[Pebbles2424]

Im in the process of weaning my 5 month old as im going back to work soon. We are currently doing 3 breastfeeds a day and im expressing once (topping up all feeds now due to supply issues) + 2 formula feeds.

I am still doing breastfeeds at 6amish, 2pmish, expressing in the evening and then a middle of the night breastfeed. Im toying with the idea of trying to keep the 6am feed and a PM feed (with his bedtime bottle) after i go back to work (even though we dont currently do a breastfeed at night). But I have a couple of questions re the order of dropping the remaining feed/s:

* The weaning guides ive read reccommend me dropping the 2pm feed next up, but im worried my supply will totally go if im only feeding at 6am and then expressing at night and not feeding till the middle of the night. I guess though i need to test this anyway?Seeing as he will be having a bottle feed at daycare for this feed, would it be the best one to drop next?

* I had thought of replacing the middle of the night feed with a bottle seeing as im hoping i wont need to do this feed post 6 months for too long anyway (hes on 2 meals of solids now but not a 3rd yet). However, should i introduce a bottle during the night now if hes close to maybe dropping this feed totally anyway?He only feeds for a few minutes during the night and then falls asleep, so im not sure wether hes really hungry or wether its just a comfort/habit feed? Thus not sure if i should keep this feed for the moment rather than replace it with a bottle, in the hope that he will drop it at some point anyway?

*Not sure when to stop expressing at night or if to stop - I do it now to keep up supply and also get him some EBM for his top ups...dont know wetehr to keep this up?

Any advice would be really appreciated, its hard because i havent 100% decided wether to keep trying to do 2 feeds a day or not yet, thus im not sure which feeds to drop but ive only got a few weeks left so i need to get my act together!

[axiomae]

No advice but will be watching - Im thinking I need to drop a feed simply because DD is fussy on the breast and not taking much milk from either me or a bottle throughout most of the day. Not sure which to drop though? Nappies are good so I know she's getting enough. Ah, advice EB?

[Pebbles2424]

Bump...anyone?

[lucky 2]

Hi,

I've moved your topic to the Breastfeeding forum, you might get more responses in here.

Kind regards,

lucky 2
Moderator

[lucky 2]

http://kellymom.com/category/ages/weaning/
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bf-info/we...-solids/weaning
I'm posting these just in case you haven't seen them.
Sounds complicated OP and a bit stressful!
Are you returning to work full-time or part-time?
Have you seen the Bfing and returning to work pinned thread in the Bfing forum?
It has lots of member stories about combining the 2 which you might find helpful in making decisions on what to do about bfing.
I think in the end it is the baby who makes the ultimate decisions about whether to keep bfing once bottles are introduced, some are very content to combine the 2 methods of feeding and some end up with breast refusal/bottle preference.
http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/forums/ind...howtopic=864976

*Not sure when to stop expressing at night or if to stop - I do it now to keep up supply and also get him some EBM for his top ups...dont know wetehr to keep this up?

It's tricky, I would usually encourage a woman to breast feed directly rather than express (that's if baby does bfeed well and will accept the breast) simply because the baby has the potential to remove more milk and it is easier and you get that together time which is good for both of you.
Keeping breast milk in your baby's diet is always of benefit and even more so if the baby can take it him/her self because breast feeding is more than a milk delivery method, it is a dynamic (yet simple) interaction btn mother and child.

All the best with your preparation for work, I hope it goes well.

[KRT]

I don't suppose you'd consider expressing at work? Then you could keep pretty much the same routine as at home, with the 2pm feed expressed to give to your baby at daycare the next day, or to keep for a top up.

If I were you, I'd want to get rid of the middle of the night feed - it sounds a bit like it's more for comfort than a real meal. It's worth a try to see if your DH can settle your DS.

I had supply issues, and from around 8 months I would express once a day at work. That plus a 7am and a 6pm feed was enough to maintain my supply. From around 10.5 months I would just feed morning and evening on workdays.