How Do I Wean My Baby down to Two Breastfeedings per Day?

I am in the same boat - going to work in 2 weeks. My 11 month old has refused breastmilk from bottle/sippy cup/glass etc. so I am a little worried. Everyone told me you will need to pump at least once or twice during the hours away or your milk supply could dry up. I plan to pump twice a day (in bathroom at work as I work in a sketchy part of LA in a middle school with NO privacy!). I know it's stressful but it might be a lot for your little one to get used to: daycare AND less nursing or switch to formula. Good luck!!!!!!!

I just had your exact question a few mths ago when my son was 4 mths and I went to work.I started by buying a battery operated pump. Its very loud but it works. I would pump 7-10 min per breast at lunch to keep my milk going for awhile. I did that for about 6wks. I would feed in the morning/2x a night. My son would get 1 bottle of breastmilk and 2 bottles of formula during the day. Then I would breastfeed exclusively on weekends. He dealt with it really well. I also would drink a cup of Milkmade Tea on my way home from work and 20min before pumping at lunch. It worked really well. Then at 6mths I stopped pumping, 2 wks later stopped morning feeds and then at 7 mths stopped everything. It was a good transition but I still miss it. :( hope this helps

Hi,
Try taking the supplement FENUGREEK, I started using it and I noticed my supply went up right away. It does make you smell like maple syrup, though.Your breastmilk is made by supply and demand, you should probably pump at least a few times a day so you dont loose your milk.

Hi C.,
I'm sorry to hear you won't be able to pump! But don't worry, you will still be able to breastfeed your baby! When my son was 3 months old I had to go back to work, I pumped once at lunch time and gave that to my sitter, my son wouldn't drink it! He would nurse before I left for work and when I got home from work, before bed and then he would wake up in the middle of the night for a feeding, he slept with me so it was no trouble. The pediatrician said that it was okay that he was going 8 hours with no milk because he was getting enough at the other feedings, this went on until about 6 months then he started drinking the pumped milk from a sippy cup. If your milk supply is normal, which I assume it is, your body will get used to not nursing during the day. You will be pretty full by the time you get off work for the first few days to a week, then your body will adjust! I'm very happy to hear that you want to continue with the other feedings, do that for as long as you can and on weekends, and know you are doing the best thing for your baby!

If you live in CA, by law your employer must allow you to pump at work.

In the first week when I went to work and only breastfeeding when I'm home I had to pump a little bit at work to release the pressure. So maybe you can get a manual pump to bring to work or just release it with your hand. Good luck.

In order to keep up your milk, you should be pumping during the day. I think you should first try to figure out a way to do that at work. I'm not positive, but I think that an employer must allow you to do that - might even have legal ramifications if they don't. You might want to check on that.

I'm currently breastfeeding my twins twice a day and I returned to work 3 weeks ago. I did the same thing with my 5yo daughter and breastfed her for a year. I just made sure that I weaned them down to two nursings per day prior to returning to work. I haven't had to pump at work and my supply adjusted to the amount that they're nursing.

I don't pump at work because of the nature of my job and I have to be able to respond to emergencies at a moment's notice. I was worried that my supply would dry up, but it hasn't and didn't with my dd 5 years ago. Nursing twice a day seemed to be enough to keep it going.

Is this for the 22m and the 3m? Find a Le Leche League group nearby, go to their website, they have a TON of info on bf and many other issues. IF you're going to drop a feeding, you should only drop one about every 3w. Yes, keep pumping, your baby needs your milk, not formula. Force weaning comes w/many issues, read about it so you're preparred.