How many breast feeds are you on a day?

Following as I go back to work at 12 months and hope to cease the breastfeeding at that time too xx

My LG is on 4 feeds a day of about 10 mins max a time (she’s a very fast drinker so based on pumping or replacing with a bottle of expressed she’s having about 180-200ml) and 3 full meals with possible snacks if she seems to ask for it. I’m waiting for her to drop to 3 feeds in August and hopefully just a morning and evening in Sept which will allow to just replace with a bottle of milk when she turns 1. My fingers are crossed anyway! I’m back in work when she turns 1 as well

Thanks ladies. So I now do a wake up feed as soon as she wakes, then she has breakfast about an hour later. I then feed her to sleep for her first nap and when she wakes up from that depending on how long she sleeps for she either has a snack or lunch. We then have a mid afternoon snack and dinner at 5:30ish. I feed her to sleep at 7pm. She normally wakes up once around 3am for a feed. Hoping to drop the mid morning feed to sleep in the next few weeks xx

If your baby is 9/10 months old I’m assuming you’re substituting these feeds that are being dropped for formula? x

no my health visitor said as long as she’s having two feeds a day that’s fine. She’s currently having 4.

That is horrible advice 🙈 The NHS own website says before 1 year if a baby is hungry between 3 meals offer more milk not snacks. Just bare in mind that health visitors have next to no knowledge and training in breastfeeding and that milk is still very much required for babies under 1 but of course your baby your judgement x

oh ok thank you lovely, I also phoned the breastfeeding network and they said if she’s feeding when she wakes up and before bed that’s enough as they said it can’t all be done in the last few months before I return to work. So confusing 🫤

They make everything so confusing which is why breastfeeding rates are so bloody low as there is so much conflicting advice! Breastmilk is still the best source of nutrition for your baby before 1. There’s no way they can say 2 feeds are enough for your baby as it’s not like formula where a baby has say 2 8oz bottles you know exactly what they’ve taken.

Personally I would drop the snacks, stick to 3 meals and just feed on demand. Going back to work doesn’t have to be the end of your feeding journey (but also totally okay if you want it to be) but you absolutely don’t have to deprive your baby of milk for months in order to achieve that.

It is best to drop feeds slowly if that’s the plan to reduce the risk of mastitis but if you’re wanting to actively drop them this young you’ll need to at least offer formula in their place until a year.

Lucy Webber is a great lactation consultant on instagram or there’s a podcast called Makes Milk by Emma Pickett (also on instagram) who

Has episodes explicitly on returning to work and weaning which you’ll find really helpful/ informative.

The weaning onto solids episode is really really informative as to how vital breast milk/ formula is before 1 year it really changed my perspective of food vs milk.

This knowledge has come from experts in the field and is research paper based and then you can make your own judgements at least based on the advice of experts not a shaky at best HV haha 😊

Hope this helps xx

I am back at work and I pump twice during my day.
My little boy is with my mum and he has the following -

Bottle 3 hours after first feed, usually around 9am.
Weetabix with breast milk at 11.30
Bottle at 1
Food at 2.30
I am then home at 4 so I breastfeed him
He then usually has some of our tea.
Feed before bed and throughout the night.

I count his weetabix as a feed as he has around 3.4/4 oz with it.

I tend to follow around 7 feeds a day, I now pump less as I am trying to get through the milk I have in the freezer.

I work Mondays pump 3 times he gets 3 bottles. I could get away with only feeding to sleep for 2 naps plus bedtime and night wakes but no plan to stop so I feed on wake up from nap and for comfort (rarely) as well.