Going back to work and away for night - impossible?

[girlwiththecherrytattoo]

I'm due to go back to work in 2 months when dd will be 9m. She is a little milk vampire (sorry nicked that from someone else!) and feeds 3 or 4 times a night.

My job requires me to go to London once every 3 or 4 months. I imagine I will be asked to go soon after returning to catch up and I just don't know how I can do it. DD will be distraught if she wakes up and it's DH not me there. She absolutely won't drink from a bottle and reluctanctly from a beaker. DH once tried to give her milk from a beaker in the night when I was unwell and she sobbed so much, it was heartbreaking. I don't see how I can leave her...not sure how it will go down at work if I explain this. Actually the thought is making me want to cry! Any thoughts?

I started to travel overnight when DS was 6 months old, EBF, and although he was having ebm at nursery, had never been away from me at night before and was dedicated to feeds at night.

DH and DS survived, and DS was hungry enough to drink the milk, so realised that worked from DH.

I think it's easier when you are not there at all as there is no choice, and they aren't thinking 'but mums just there, why is he here instead'

2 months is a long time in her life though, so she might start sleeping through by then, or be better with a beaker. Either way, you can't know how she will be unless you try.

Each to their own but feeding 3 or 4 times in the night at 9 months would not be acceptible to me. My DD and DS2 slept through the night from little but DS1 didn't and so once he was weaned and eating meals containing protein (at roughly 7 months) we did sleep training and within a couple of nights he was sleeping 7-7. TBH I couldn't function at work if I was waking up twice in the night.

I do think though that you would be entitled to say you could only go to London for the day as you were BFing in the night. I live in London and often go to Liverpool. I get the first train at 7am from Euston and come back late. So away for a long day but not overnight - maybe you could do that?

And agree with the other poster, if you are back at work and she is drinking from something in the day, if she really is hungry she'll drink the milk from a bottle, just your DH might not get much sleep!

I agree about the long day thing, but you should also be fine being away for one night at a time. We have the same experience that ds is calmer when I'm not there at all as opposed to when I'm in the house but not putting him to bed. I've had several nights away and he's had ebm from dh when hungry, or water when he's refused the ebm and he normally eats more solids in the day, sort of saving the bottle for when he's really hungry! Now at nearly 13 months he refuses bottle entirely so onto a beaker. Though it's 3 months or so since I've been away overnight so probably has all changed again!

You might need to take a pump incase it's uncomfortable for you though. And I found I still woke up at the normal night feed times, despite being alone

If you tell your employer you're still breast feeding they have to perform a risk assessment - same deal as being pregnant. As going to london would adversely affect your milk supply can you get out of it that way?