how old was your baby when you left them overnight? Have to go away for three days

[neepsntatties]

Dd will be 8.5 months. I will have done one overnight stay away before that happens. On this one I will leave Friday evening, be back Monday lunch time.

Do you think it will be traumatic for her? She is breastfed still so will have to have lots of expressed milk (another things to worry about - will I be able to leave enough?)

She will be at home with her dad but it is me that settles her in the night etc. Should I try and night wean? I didn't leave DS until he was 2 so this feels very young to me. There is no way she can come with me though.

[notcitrus]

She'll be fine - a lovely bonding opportunity to get quality time with dad!
If she will drink the odd bit of formula or eat plenty of food, that would help dad's experience I guess.

[neepsntatties]

She will drink expressed milk fine and eats like a horse! Just worried about being away from her. Probably worse for me than her.

[naturalbaby]

my kids are a bit older but i spent my first night away recently and they had a ball cause they had daddy 24/7. normally mummy spoils the fun to make sure they all behave but they barely noticed i was gone!

[notcitrus]

neeps - definitely worse for you than her! Meant to say I did it for two nights at about the same age. Baby fine, dad rather tired but happy, me rushing in desperate to see my totally oblivious child!

You might want to take a breast pump with you too. I forgot...

[neepsntatties]

How was it being away and not feeding? Were you bursting? Did you settle by feeding in the night? DD still comfort feeds a lot at night, maybe I should do a few practice nights on the sofa or something.

[cory]

Dd was 5 months when I first left her to go abroad for 3 or 4 nights,. I expressed while I was away and had built up a supply in the freezer. Dd was fine.

Ds was only a few weeks when his dad took him away to see his dying (as we thought) granddad and was away overnight, using Aptamil or whatever it was.That was an emergency and not something we would normally have done, but it worked fine, including the 5 hour train journey with baby and walk over ploughed fields with pram. No signs of trauma (not even in his dad).

[notcitrus]

I was OK the first night but the second I ended up having a hot shower and trying to hand-express a bit to relieve the pressure. If I'd had the pump I'd have had no problem, just expressed a bit in a few minutes.
It's a very personal thing though, but as you have a pump already I'd take it just in case!

[Weissbier]

I left DD at that age for 3 days, she'd done a couple of overnights without me before that. She was fine. When she was 1 I left her for nine days and went to Canada for work, which was also fine. Your DD will be fine. You might want to practise DH settling her in the night a few times - if you can be reassured she will settle for him you don't need to night wean, when DH went in my DD never asked to feed.

I second the tip about the breast pump for you!

It is hard for you but I always spent a lot of time with my dad when I was very small and it is really nice to have had that sort of relationship with him.
Imagine if it was your DH going away for 3 days. Nobody would bat an eyelid, would they? After I got back from Canada everyone fell over themselves to my DH about what a wonderful achievement etc etc. He did do really well, but nobody told me what an achievement when I took DD solo abroad for longer, travelled all over the place, etc...

[neepsntatties]

Cory can I ask you how much milk you left? I have been freezing mlik but not sure how much she will actually need.

Weissbier that is so true, I doubt my dh would feel guilty about going away. I went out last night for the first time since she was born and got a million text messages because he couldn't get her to sleep. I didn't go home though, figured he needed the practice!