump during the day and send breast milk to daycare? It will keep your routine going when you're away from each other, keep your supply up and save money on formula. Most childcare settings are fine with moms bringing in breast milk (there's lots of good little systems for storage etc), so I don't think that should be a problem. But if formula is the only option for you, it still should be okay as babies get more from nursing than "food"...its the bonding and closeness that is achieved with it. When he's with you, he should still be interested in nursing...babies know that when Momma's there, that means no bottle and nice cuddle time nursing. Even babies that are using a cup will still interested in being breast fed. It actually will be harder for him to switch to a bottle during the day than it would be to have him nurse when he's with you. Good luck with it all! I know how hard it is, and we struggled at times with it...but stay relaxed about it and go with what your baby's the most comfortable with.

Since you have such a great nurse supply, why don't you pump and he can have bottled breast milk in daycare and then you nurse when you are home. My son nursed for his first year and I would pump so his dad could give him bottles when I was at work. He was fine with the bottle and there was no interuption in nursing. Good luck!

Absolutely. Your body produced milk on a demand and supply system -- it supplies when there is demand. If you feel like you can pump, that's definitely an option, and I would definitely suggest doing it for at least the first while so that you don't get engorged -- it's very painful.

I nursed my son until he was 3 years old. I did this even though his father and I are divorced, and he spends roughly half his time with his dad. This means that I would regularly go a day or two without seeing him and nursing. I would pump whenever I felt like I was getting too full, but didn't really have much problem with milk supply.

My daughter is now a little over 3 years old and still nursing twice a day -- morning and bedtime. I don't think I have much milk anymore, but I think that has just as much to do with the fact that I'm 14 weeks pregnant than anything else.

Its def not all or nothing. Plenty of women supplement for a variety of reasons (I did bc I hate to pump) and have it work for them. Just remember that if you are not pumping and the child is taking a bottle your milk will start to dry up. Its all about supply and demand. Maybe you can nurse your child in the morning b4 work, right when you get home and at bedtime- your body will become used to that schedule and will produce milk for those times.
Good Luck!!

D. my name is B.. i seen many woman go back to work . you still can give him breast milk . you neeta brast pump you fill the bottles and send them with him i am sure thety will keep the breat milk cold. good luck
B.

When I went back to work after both my boys, I would nurse first thing in the morning, lying down. It was a wonderful way to wake up. Then I'd get ready for work and head out. When I got home from work we would nurse again, about 6:30 am & pm. I would empty both sides each time we nursed. If he only nursed on one side, then I'd pump the other. But in general, it was easy on both of us and a wonderful experience. My body adjusted to the 12 hour cycle and just didn't produce milk until I needed it.
If you're already nursing successfully, you should have no problems making the change, I found it to be a nice slow step before weaning.
Enjoy you little boy!
-C.

D.,

From what I understand, you can still nurse at certain times of day and give formula at the other feedings. Your body will adjust to the schedule but go slow in removing the nursing times so you don't get engorged. Your body will still make milk for the times you want to nurse if you are consistent about it. Good luck!

T.

I never had any luck pumping no matter what I tried, I nursed my daughter from 6 months only morning and night after I went back to work and after about a week my body adapted and I only produced milk at those times for the most part, it worked out well for about 2-3 months. Good luck.

I am. My daughter will be 1 on Monday. I exclusively bf for 7 months and pumped at work (I work full time). I started giving her formula at around 8 months because I had to lay off my assistant and couldn't pump consistently enough anymore to make it work.

Long story short, She gets bottles of formula all day at daycare and even on the weekends. She still breastfeeds at night, in the middle of the night and in the morning before we get ready. My breasts don't seem full like when I was exclusively breastfeeding but she still swallows and gulps and has bf curdles in her poop so I know she's getting some.

I think your body adjusts to the demand, whatever the demand is, as long as it's every day in some capacity. I would just get to the end result you are looking for gradually. Don't just stop. I slowly cut out one pumping a day at work, over about a months time.

Good luck to you!

By all means you can keep nursing him as much or as little as you'd like, for as long as you'd like. If your supply has been good so far, I think it will be an easy transition. You may get engorged during the day for a while, but your supply will adjust. You may have to "relieve the pressure" at first if it gets too uncomfortable.

Is there a reason why don't you pump milk and supply the daycare with it and pump on your breaks at work? If not, then I would do that.

I pumped at work and nursed at home. It was a good way to wean myself off of breastfeeding because I found with my two boys that the times I was pumping kept getting later and later resulting in less pumping and eventually no pumping. Just like your baby sleeping through a regular feeding, your body just adjusts. I breastfeed until my boys were in daycare (at 6 months) and kept pumping and breastfeeding at night until they were almost a year. As my milk supply lessened, I supplemented the milk with formula so that what my boys got changed slowly from 100% breast milk to 100% formula. I found that still being able to breastfeed after returning to work made me feel better about my situation. I think you should feel good about giving your child breastmilk for as long as you can. As an aside, my two boys have both been in daycare since 6 months and now (they are 6 and 3) they are so well behaved and like being at school...and don't think they don't have the ability to explore on their own or entertain themselves because they do.

