BF morning and night only - how long will supply hold up?

[LeahH]

I have slowly stopped my son's day breast feeds in anticipation of returning to work in a week and plan to breast feed him morning and evening only (no pumping at work).

My question is, can you sustain your supply for those two feeds indefinitely, or will it dry up quickly with only two feeds?

Most of the time he still feeds once in the night, somewhere between 5 - 6am, with a top up when he wakes at 7.30am.

Occasionally he'll sleep right through and I'm very much hoping this will become more regular now he's started solids (he's 6.5 months).

Now I am a bit worried that a reduced supply will cause him to keep waking in the early morning in genuine hunger. He still has a dream feed of formula at 10.30pm.

I know fatigue is a factor in supply, but I don't think I will be any more tired returning to work (after running around after a toddler and baby all day, if anything returning to the office will be more restful!)

Would be great to hear from anyone who has been in this situation.

Thanks

 

[carang]

the great thing about breastfeeding is that you should produce as much as you need. that is, if you only feed twice, you'll have enough milk to feed twice.

after the 6 month mark, the ONLY time i could breastfeed was at night (dreamfeed). i just didn't have time for any more. i still produced enough to be able to provide what i wanted/needed for my daughter.

 

[katelynBB]

I recently went back to work and have cut down breastfeeding my daughter to 2 feedings, once in the morning and once before bed. I too was worried about drying up, but so far its been okay. I know that I still have milk, since I can hear her gulping. I have been doing this for almost a month, she goes to bed around 7pm and occassionally wakes up around 5am for a feed, then dozes off... when she awakes at 7am, I normally feed her again before going off to work.

Like Cara mentioned, your body will know how much milk you need and adapt to it.

=)

 

[Shenzhennifer]

Great question. I seem to be embarking on this breastfeeding route as well, and was wondering the same thing myself. It does make sense though, with the supply and demand of BM. Plus, do you think all those mommies still breastfeeding their 2 year olds are doing it 8 times a day? I`m sure they`ve got to be only doing it like once or twice a day.

 

[LeahH]

Thanks everyone, I feel hopeful I can keep going then!

 

[thanka2]

Number Mixup

Plus, do you think all those mommies still breastfeeding their 2 year olds are doing it 8 times a day? I`m sure they`ve got to be only doing it like once or twice a day.

When I first read this, I mentally mixed up the placement of the "2" and "8" and it made me think of this:

YouTube - Breast feeding her 5 and 7 year olds

 

[LLL_Sarah]

Once you have your milk supply well established (usually around the six weeks mark) the way breastfeeding works is that you replace the milk taken out.

If you take eight feeds a day out you replace eight feeds a day.

If you take one feed a day out you replace one feed a day.

If you want to increase the amount of milk you make - take more out.

If you want to reduce the amount of milk you make - take less out.

As long as you baby wants to continue breastfeeding and will drink at the breast then you will continue to make milk.

The problems usually come not from lack of supply but from giving bottles. The baby gets use to the flow from the bottle and sometimes won't drink at the breast because the flow is slower and he has to work harder to get the milk. Often this problem can take a while to surface.

Best wishes,
SARAH

 

[Shenzhennifer]

When I first read this, I mentally mixed up the placement of the "2" and "8" and it made me think of this:

YouTube - Breast feeding her 5 and 7 year olds

At first when I was watching this I thought it was a spoof. I laughed a lot. Then I realised it was serious. And I laughed a bit more. I wish my baby thought my milk was better than mangos:|

 

[carang]

i find that video creepy... i could only wonder if the child was a boy would the gov't be going after her for child abuse? as far as i'm concerned almost 8 is WAYYYYYYYY too old. (but that's just me, i'm sure there are those out there that would disagree)

 

[tstmum]

LeahH, I returned to work when mine was about 6.5 months, too. I was doing 3 BFs a day at that stage (morning, lunch, before bed) with 1-2 milk formula feeds. I pumped at work at lunchtime for a few weeks, but then it all got a bit much and I dropped to 2 BFs as you plan to do. I managed to do this for about another 2 months, then dropped to just 1 BF (in the morning) for another 2 months. Then was fully weaned just before 12 months, as I had a work trip coming up. It worked out well for us all. Good luck!