What to do???

[jayisa02]

I am thinking of finding some work for myself for 1-2 days a week. The thing is my DD (8mths) is breastfed and still has 6-10 feeds per day (plus 3 solid meals).

At what age is it ok to put a bf baby into daycare? And what about the breastfeeding? I know i can express but she wont drink from bottle or cup.

Im trying to leave finding work until i really have to but we cant live on one income forever unfortunately.

Anyone have any ideas of what worked for you?

[Benji]

I put DS in childcare three times for 4 hours when he was 7 months old and I looked like this :hair: because of the amount I had to express and it still wasn't enough. The daycare workers used to give me a hard time and carry on about how he hadn't had enough milk and I had to produce more, which I physically couldn't I had been hooked up to the expresser for hours the day before. Actually, pretty much the whole day before.

Do you think you'd be able to hold off until around 12 months? Then it would only be really a morning and bed time feed? You wouldn't need to worry so much about the day feeds, maybe she could have a sippy cup of water or rice / cows milk instead.

[little bean]

If you need to go back to work, perhaps you could combine breast and bottle feeding - feed before and after work and give formula at daycare. I always had a great deal of difficulty with expressing and this worked really well for me (so that I could leave bub at home with DH once in a while).

Have you tried a few different bottles? DD uses Tommee Tippee "breast to bottle" I think they're called - they're shaped pretty much like a regular breast so supposedly causes less confusion.

[mim1]

My ds wouldn't drink from a bottle until 12 months (sorry!), but he did go to my mums house for a day a week from 9 months. On 'normal' days he was still having 6 BFs a day, but he would go to mums immediately after a feed and over a few weeks we stretched it longer and longer and we found that the little rascal would go for 9 or 10 hours without milk. He'd have extra solids to make up for it, and a big feed when he got home, but we all survived.

I suggest seeing if someone can mind your bub for 5 or 6 hours and see what happens. Then stretch it to 9 or 10 hours and presto - you've got your day of work!