Breastfeeding, Supplementing and Maternity Leave

Back when I decided to get pregnant, I already knew I was going to go back to work after I had the baby. I didn't know how long I'd stay on maternity leave for, but I knew I was going to go back. Financially it was smart to go back, even if daycare was $300 a week (which is still crazy to me!). While I was home on maternity leave I was breastfeeding. It was convenient and cheap, so why not? Also, you hear about all the benefits of breastfeeding so it was a no-brainer for me to give it a try. 

Let me just tell you, the first two nights I was home my milk supply didn't come in yet (which is normal but extremely frustrating). Your baby should be getting your colostrum,and they should only be needing about a teaspoon each feeding, but my baby was crying his head off those first two nights home. He was fine during the day but absolutely miserable at night. We finally gave in at 4am the second morning and made him a bottle of formula. He gulped that right down and fell asleep soon after. 

Honestly this made me feel very down on myself. I'm supposed to be able to feed my baby. I felt like a failure, but the most important thing was that my baby was fed and happy. I eventually got over it once my milk supply came in, and ultimately felt better about the whole situation once I brought it up to my pediatrician and she said that it was perfectly normal and ok to supplement.

We were just fine for about the first 6 weeks or so, but then the dreaded day was coming when I had to go back to work. I took 8 weeks of maternity leave all together. It was a little bit easier on me leaving my baby the first two weeks because my husband took off the first week to watch the baby and then my mom flew down from Ohio to watch him the second week. But before I went back to work I had a little bit of anxiety thinking about what if my baby didn't have enough food when I left him at daycare? I then and there decided to breastfeed and supplement.

This ultimately was a better decision for me because it put less strain on myself and also my husband was able to help out a bit more when it came to the feedings at home, and there's nothing wrong with it. Mom's don't feel bad or down on yourself if you do this. Your baby is still getting the benefits of breastfeeding, but also they're getting all the food they need and it's less stress on you! We starting him off with about a bottle of formula a day, and I would usually pump during this time so that I had a little bit of a supply once I returned to work. 

Currently I've been back to work for about a month and a half and we are still breastfeeding and supplementing. It seems to work the best for our situation and everyone is happy in the end! 

So do whatever is best for your situation. Everyone is different and will have their own way of feeding that will work best for them. 

Color Yourself Stress-Free!