See also Breastfeeding and Pumping

Disclaimer: Some of this advice worked for some people some of the time. Neither they, WMOMS nor Working Moms Refuge take responsibility for its applicability to your family. Please discuss any questions with your own network of professionals, friends and family first.

Alcohol Safety While Breastfeeding

A drink or two here and there won't hurt the baby, and will help you feel relaxed. I personally have not had a problem with drinking/breastfeeding. My husband's family is from Ireland, and they suggest a good thick brew (like Guiness) to help with the milk production! I say have fun, but if you don't feel comfortable, then don't do it.

I'd guess one would be okay, depending on 1.) timing (i.e., drink right after breastfeeding or pumping. Not as good close to nursing/pumping time) and 2.) the general health of your baby and your breastfeeding pattern. The taste could put your little one off.

I checked this out with a lactation consultant when I was nursing my first child. She actually looked it up and was able to tell me how long it took for alcohol to get into (and out of) breastmilk - you could try doing this again, because I don't recall. What I do remember her saying is that if you only have one or two drinks over the period of an hour or so, it is very unlikely to have much effect on your baby (and even then it would be minor and temporary). But, like other food and drink it my make you milk "taste" funny or could cause digestive distress. But what I did was usually wait to have a drink until immediately before or after I nursed to minimize exposure.

I never had a problem. Have a beer. I think it's about 1% of the alcohol in what you drink that gets through to the baby. So long as you don't overdo it you should be fine - though if you notice an effect on the baby, bear it mind for next time.

I don't think you need to be too fanatical about alcohol and breastmilk. My understanding is that your blood alcohol level and breastmilk alcohol level are the same - - so unless you get really snockered, we aren't talking about much alcohol in the milk. I believe it is in What to Expect During the 1st Year that says a drink a day, 10 minutes before nursing, is a technique to try to help letdown. I'll admit to the occasional glass of wine or can of beer (usually timed after a feeding) and the baby hasn't minded at all -- I've seen more of an effect with caffeine at dinner (baby seems to wake early the next morning).

Age To Start Giving Water, Juice And Food?

I started experimenting with juice and cereal at about 4 to 4.5 months.

Around six months. Again, part of allergy management.

Our pediatrician suggested offering a few sips of water every day or two after he was 2 months old. She said it was a good idea to get him used to the taste of water in case I (the milk supply) was unavailable, he became dehydrated or ill and couldn't keep milk down. but she said, until he was 6 months old we shouldn't offer a bottle of water because he might get full on water and refuse caloric food (breastmilk or formula).

Our pediatrician recommends waiting until 6 months to introduce solids unless you believe the baby is taking more than 32 oz. of milk/day. She said limited juice is ok after 6 months. But the baby really seemed eager to eat our food at 4.5 months, so I introduced cereal at 5 months. He loved it and by 6 months I had him eating one or two strained vegetables also. With our second child we had a different pediatrician who suggested starting cereal at 4 months because Hannah was underweight. Hannah refused the cereal and I think that was the start of a (now 4 year) battle over eating. I vote to start later rather than early and follow your baby's lead.

Our pediatrician recommended waiting until 1 year (or longer) to introduce juice because she read a study that delaying juice resulted in lower consumption of sweetened drinks (like Coke) later in life.

The baby, who has been slow to take any new food, was uninterested in juice until she was two. Our second child started stealing his sister's juice boxes as soon as he could walk.

Gave first tastes of solids at 5.5 months, which was earlier than I'd have liked, and it wasn't being demanded, but I was going back to work and wanted to be the one giving that first solid food. Started water about a month later, I think, when the solids were beginning to go down in quantities greater than a (baby)spoonful. Still haven't given him any juice as I would prefer him to like plain water than lots of sugary drinks. He had a little at the nursery by accident, which was no problem. He seems to be quite happy drinking water.

We still don't give the baby juice. My attitude is that she really needs the calcium and protein found in formula more than she needs the sugar in juice. Baby's main nutritional requirement in the first year is protein. She gets plenty of vitamin C from the fruit she eats so I'd rather just give her formula or water to drink.

Transition To Nursing Part Time

I'm nursing my 12 month old only at morning and night now. I had good luck by eliminating one pumping session at a time. So, if you're nursing at work twice, you might cut that back to once at first. I didn't feel uncomfortable at all doing that (maybe a little full, but not engorged and sore - but, ymmv). If that is too abrupt for your body you might try pumping less fully a few days in a row before dropping that pumping session. When your body is used to that, cut out the other pumping session. Your body will still produce for the nursing sessions you maintain (am and pm), how, I don't know, but it does - - what an amazing thing our body is!

I second the advice to cut down slowly. I stopped pumping at work cold turkey, fully planning to keep nursing in the mornings and evenings. Well, I guess my body went into withdrawal or something because my milk supply completely disappeared (granted I had a really bad bout of the flu at the same time which might have added to the complete disappearance of milk).I stopped nursing at this point when I wish I could have done so for a much longer period of time.

