Weaning and what to do with 10 month old

[Nymphadora]

 Hi there

I love this forum a big thank you as it has helped me immensely with my 2 little munchkins. With dd1 I expressed once a day which my husband gave to her and I ebf until she was 6 months and slowly switched to Af as returned to work when she was 8 months and stopped bf at 9 months. The swap was easy as she was used to a bottle....

Move onto my current ds2 who is ebf and 10 months... Refused all bottles/ cups of expressed BM and even tried formula in desperation which was rejected to. I am due back to work after Xmas and don't know what to do. I don't feel I can be and return to work as I work irregular shifts will be doing 1 night and 1 day shift a week so will miss 2 am feeds and 2 bedtimes feeds together with 1 daytime feeds. I had only planned to bf for the year... Although now torn to carry on but can't it working if he won't take any BM apart from with me so only see the possible way is going cold turkey on him  I'm at a loss what to do

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

What sort of schedule do you work? He will be about 12 months by then and that is the age when solids are the bulk of the diet over milk so if he will do say a morning and night bf and have regular meals that is okay too. Oh, will he drink water at all?

[*Ali*]

You could always feed him before you go off to work as a kind of DF if it is very early and he isn't up yet. Same with the BT/evening feed on the day you work the day shift. Then when you work nights you could just feed him before you go and when you get in in the mornings. Then I'd just feed him in morning WU and at BT on the other 5 days.

I would work on your DH (or whoever will be looking after him when you work) getting used to comforting him and putting him down to sleep so they are used to it by the time you return to work.

Many LOs don't drink much else until mum returns to work and they realise BF isn't an option.

[KookyK]

I went back to work at 10 months and DS wouldn't take a bottle (altho since 14 months he has - we kept offering!). He just ate food and drank water and waited til I got home and jumped me in a frenzy. But he was ok. I was gone 8am-5pm. He eats a lot of dairy and nurses lots in the day hen I'm with him which seems to work for him.

[Nymphadora]

sorry to take so long to reply!

I will be doing 2 x 12.5 hr shifts a week. Day shift every tuesday 7am-7.30pm and then a night shift to be confirmed (rolling) 7pm-7.30am. We have had a slight breakthrough in that he has started to drink cows milk out of a straw cup... only a little but at least its something.

i've stopped offering the breast at his 2pm feed and giving cows milk and its a bit hit and miss as to whether he takes it but its a start. I've also stopped feeding him at night to try and stop being a prop back to sleep which he is coping without (although still waking but we've got teeth and cold now too) and his appetite has increased during the day for food which is great to.

I'm still not 100% sure what to do re feeding once I return to work- my DH is helping out a bit more at night with him so he will be more used to me not going in if he wakes up on the nights I'm not here!

Life is so complicated sometimes! thanks for all your advice x

[*Ali*]

Sounds like a good start.