Expressing

[Voddy4]

Hi
I have a 10 week old baby and am away for the whole day in a couple of weeks. Dc is exclusively Breast fed so will be leaving bottles of expressed Milk. I'll be away for 9-10 hours and planning to leave 6x3 ounce bottles so around 18 ounces of milk.
Is this enough? I don't want to leave too little Milk!
Thanks

[HandbagFan]

Sound plenty. My 5.5m old (who would be eating more than your little one) gets through 28-33ozs per day (mixed formula/expressed). 14 of those immediately before or after bed. 18 ozs would be more than he would need so sure you'd be fine.

[MissBeaHaving]

That should be plenty.

Seeing as you have a few weeks,I'd be tempted to try a trial run if possible,much easier to relax when you are away!

[Voddy4]

Thanks for the replies, we have given bottles of expressed Milk a couple of times when I've gone out for an hour or two. She's had them but complained a lot about having a bottle! Why do they do that?!

[MissBeaHaving]

Completely different smell & feel I think,that's just my own opinion though!

My youngest wouldn't take an expressed bottle at first,eventually we found he'd take it from his Dad if he had my worn Pj top over his shoulder,he would never take a bottle from me though.

Babies are complicated creatures,but if your Lo has already taken expressed milk then I would say don't worry to much! impossible I know

[MissBeaHaving]

Also could be the bottle teat,they are all so different.

[Voddy4]

Thank you, yeah I am worried about leaving her but also know that's silly, she's not going to starve she'll have milk as long as she doesn't decide she suddenly won't take a bottle!! I'll suggest that with one of my items of clothing, thanks for that

[Andromache77]

I had to do mixed feeding as my milk supply was low, so I would have loved to have expressed milk to give her (tried expressing, got nowhere).
Anyway, I was given this routine to prevent her from rejecting the breast (Ha! No way). It went like this: first I would breastfeed DD, followed by a formula bottle. That was the plan, but my baby had her own ideas and after the boob-bottle combo she would always demand the breast again. She didn't reject the bottle and neither could she have been hungry as she had just had her fill, leaving some formula, it was just that she wanted mummy's boob, because it was mummy's boob, as in not plastic but actual mummy's skin, mummy's smell, mummy's nipple, in short, it was mummy.
Your baby will be fine, they're very clever. She knows that you have the boobs there at the ready so she won't take a bottle from you but once you're out of the picture for a few hours she will take the bottle, don't worry. Babies don't starve themselves, they just try to make the best of the available options.

[Voddy4]

Thanks, that is reassuring. I am telling myself that she would probably want the boob for comfort aside from the milk I've left but for a few hours on one day she will survive. She won't starve! Also you're right I won't be there so she should hopefully know that so she doesn't go hungry she has to have the bottle!

[Andromache77]

She won't be happy but she will survive and so will you. Make sure that she is well acquainted with whomever is to take care of her in your absence, if it's not someone she knows as a carer then do a gradual introduction over a few days.
And expect her to be all over you the moment you cross the threshold. A visit to the loo before she sees you would also be advisable, trust me, because as soon as she detects your presence she'll cling to you and to your boobs like they're going out of fashion. That will be one mammoth feed/cuddle, because, you know, mummy is back, the world is all sunny and bright again and all is well in mummy's arms.

[MissBeaHaving]

Not silly at all voddy!
We've all been there & i know I had very mixed emotions myself but it's good for baby to experience different situations & good for you to have a bit of time for yourself.

Have a lovely time & try not to worry.

[Voddy4]

She's being left with her dad so no worries on that part. thanks for the advice re going to the toilet I'll do that!!