How young is too young for a sleep over when ebf?

[iwantabub]

Ok so I know some ladies with pnd have let grandma etc have buba, and with good reason, over night...

But what about mummies who are coping fine?

When is too young to have a sleep over?

I had enough trouble leaving him for a few hours a week while going on a date night with dh and around the corner to the gym... But over night I feel like I'm unsure about... My mum has to txt me every 20 mins as it is when lo is there lol

The reason I ask is Dhs 30th in 2 weeks and he wants drinks at the pub with all our friends as its two of their 30th birthdays Aswell...
He wants my mum to baby sit so I can actually let my hair down and have fun with him as I'm ebf and have only managed to have two drinks with dinner ...

I'm ebf so will have to provide enough bottles from 6pm til 9am ish ... Is it possible?

What will happen to my supply over night? Will I have to wake to express to keep my supply up?

Thanks ladies

 

[cupcaker]

When I breastfed I found pumping pretty difficult...I struggled to get ahead of myself to make up any 'spare' for a bottle to leave with anyone. Whenever I pumped (which with a medela pump did work really well), the next minute he wanted feeding, and whatever anyone says about your breasts making the milk on demand, it didn't work so well for me. After pumping, he would squeal and squirm at the breast like he wasn't getting enough because I'd pumped it out...mostly I ended up giving him what I'd just expressed

Lots of people suggest pumping sessions AFTER feeding, even if you get 1oz or less at a time, so you could try that as you have two weeks. (could freeze it). Let baby have what they want then see if you can pump a little more.

I would imagine it depends on how easily you pump and create a 'stash' as it were. Some people can manage it easier than others. I BF till 6 weeks due to various problems. Good luck I'm sure other more seasoned BFers will give better advise.

 

[cupcaker]

ETA: you will fill up quickly when not breastfeeding as your body has been so used to doing it day in day out (I found this when I started to introduce formula) so you will most likely need to express at some point/s over the duration of the time away for comfort and to avoid leakage

 

[missk1989]

I think it depends on how often your lo feeds at night, how much you can express and how comfortable you are leaving him. i still havent let lo go away overnight but that is 75% due to my inability to be away from him and also because we co sleep most of the night and i dont trust anyone else cosleeping with him. That early in BF you probably would have to express when you get in from the pub and first thing in the morning or you will end up extremely engorged and uncomfortable which could lead to mastitis. It is definatley possible if your happy to do it.

 

[youngy]

You will defiantly need to express, I had a few drinks so he had bottles overnight until the 7am feed, I pumped for an hour at night & morning but omg my boobs were painfull and it took 2 days for them to go back down!
I've decided never to drink again lol as it was too uncomfy ( see how long that lasts hehe )

 

[Bevziibubble]

It depends on the individual baby. Some will be ready very early and others not until much later. I know my LO wouldn't stay anywhere overnight because of separation anxiety and needing boob frequently in the night, she won't take a bottle. I agree with the others that you will need to pump as your boobs fill up quite quickly in the early days and you don't want to get mastitis, it's very painful!

Hope you manage to work something out

 

[aliss]

I had this recently (no reason except I wanted to go to a party!!!). I had FIL stay at *our* house so that at least he was in his own surroundings and I was home by 1am so I didn't have to worry about overnight engorgement. Just made life a little easier - would your mom be willing to sleep at your place instead?

You might not need to pump past daytime depending on how he sleeps/your engorgement. I would have to absolutely, but not everyone does.

 

[twobecome3]

depends on you and your LO. at that age Annaleigh screamed the housedown at the inlaws when they just tried to hold her for a few minutes at bedtime, no way i would subject them or her to an overnights. also as pp said, we cosleep so no way. its certainky doable from a feeding standpoint tho if you have some time to prepare a stash. and just bring extra boob pads and extra top or two in your purse and youd want to pump a couple times over thenite probly for refief

 

[Gym knickers]

It is possible, I did it when LO was quite young for the exact same reason- DH's 30th. She took bottles of ebm just fine but it took me about 2 weeks of expressing and freezing milk in advance just to have enough for my mum to feed her. She was absolutely fine being with her nanna and Grampy but I really struggled with missing her and also extreme pain and engorgement- by 12am I was crouched in a toilet trying to hand express and listening to all the drunk people around me wishing I was home with her!! When I got one I expressed about 12oz off and had to dump it- devo!!! saying that, it was worth it as I really felt like I needed a night to be me again, we've been pregnant nine months then got 6 months plus (or however long you want to go) of being babys only source of food and I think it's important to have a little time to just be you. It was hard and I've only done it once since ( LO is 6 months) but just thought it would help you to see both sides of the coin!

