What about breastfeeding when your baby attends childcare?
It’s a question we often hear from new parents: ‘What happens with breastfeeding when our baby starts attending childcare?’. This blog includes tips on breastfeeding when your child starts attending childcare, because there’ll be quite a few changes at this time. It’s perfectly normal to have some concerns about whether your baby will feed well at our childcare location. We’ll help get you started!
Practice
Before your child actually starts attending childcare, it’s wise to practice bottle feeding. So many new things happen when your child starts attending childcare and it’s often a time when at least one of you will be returning to work. It’s a great idea to start practicing in advance for this moment. Are you managing to use a breast pump already? You should really start using a breast pump four weeks in advance of your child attending childcare and should do this maybe twice a week.Also practice bottle feeding before your child starts attending childcare. A great tip is to ask someone other than the parents to bottle feed your baby to help your baby get used to this. Your baby really needs to practice bottle feeding, so make sure you take plenty of time for this.
If you’ve not yet had your first intake at the childcare location, it’s a good idea to mention that you’re still breastfeeding during the intake. The childcare staff will then explain how you can bring your breast milk to us (for example, with the name of your baby and the date you pumped the breast milk written on the container). We prefer to receive chilled or frozen breast milk and you should pack your breast milk in a special bottle warmer-proof bag or container. They’ll explain everything about this during your intake at the location!
A few more practical tips about breastfeeding and attending childcare
- It may be wise to pump extra breast milk in the final weeks before your baby starts attending childcare, as your breast milk supply may drop when you go back to work.
- It’s also handy if you bring a small blanket that smells of mom to the childcare location, as a familiar smell will help your baby feel secure. Did you know that this often helps babies feed better?
- Always bring some extra breast milk.
Has your child started at the childcare location already?
Children often need a little time to adjust to a new environment, sounds, and people, which can mean that your child will feed a little differently than you’re used to. Our childcare staff will do everything possible to ensure that your baby quickly feels safe and secure. Just talk to us if you still have questions about this topic.
