Away from 9 week old while bf

[princess2406]

Hoping for some advice please

I really hope to bf baby number 2, I did manage a few weeks with ds but gave up as I just found it too painful and tiring. I'm really determined to make it work this time around however when my baby is around 8-9 weeks old I will be spending 3 nights away from him/her. I'm really worried how this will effect me being able to BF on my return incase baby gets used to bottle. I do plan to pump as much as poss before and freeze so oh can take over whilst I'm away, and I know I'll have to pump whilst I'm away to keep up my supply. I really want to avoid oh having to give baby formula whilst I'm away so I know I will have to pump and freeze a lot before hand!

Any advice or recommendations please as its playing on my mind constantly!

 

[princess2406]

Anybody?

 

[princess2406]

Wow not one reply. Never mind.

 

[jlw617]

These threads can be disappointing sometimes! I think you'll probably be ok, just start pumping and saving every little bit you can. It's possible he may not want to bf when you return but don't get discouraged, just offer him the breast every feeding, if he doesn't take it, just pump and maybe consider a nursing vacation, not technically a vacation, just a few days set aside where you and baby hunker down and spend as much Time as possible together and you're basically trying to get him to take it again! Good luck, this is my first time into the breastfeeding journey where I've made it this far! We can do it!

 

[princess2406]

These threads can be disappointing sometimes! I think you'll probably be ok, just start pumping and saving every little bit you can. It's possible he may not want to bf when you return but don't get discouraged, just offer him the breast every feeding, if he doesn't take it, just pump and maybe consider a nursing vacation, not technically a vacation, just a few days set aside where you and baby hunker down and spend as much Time as possible together and you're basically trying to get him to take it again! Good luck, this is my first time into the breastfeeding journey where I've made it this far! We can do it!

Thankyou so much xx

 

[princess2406]

Hi ladies just bumping this up again as due date is getting closer so this is playing on my mind. Thank you x

 

[mum140381]

could you take the baby with you ??
if not i think you have it covered just pump as much as poss and keep expressing try a night before you go like a trial run to see how lo is on the expressed milk through the night x

 

[princess2406]

could you take the baby with you ??
if not i think you have it covered just pump as much as poss and keep expressing try a night before you go like a trial run to see how lo is on the expressed milk through the night x

Thank you. Unfortunately no baby coming with me isn't an option I'll be gone from Friday afternoon back Monday lunch time so hopefully it'll be ok but it's something that is constantly on my mind as I just don't want my supply to be affected x

 

[mum140381]

i think ur supply should be fine mine takes weeks to dry up when i stop bf not the same for everyone but fx xx

 

[princess2406]

Thank you fx x

 

[Kiwiberry]

I have no advice on how to prevent your baby from getting attached to the bottle while you are gone. I do however, have a lil bit of experience with getting a bottle hooked baby to breastfeed again. When my LO was born she was 3 months premature and had to stay in the NICU for 3 months. Of course I could not be there 24/7 but I was there for at least 8 hours a day every day. When I would leave, they would feed her bottles (this was closer to when she was going to be released). I had to work around that to get her to breastfeed. She did prefer the bottle, but what I would do after she came home is introduce the breast first, then if she did not take I would use the bottle. I would also make sure to have a nipple shield they're really cheap. It helps to mimic a bottle nipple for babies and makes it easier to latch on to for small babies. It only took 2-3 weeks after she was released from the NICU to get her to EBF.

Good luck mama, and I hope this info helps you.

I would make sure to pump while you are gone. Your supply may take weeks to dry up, but it goes way down after the first 24 hours of not breastfeeding or pumping. If you let your breasts get engorged then it tells your body to stop producing milk and will mess with your supply. You can hand pump your breasts if you don't have an actual electric pump. Just message them with some hot water over a sink. Trust me, you DO NOT want your milk supply to go down. It is harder to get back up.

 

[princess2406]

I have no advice on how to prevent your baby from getting attached to the bottle while you are gone. I do however, have a lil bit of experience with getting a bottle hooked baby to breastfeed again. When my LO was born she was 3 months premature and had to stay in the NICU for 3 months. Of course I could not be there 24/7 but I was there for at least 8 hours a day every day. When I would leave, they would feed her bottles (this was closer to when she was going to be released). I had to work around that to get her to breastfeed. She did prefer the bottle, but what I would do after she came home is introduce the breast first, then if she did not take I would use the bottle. I would also make sure to have a nipple shield they're really cheap. It helps to mimic a bottle nipple for babies and makes it easier to latch on to for small babies. It only took 2-3 weeks after she was released from the NICU to get her to EBF.

Good luck mama, and I hope this info helps you.

I would make sure to pump while you are gone. Your supply may take weeks to dry up, but it goes way down after the first 24 hours of not breastfeeding or pumping. If you let your breasts get engorged then it tells your body to stop producing milk and will mess with your supply. You can hand pump your breasts if you don't have an actual electric pump. Just message them with some hot water over a sink. Trust me, you DO NOT want your milk supply to go down. It is harder to get back up.

Thank you that's really good to know. I do have an electric pump that I will be taking with me so I can keep my supply up and not get engorged. I may be worrying over nothing but I just want to be as prepared as possible x

 

[RaquelDee]

With pumping to maintain supply and avoid engorgement, try to schedule your pumping sessions so that they are similar to your baby's normal feeding pattern. So if bub feeds every two to three hours, try to pump to the same pattern rather than pumping for longer but less frequently. If bub is still feeding at night (unlikely that they won't be at 9 weeks, but you never know!) you'll probably want to pump at least once overnight for your own sake - I found delaying feeds at that stage got painful really quickly. Good luck with it, it sounds like you are really well-prepared.

 

[princess2406]

With pumping to maintain supply and avoid engorgement, try to schedule your pumping sessions so that they are similar to your baby's normal feeding pattern. So if bub feeds every two to three hours, try to pump to the same pattern rather than pumping for longer but less frequently. If bub is still feeding at night (unlikely that they won't be at 9 weeks, but you never know!) you'll probably want to pump at least once overnight for your own sake - I found delaying feeds at that stage got painful really quickly. Good luck with it, it sounds like you are really well-prepared.

Thank you! It's definatley making me feel more settled about it so fx it will turn out ok. It's a complete one off and I just don't want to ruin bf for both of us x