 

[Debi]

If you express at the same time every day your body will produce more milk at that feed and you should be able to build a stash that way, if you start now you should get enough for then, even if you're only getting a couple of oz a day. I left DS at about 14 weeks for a night out as close friends of ours were moving to Holland. I really swithered about it and almost never went, however it was actually ok. My step-mum came over to our house so he was in his own environment. I think it was easier to leave him then when he was younger, as he was less aware of me not being there and was easier to get to sleep! I'm meant to be going out on Saturday and i'm dreading it as Ds won't be settled by anyone else- still going though You're supply shouldn't be affected by one night off... take your breast pump and pump in the toilets if you have to I tend to find that as the wine flows, pain from engorgement slows

 

[monte3375]

When I breastfed I found pumping pretty difficult...I struggled to get ahead of myself to make up any 'spare' for a bottle to leave with anyone. Whenever I pumped (which with a medela pump did work really well), the next minute he wanted feeding, and whatever anyone says about your breasts making the milk on demand, it didn't work so well for me. After pumping, he would squeal and squirm at the breast like he wasn't getting enough because I'd pumped it out...mostly I ended up giving him what I'd just expressed

Lots of people suggest pumping sessions AFTER feeding, even if you get 1oz or less at a time, so you could try that as you have two weeks. (could freeze it). Let baby have what they want then see if you can pump a little more.

I would imagine it depends on how easily you pump and create a 'stash' as it were. Some people can manage it easier than others. I BF till 6 weeks due to various problems. Good luck I'm sure other more seasoned BFers will give better advise.

This is exactly what hppens to me, but I can pump 1-2 oz at the beginning of his daily 3 hr nap to get enough to store over a week timefrme

 

[justkitty]

I let my ds stay overnight at 16 weeks and I barely slept with worry and anxiety as I missed him. But he didn't care. Slept well and was happy.

 

[SarahBear]

Well it's certainly possible, but it's not something I would choose to do. If you're not comfortable with it, I say don't do it. If you are, comfortable with it, then I would pump. It would probably uncomfortable to not pump. Good luck.

 

[SarahBear]

As for the too young thing, I think it really depends on how you feed him and how you sleep. We co-sleep and she nurses to sleep and nurses at night and in the early morning a couple hours before getting up for the day. Having her sleep without me would probably be quite a challenge. I personally don't plan to have her sleep away from me until she's weaned.

 

[iwantabub]

Well I bought an electric pump and every afternoon I pump about 3-4oz so enough for one feed and freeze it... I needed to do this anyway...

But I'm still not sure... Lo always sleeps in his coz in our room and then co sleeps for a few hours in the morning... My mum co slept with me in the mornings and is super light sleeper so I'm not concerned about that at all... He goes there once a week for 4 hours for a date evening and sleeps fine and also three times a week for an hour for the gym and loves it so I know he will be fine...it's more me that won't lol

I don't know if I wanna leave him
Dh is pretty disappointed (not in a mean way or anything) because he says he misses being able to spend time with me without my attention being on the baby all the time ... And I understand... We have always been very lovey and close and I think he wants me to let my hair down... But I don't know if I can...

Oh well I will keep pumping anyway and then decide in a week or so when we get closer.

Thanks for the advice ladies

 

[firsttime83]

I've found the best way for me to build a "stash" of milk is let OH feed Sadie in the morning before he goes to work from a bottle and I pump whatever's in there. Which tends to be LOTS in the morning (she doesn't drink nearly that amount from a bottle, so I think I have built up that supply in the morning).

As for pumping, there's no way I could go for more than 5-6 hours without expressing. It does get painful and leak.

Good for you trying to do something for yourself though. Being a mom is hard work and I think it is important to still look after you!

 

[Serafina83]

Ours stayed away from home when he was 1 week shy of 3 months. x