Leaving 10 month old for two days - will it be the end of bf?

[whoopdewhoop]

I have to go away for two days at the end of this week. My 10 month old is currently having a morning, mid-afternoon and evening feed, and usually one during the night too. She's never had a bottle, but will drink a small amount of formula from a sippy cup (never more than about 100 ml at a time). I'm planning to feed her before bed the night I go, and then I won't be back until bedtime two days later. Basically, I'm just after some reassurance that a) she'll be okay (feel very guilty and sad about suddenly cutting her off like that), and b) that I'll be able to feed her again when I get back. I've never been able to pump successfully so can't imagine that I'll be able to while away. I'd be very grateful for any thoughts.

breast milk doesn't disappear over night, so do not worry about that!
when I stopped bf my DS2 at 8 months, I checked my breasts every now and then, after 6 weeks there was still milk in them!

however, I think you should try and express some milk while away to avoid being engorged or uncomfortable.
you can to do it by hand or with a pump - 5-10 mins each breast once or twice a day should be enough to "lighten the load" if you are too full. also it's a good idea to stimulate the breasts anyway.

I hereby forbid you to feel guilty - utter waste of time of energy! I'm sure she'll be ok for 2 days - after all what if you were ill and unable to bf for a few days? she'd just have to take more food/drinks to compensate!

Even if she ends up taking in less amount of milk than she should, as long as she is a good weight and healthy and has food and is hydrated and sleeps ok and is looked after well she will be fine!

A friend of mine found out that her husband cheated on her when their DD was about 9 months old and so she temporarily stopped bf.
she asked her mother to look after baby so she could first of all get totally get drunk, sleep it off and then spend a week or so trying to figure out what to do.
she's a fab mum, but it was just one of those situations when she had to put herself first to save her marriage (which they did!) and the bf was just not a priority for a short amount of time.
her milk supply actually almost diminished due to the extreme stress and the abrupt stopping, but despite all the problems and emotions with hard work and good advice she managed to get back to bf properly!

your situation is nowhere near that serious or extreme, so there's no reason you or DS should have major problems - what I'm trying to say is that you should not worry about guilt or your milk supply!

Enjoy your time away!

Thank you for your reply! I think you're right about having to express, do I'll take a hand pump with me. I'm sure she'll be fine with dh- he's great with her and can usually settle her at night. I suppose I just feel bad that my sudden disappearance will confuse her and she'll be upset but I'm probably being precious about it so will try not to stress.

(sorry - that was me, I didn't realise I had a different username on my phone!)