Best of luck!

Your body will do amazing things and adjust to the frequency and amount of nursing you are able to do. If you nurse on demand, it will fluxuate, like when your baby has a growth spurt. But you will find that the less you nurse or pump, the less milk you will produce in the long run. If you are not pumping or nursing, your body will eventually take the cue and slow down production, but it will not stop as long as you nurse at a regular time otherwise. When my two kids were close to a year and already drinking milk, I would nurse in the morning and at night/bedtime and occassionally at nap. This was more a comfort than true nutritional value at this age.

If you are worried that you are not producing enough milk, you can certainly supplement with formula. But I found that the more often I nursed or pumped, the more my milk supply would ramp up. Or you can even mix the breastmilk with formula. I found that my kids had a hard time transitioning to formula or milk, so I would mix it 50/50 with pumped breastmilk and they got used to the taste, eventually changing the ratio until it was 100% milk or formula.

Are you concerned about not being able to pump during the work day? It can be hard and tiring, but even if you are able to pump at lunch, or once before lunch and once in the afternoon, you'll likely have enough milk for several feedings. You can store the milk in small bottles or bags and the daycare center should have no problem using. Or you can freeze and save for when you need to go out at night or have a sitter.

I hope it works out for you, but it didn't for me. My milk supply was always a little low when I pumped, so it'll probably work out better for you than it did for me. I think that you might need to pump while at work so that your supply will stay strong (and then you could still nurse on weekends/when you're off from work).
As for the formula being given to him part of the time, you might want to slowly introduce the milk and formula together. My daughter wouldn't take the formula at first, so I SLOWLY introduced 1/2 ounce of formula to four ounces of milk. I increased the amount by a 1/2 once a day until she was on all formula. It's a pain in the neck to do it that way, but I didn't know what else to do.
Just a bit of advice...I stopped nursing shortly after I returned to work (my daughter was almost eight months) and I had some mood swings that were tough to deal with. I assumed that it was only because I was upset about returning to work at first, until I read about the hormone swings that disrupt your moods after stopping breastfeeding. Of course it is managable, but it's helpful to know why you feel like Cybil!!! Best of luck to you. I hope it goes well!

yes you can!

I did the same thing with my 3 month old who responded well to both types of food. You can mix breast milk and formula together so the transition is not has bad. I would recommend that you try to pump at least 2x while at work so you can still maintain your supply.
Also, what worked for me was the feed my daughter as soon as I say her to reconnect for the both of us.

Good luck and keep positive.
G.

I was able to do both, but in order to keep my milk supply up, I needed to pump regularly when I wasn't nursing. Your employer should provide you with a place you can go to do that.
(The added bonus of this is you could send the pumped breast milk to the daycare for feedings if you choose, also.)
I personally didn't have any problem with my children taking both the breast AND the bottle.

Yes you can! My old supervisor continued to breast feed while with her child. She came back to work full time too but when at home & on the weekends she still nursed and the baby still enjoyed it to.
She had to pump 3 times a day while at work though to keep her supply up but she did this until her baby was 6 months old.
I myself nursed for 3 months but when my son came down with a cold he would not nurse so I gave him a bottle of pumped milk & he ended up loving the bottle he gave up nursing! So that is really the only 2 down falls, you have to pump while at work to keep up your supply & hope the baby doesn't love the bottle more than you & totally give up nursing on you.
Every child is different so your child may like doing both or just like one over the other. Good luck! FYI, everyone told me manual pumping is best, Uh, I disagree get an automatic electric (faster & produces more milk).

As you have realized by now your body produces as much as your baby needs. So it will be fine. It takes months for your milk to dry up completely so as long as he's nursing on a daily basis the milk will be there. It's a good idea to keep those times on a sort of schedule, like morning and evenings. during the weekend when you're not working if you feed him again in the day time you'll build your milk supply and be more engorged the next day at work. not very comfortable. Good Luck!

Yes!! Go for it! When I went back to work I continued to nurse my daughter for another year! She nursed mostly at night only then and had either regular milk or formula during the day. Your milk supply will adjust to the feedings as it always has! Good luck!!

I did exactly what you're describing D. with both of my girls (now ages 19 mos. & 4 yrs). I nursed when I was home and had my Mom (the babysitter) give formula when I was not home. I had no problem with the milk supply or my girls.

Does your baby like the bottle now? You might want to make certain he's comfortable with a bottle before returning to work.

Also, try giving him formula once a day to start with, then twice a day, etc., so he's accustomed to the difference before you return to work. That way, you can judge if he's going to have problems. This will also allow your body to start adjusting to a new schedule.

If you find your milk supply running low after returning to work, try pumping at work to stimulate production. You can then take these bottles home to your baby to supplement the formula.

Just a few thoughts. Hope all goes well.

J.

D., I'm still nursing now once in a while. My son is 19 months and only nurses every two or three days. He receives ample cow's milk and all kinds of food. My milk supply is still going though. When he was 8 months, I cut back on the breast feeding and went almost all to formula and solids. Even with two nursings a day, I was producing a lot of milk.

