extended breastfeeding

[mayhem]

hey i was just wondering how many feeds your over 12 month old is having a day?
mine is on 2 in the morning 1/2 hour breakfast 10min snack and the opposite at night with sometimes a quick top up during the day
its just that im going back to work soon and i dont want to wean her fully but cant take the time from work to give her that top up during the day i should be able to drop with out to much hassle
its just that she dosent really drink cows or soy or formula milk so can she just have water? would that be ok?

just dont know

[BoyCrazy]

my 2 and a half yr old is on two feeds per day. One in the morning when he wakes up, and one at night just before bed.

Have u thought about expressing feeds for your lo if you have to go back to work and she doesnt like other milks?

milk is obviously a bit more sustaining than just water. Water would obviously provide her with the hydration, but you would need to supplement her missed bfeeds with solids, or have expressed milk for her carer to give her i think.

HTH

[AM]

Both my 2 year old and 4 year olds still feed multiple times a day.

[the_queen]

My nearly-2 year old feeds on average 6 times in 24 hours.

[mayhem]

i would love to be able to express but i find it far to painful with a pump and just cant get more than 3 or 4 drops even with hand expressing

[Sheer Bliss]

I can't express much these days either!!

DS has just turned 1 (so does that mean I am officially an extended breastfeeder?? ) and is having 2-4b/f per day. Usually one in the morning, one aftre he wakes from his nap, very occassionally on before or after his arvo nap (he often bites here, so i don't offer it for long - lol) and one before bed. If we are out & about, he will not want the middle 2, just the morning & night - too much to look at to feed when we are out.

I go back to work in December, and if he is still having the lunch time one, he's jsut going to have to skip it ont he 3days I work. He can make up for it by having an arvo one, as i'll get home around 4pm.

[Oblena]

This was a big concern for me when I went back to work so I know where you're coming from.

I returned to fulltime work when bub was 14.5 months and she still had up to 4 feeds a day, sometime 2, sometimes 5. She was not weaning .

She now has upt to 3 on a day when I am at work (morning , just as I get home and after tea - before her bedtime). SHe sometimes skips the one just after I get home, but that is more likely if tea is 10 min away.

When I am home on the weekends she has heaps , sometimes up to six, mostly 3.

My bub is 17 months now and working full time has not stopped the BFing relationship. My inspiration s the Australian of the year a few years ago (Dr Fiona) who apparently BF all her kids up to 3 or 4 AND worked. If she can do it, so can I.

I wouldn't worry ( hindsight is great). Your baby will just have BM when your there and other food and water when you're not. No need for toddler formula, and if your bub is like mine - no cow's milk (refuses).

Good luck - the hardest thing will be getting used to working again, not seeing bub as much as you would like, and maybe a few midnight snacks ( and 4.00am), while bubs get used to you not be around so often.