Breastfeeding amd Working Away

[IceBergJam]

DD is 1. I return to work in January. She feeds when waking, maybe once more in the day and then before bed. She will wake around 2300 for a final feed.

I have to work away for a week at the begining of March. Will I have to stop. I have never been able to express more than 4 oz a day.

Watching with interest as I'll be in your shoes soon too...

DS1 was a bit older (nearly two) the first time I went away for work (for five days) but I was able to go back to morning and evening feeds when I got back no problem - I think at over a year your supply is pretty robust. I just pumped morning and evening to avoid discomfort, didn't get a huge amount but any dip in supply didn't seem to cause any problems for DS on my return.

Agree with leedy. I think that even if you were to give up bfing altogether, it takes 3 weeks for your milk to dry up.

When ds3 and ds4 were small, I left them for up to 3 days at a time to take a mini-holiday with dh. The most memorable was when ds4 was 5 months old and still exclusively breastfed. I left 138oz of breastmilk in the freezer and was shocked when I came back to realise Mum had "only" fed him 90oz! I brought a double pump with me, didn't pump as often as I would have fed ds4, but still when I got home, he latched on as if I'd never left!

FWIW, I always expressed loads when I was away from the kids. Not so much when I was with them. Also, if I was away from them when they were over one, I never got much milk. Even though I'm sure they were getting a good bit from me when they fed. I think your body knows when there's a real need for the milk and when there isn't.

I guess I will need to start expressing a month before because I struggle. I would like to continue the bedtime and morning feed for a while longer.