Weaning and Side Effects

That's what I do, sort of. I only work a couple days a week so it's hard to think my body would get used to that since it's not a "normal" schedule. But after a couple months, it's fine. My baby still gets enough - really, she hates bottles and cups so she gets fussy for her caretakers towards the end of the day.

The plan will work. Your body will adjust and start producing the right amount of milk for the times you are now nursing. Your milk production will obviously decrease if you are not pumping while at work, but no, you will not completely dry up. I think any breastfeeding mom here will tell you that weeks, even months, after competely being done with breastfeeding, they still continued to produce milk, even just a little. (There were several months where I still was producing milk.)

Decreasing nursing can cause hormonal shifts; this is completely normal. You don't say if you have had your period yet since having your daughter, but if you haven't, it may very well resume now. Also, one other thought I had was if you were on hormonal birth control?

Evening Primrose Oil is wonderful for sort of "evening out" hormones, reducing PMS symptoms, and regulating periods. You can buy the capsules anwhere--Target, Walgreen's. Please research if you can nurse while taking this supplement--I believe you can, as I took them while pregnant--but don't quote me.

For me, waiting that long between nursing substantially decreased my milk supply, but each person is different. Would it be possible to pump during your lunch hour? You wouldn't even have to save the milk, just the process of pumping 1 extra time a day may keep your supply up. If you continue to feel hot and anxious for a few more days, you should consider having an examination with your OB since that could be a sign of inflammation in the milk duct.

From 6 to 4:30 is a long time to go between nursings. Your milk supply will probably go down at least a little bit since the key to a full milk supply is frequent nursing. Is there a time you can pump at work to keep your supply up?

If your baby is under 16 weeks then you will lessen your supply, but it won't stop. I took a class on breastfeeding and they discussed how how prolactin receptors aren't set until around 16 weeks (they tell you body how much milk to produced). I went back to work at 14 weeks and pummped 3 times a day (for a month or so, and then 2 times after that) to make certain I set my milk supply. After that your body can handle the ups and downs of nursing or not.

For example, I'm still nursing and at 23 month I was gone for 11 days. I pumped once a day with almost no results (maybe an ounce), yet when I came back my body shifted back to nursing 3 times a day. It is an amazing system.

You'll have to pump at work if you want to keep up your milk supply, and then you might as well save that milk for your baby while she's at daycare. Otherwise your body will stop producing milk from 6-4:30. That's just how it works.

I think it's great that you are still trying to breastfeed. Keep at it. Babies can handle the hormone shift you are experiencing as you nurse less.- But I would start watching for fertility issues.

Have a wonderful day!
R.- mom to 5 special, beautiful children

Well any time you slow down production your body will adjust. If you do not want this then pump at work once or twice. Every persons body reacts differently to different situations so it is uncertain whether this will dry up your milk. It is completely normal for your supply to go down when returning to work.

Is it possible to pump during your lunch? This way it isn't so many hours in-between feedings, and you could use your pumped milk as one of her feedings at her childcare. Whether you choose to or not, your body will adjust to how much you are nursing (you won't "dry up").

As far as the hormonal shift, I agree with the other responses. If you feel more comfortable checking with your OB, there is nothing wrong with calling them for the questions... that's what they're there for (and get paid for).

Congrats on your newest addition to your family! Best wishes on your transition to work.

~SR

your milk will decrease, but not dry up as long as you are still nursing sometimes.
i dont know about the hot anxious thing but spotting is probably normal as any decrease in nursing can cause your period to return, if it hadnt already. anyway, check with your doctor if you feel anxious about it, but your milk supply is built by demand, so if you want there to be one time during the day where she could still nurse you could pump on your lunch break if you wanted, even if you just pumped and dumped...
otherwise, your supply will start to just be normal for your schedule. :D
good luck
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This will work IF you are willing to nurse your child at night.... She will more than likely switch her days around and not eat much during the day and start waking more at night as she grows..... If you don't feed her when she wakes at night, then YES your milk supply will start to dry up!

When she is with you, you will need to feed her on demand to keep your supply going.

As for the spotting. That is normal. If you are not nursing on demand, your period usually comes back with a month or two.

And with how you're feeling, that is also normal. Your body is still dealing with a ton of hormones so you probably won't feel like your old self again for awhile.

I'm not sure how old your baby is or how long you've had this pumping schedule, but the spotting may be a hormonal shift towards the return of your period. My period returned when my son was 11mos old after returning to work and having longer stretches between pumping/nursing.

Also, in my personal experience, the most important factor for keeping my supply up was drinking enough water. That seems to play a bigger part than time for me, but everyone is different.

Good luck!

I had a similar situation. I started back to work when our daughter was just 3 weeks old (I'd just started a new job and didn't get any maternity leave). I would nurse about 7:00 on one side (my daughter never nursed on both sides) and then pump on the other side. I sent bottles of breastmilk to daycare with her. I wouldn't nurse again until sometime between 3:00 and 4:00 (again nurse one side and pump the other). Then we would nurse 2-3 more times before bed and maybe 1-2 times during the night. I would maybe pump one more time before I went to bed (depending on how many bottles I had ready). On weekends she would nurse more often but I wouldn't pump. I never had any problems with my milk supply except for once after running a high fever for a couple of days. My period didn't come back until I had completely stopped nursing. Your body will probably adjust OK, but everyone is different. Good luck!

First of all, yes, this plan should work fine. My son, who is 15 months, likes to nurse during the night (which, unfortunately, I do) but he'll go whole days without nursing. Other days, he wants to nurse frequently, and he always seems to get milk. Your body will adjust. However, if you've stopped abruptly, I would definitely say you can have weird hormonal effects. I can't say whether your feeling weird have to do with the stomach virus or the weaning, but I know I have had anxiety issues for 15 years and they go away when I nurse and come back when I quit, and I seem to recall having friends who went through some kinda weird symptoms when they weaned--just not feeling quite right.

Edit--one more thing. Every mom is different, and depending on how old your baby is now, it might be different for you, but I've had milk constantly since I was 8 months pregnant with #1--almost 5 years ago. I only nursed #1 for a year, but had milk for the next2 years until I got pregnant with #2 and dried up for a month or so until my milk came in at 7 months pregnant with him. If you've nursed for a while, you might even have a hard time getting rid of your milk!