I ended up not pumping at all while I was away from my baby 3 days a week, but on the other 4 days I had enough milk to nurse her all day and not supplement. In my mind, it was the best of both worlds because I didn't have to pump and I didn't have to give her bottles while I was with her.

My experience with breastfeeding my son (now 26 months) was that it was possible to be flexible about feedings and not have either of us get too uncomfortable. When he was about 4 months old, I was working enough hours that he needed bottles at times during the day. I was lucky to be close enough to his daycare to go over and nurse him during my lunch hour. I opted not to use formula, so I pumped at work, and at times also had to pump on the weekends, or first thing in the morning, to keep up with his intake. By about 8 months we pretty much dispensed with the bottles. I much preferred spending my lunch with him to pumping, and he could make it from morning to noon or noon to evening without a bottle at that point (he was also taking some solids, mostly fruit & cereal, by then). That was enough to keep my milk supply up - usually he would nurse more on the weekends, but that would help my supply, too. We did have some struggles around 6-7 months, when he started to prefer the bottle over nursing - he didn't have to work as hard to get milk from the bottle. It got pretty frustrating, but I really wanted to stick with it. I also re-checked to make sure I was drinking enough to keep my milk production up. We had a really rough week or so and then we both adjusted and went on from there. If you switch between bottles and nursing, you might anticipate something like that around that age.

We dropped feedings very gradually - by 13 months the lunch time nursing was gone. We did morning & evening for a few more months (plus extras on the weekend), and then had occasional skips, then morning only, and by 19 months he had stopped asking to nurse, and we were both ready to let it go.

I pumped and did a supplemental feeding of formula. My daughter is STILL nursing at (almost 16 months). IMHO, some breast milk is better than none, so I did what I could do to keep the "lacteria" open as long as possible (by using formula). BTW, I am almost 45 and my body did just fine when I cut down. My daughter is strong as an ox and has no allergies and only (knock wood) has had one small cold in her life so far.

Switching From Breastfeeding To Formula

When I was switching, there were two brands of formula that closely resembled breastmilk. SMA was one of them, and I think the other was Enfamil. (Mead-Johnson)

We used Carnation and then Carnation Follow-Up formula mostly b/se we had samples from the hospital, and the baby took to those the best. They were also always cheaper than some of the other brands. When we tried some of the others, the baby got rid of it as quickly as she took it in!

Soy formula at 6 months...we had a family history of allergies.

Started with ready-to-feed, moved to powder, then to cow's milk after 1 year.

I chose Similac with the first because after experimenting with several, that is the one she preferred. With the second I used Similac because I figured if my first (who was/is so picky) tolerated it, so would he.

We started giving the baby formula at 5 months when she started child care. We used (and still use) Carnation Goodstart - it's a lot cheaper than a lot of other brands and is just as good.

Weaning Methods

We weaned my kids from expressed breastmilk when they were 6 months old. I had the day-care provider begin by cutting expressed milk with formula, eventually progressing to entirely formula in the bottle. With my son this process took less than a week and we probably could have gone straight to formula. But with my daughter, the process took over a month. We were experimenting with different formulas and ready-to-feed, concentrate and powder and temperature. Once we were convinced the baby would take the formula, I began cutting one pumping session a week. With both kids, I was able to continue nursing in the evenings and weekends.

My daughter was exclusively breastfed until about 4.5 months, when I started weaning her because I was going back to work in a month and a half. I picked one meal to start her on a bottle of expressed breast milk instead of nursing. I fed her the bottle and then pumped to relieve the pressure for the same meal every day. After about a week of this, my supply for that part of the day diminished -- I guess pumps don't have as much suction as a baby does. Then I would move on to the next meal. Eventually I had to start filling in with formula, but I kept pumping to relieve any pressure and discomfort, and used all of the breast milk up in bottles for her. By the time I was ready to go back to work she was completely weaned to a bottle, and my supply was almost completely gone, so I never felt uncomfortable from milk pressure.

  Breastfeeding Books

• Breastfeeding and the Working Mother, Diane Mason, et al / Paperback / Published 1997
  
• Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing, by Sheila Kippley
  
• Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives, edited by Patricia Stuart-Macadam and Katherine A. Dettwyler
  
• Bestfeeding: Getting Breastfeeding Right for You, by Mary Renfrew, Chloe Fisher, and Suzanne Arms
  
• The Nursing Mother's Companion, by Kathleen Huggins
  
• Nursing Mother, Working Mother : The Essential Guide for Breastfeeding and Staying Close to Your Baby
  
• After You Return to Work, Gale Pryor / Paperback / Published 1997
  
• Nursing Your Baby, by Karen Pryor and Gale Pryor
  
• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Judy Torgus (Editor), Gwen Gorsch (Editor) / Paperback / Published 1997