Breastfeeding and going back to work?

Question

I am breast feeding but I have to go back to work soon. Is my son going to get nipple confusion going to a bottle during the day? should I just pump from now on and give it to him in a bottle at home too? what is the best way to go about doing this?

Answer 1

As Mystic pointed out, nipple confusion can happen at any stage really.  It's generally recommended to wait until after breastfeeding is well established (around 4-6 weeks) before offering a bottle.  Have someone other than yourself offer the bottle when you are in a different room, the baby may refuse at first, but keep trying.  You should nurse your son when you are with him and leave the bottles for when you are away.  For the time being if you are just trying to get him used to the bottles, try having someone else offer them once or maybe twice a day around the same times he would normally get them when you start work.  But keep nursing, it is the best way to maintain your supply, because a baby is always more efficient at removing milk from the breast than any pump will ever be.

My experience - I returned to work when my daugther was 3 months old and got laid off when she was 9 months old.  She is now 13 months old and still nursing.  While I was working I would tandem pump/nurse in the morning (baby on one breast, pump on the other), then I would pump both b*****s (dual electric pump is SOOOO worth the money!) while I put on my make up for work.  I would pump 3 times at work around the same times my daughter would get a bottle at day care.  Then I would nurse her 2-3 more times when I got home.  This worked well for 6 months, but since I have been home with her the few times I have had to leave she absolutely refuses a bottle, which at her age is not a big deal, she can eat solids until I return from wherever I have to go.

My cousin's experience - Her daughter would not take a bottle at all.  For a while she did reverse cycling (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/revers... and would primarily nurse in the morning and through the night.  Eventually they got her to use a cup and straw which worked out well.  She nursed for a little over a year while her mother worked and never once took a bottle, so it can be done by other means.  

One more of my experiences - I had a bunch of medical issues earlier this year and had a lot of prescription meds which meant I couldn't nurse for a short period of time (12-36 hours for different tests/procedures) and I had no one here to give her a bottle, she refused it from me, so we used a medicine dropper (a clean one that had never had meds in it) and I gave it to her like that.  Hey, it worked!  You may have to be a little creative, but you can get it to work!

Kellymom.com is an excellent resource for any breastfeeding/pumping/etc. information!

Good luck to you!  And stick with the breastfeeding, it is so worth it in the end :)

Answer 2

my son was ok with it but I had to stop breastfeeding because I went back to work part time and I would get so full at work that I would leak through my pads and I tried pumping but it was harder than I thought because I would be at work for 4 hours and had to spend every two hours in the rest room pumping 15 - 20 minutes it was taking to much time.  As it was I was trying to fit an 8 hour day into four with these breaks.  So I stopped all together.  I hated that I had to do that because my two oldest I stayed home much longer and i had that time with them.  But hey when you need to work you have to do what you have to do.

Answer 3

Some babies get nipple confusion right away, some nurse fine and take a bottle for months, some develop nipple confusion after months of taknig both.

You don't really need to use a bottle.  Most of the world doesn't have bottles and they do just fine.  Bottles increase the risks of ear infections, speech problems, etc -they really have no benefit.  You can use a cup, syringe, spoon, or paladai.   http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/alter...

You definitely want to encourage your baby to nurse directly as much as possible.  The baby is much better than a pump at stimulating supply.  Plus breastfeeding directly has numerous benefits for the baby

Pumping & Bottle Feeding

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index...

What to Feed the Baby when the Mother is Working outside the Home

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/17feed_ba...

Freezing Your Breastmilk

http://www.mother-2-mother.com/storemilk...

Common Concerns When Storing Human Milk

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug98p109.ht...

What does breastmilk look like?

http://www.mother-2-mother.com/mothercon...

Answer 4

it depends on how old he is.. 2 of mine never, ever took a bottle, no matter what was in it.. my milk, formula, water, juice. . from birth on. i tried at various points, and they just wouldnt take it (theyre 14 months and almost 5 years now). its definately adviseable for you to try the bottle asap to make sure that the kid will take it and get used to it before you try to go cold turkey off the boob while you go to work

Answer 5

Go ahead and try a few times to give him a bottle to make sure he is willing to take it. Have whomever will be feeding him the bottle try because some babies dont like the mommies to feed them from anything but the breast.

Otherwise I wouldnt feed every feeding or even half his feedings from the bottle if you dont have to. Keep the breast first and the bottle for when mom is gone.

good luck and good job for sticking to it. My friend is breastfeeding and pumping successfully for 2 months now.

Answer 6

just pump for work and nurse at home- i guaranteed your little one will be eager to nurse as soon as you get home. i returned to work the day after my 6 week check up. i pumped as soon as i woke up and right after i got home from work, if i worked an 8 hour day i took a break and pumped in between that time. didn't need to supplement but it did take some dedication. Onyle pumping may cause a huge supply reduction to almost nothing since pumping doesn't get nearly the amount of milk out as your baby. my son took to it fine but always loved to nurse much better. once he was a year old i quit pumping- i didn't get a lot at that point andd he was eating a lot of food while i was at work. then i started giving him whole milk while i was at work. he is 16 months now and still breastfed. kinda weird though because i just quit working lol