D., I did exactly what you are talking about with my son (now age 2 - and I have a 4 yr old as well) and it worked fine. (and by the way - bravo to you for nursing so long and trying to make it work for even longer) I introduced formula a few weeks before returning to work (I work part-time) and gave it at the times I knew I would be away. Your milk supply will adjust to whatever your new demands are, as long as the timing of it is fairly consistent (let's say you still nurse him in the am before you leave, and then in the afternoon or early evening). But for your own comfort (or if you decide to give him pumped milk), definitely have a pump with you while working for the first few weeks as you adjust. You don't want to be in any pain/discomfort! Good luck. W.

Yes, D., you can continue nursing him. Your milk supply will decrease, though, unless you pump during the days when he is at daycare. Where ever you work should provide you with a place to pump and the breaks to do it (It is required by law). Two times should be enough. If you get enough milk, you could send that to the daycare to feed him with. Hope this helps.

Wow - I wish I had this kind of feedback when I made the same decision a few years back that you are making now :) I was totally able to supplement with formula at daycare and breastfeed at home with both my daughters. They both weaned themselves at 10 about months. The constant pumping to give the milk in daycare was not for me - I tried it for the first few weeks. Although after reading the other posts here I would recommend pumping once, for a short time each day to relieve the milk build up if you are working an 8 hour day! I know by the end of each day I was often uncomfortable from the pressure and had to put in nursing pads b/c I would start leaking! Of course every woman and baby is different, but it is possible and fine to supplement. Most of the time your milk supply will adjust to the new schedule as long as you keep it going and are consistent. Good luck with everything!

its absolutely possible to continue nursing. Is it possible for you to pump during the day at work? Most employers if they don't have a room, will allow you to create a space for you to pump. If you pump you might not need to supplement with formula!

D.,

Yes, this is possible however I'm not sure if when you are with your son for days on the weekend if you will stay have milk then. I know La Leche League will tell you to cut down nursing/pumping during the day slowly so you don't have issues but other than that I don't know what else they would say. The best thing to do is to contact your La Leche League directly - call one of the women whose number is listed on the website - www.llli.org - and talk to them. They have always been helpful for me.

Good luck,
L. M

Have you considered pumping, and that way you can still have the nursing milk, and your son will get the benefits. You can still nurse when you are with him.

D. -

I tried to pump when I went back to work and it just didn't work. So my daughter got formula when she was at daycare and nursed when I was with her. She adjusted just fine. My breasts were very heavy for a few days as my body adjusted -- but it worked great for us!

Good Luck,
S.

every kid is different. Your biggest concern right now should be how youre going to get him to like formula after breast milk for 8 months! yuck! lol neither of my kids would touch anything, not EVEN a breast milk bottle or a pacifier, nothing worked. But, like I said, theyre all different. So the only thing you can do is try...Good luck!

You can absolutely do both. Remember that the nursing is as much about emotional bonding as it is about nutrition. At 8 months, he is getting a lot of nutrition from solid foods now and supplemented with formula during the day, I think his nutritional needs will be pretty well met. Your milk supply will adjust to the times of demand. So you milk will gradually adjust to be available when you are home with him (I'm sure you'll have quite a build up the first few days!).

I don't think my milk supply was great with my 4.5 year old daughter (she had health issues as an infant and toddler that caused erratic feedings) but I nursed her until she was 3 anyway (with lots of supplemental nutrition) and the emotional benefits were immense and well worth the efforts.

I recommend nursing as long as the emotional and nutritional benefits are still there.

Good for you for keeping it going and good luck!
~Liza

Full-time working, single mom of 4.5 year old girl.

I did both (nursing and formula) for both my boys - your body will keep making as much milk as there is a demand for. Just make sure whoever is caring for him doesn't feed him right before you get home/pick him up.

Also - it may be uncomfortable for you at the beginning as your body adjusts to the change in demand.

My son is 16 months old and I am still nursing him, down to just once a day. My supply has gone way down but there is still enough milk for him to nurse for 10 or 15 minutes in the morning, which is nice, having that time together.

Hi D.,
I have experienced 'supply and demand'. Even now that our baby girl is down to two times a day, I am not overflowing like I was before, but have enough for these two times. Just be sure to be consistant and you shouldn't have any troubles! Good luck!
L.

absolutely you can do both. i wanted to nurse, but had a hard time keeping up with the demand of my boys so i did both and we were all happy :)

my now 5 year old was left with a sitter at 7 weeks old with frozen brastmilk and some pwder formula she also had a paci. She nursed until she was 18 months.. My now 2 year old was very thumb or mom he was 12 lbs at 6 months old... he eventually decided the bottle was more fun because he could drag it around the house. or even just trund his head... I pumped as much as i could both times around.I used my hand pump because it was QUIETER if i was out in public but my electric one at home. you and BABY will figure it out. Don't think you have failed if he decideds the bottle is better. Think of it as i succeeded at nursing for XX number of months!!

My son loved formula,its not "yuck"...Good luck D.,with wichever you decide