Breastfeeding and Pumping - help me get my head around this !!!

[mumtosp]

Hi all,

DS is ebf and I pump very occasionally. This coming weekend I will be out with friends for more than a few hours so will need to pump milk and leave it back so that DH can do a feed. Since DS is 6 mo and taking solids well, DH may only need to do 1 feed and some solids till I am back.
My question is, since I will be missing a feed do I need to pump while I am out... I really don't want to tbh. I am going out as I need a break and some relaxing time friends... somehow I don't see pumping fitting into it :(
Will my breasts get confused if I miss a feed? I know I will be very full by the time I am home.

Hope these questions make sense and I am not being a complete idiot about pumping !

Thanks :)

I've done it at 6 months and not pumped, dd just had a huge feed when I got home. If you get too uncomfortable could you hand express a little, just for your own comfort?

This isn't the "offical" advice, but I only pumped at that stage when missing more than one feed whilst out. If you generally only feed off one side then I suggest pumping off the other right before you go out.

Oh and even if you no longer use them, wear and take spare breast pads!

I went out at 6 months and didn't pump, but I did disappear off to relieve the discomfort after a few hours. I didn't pump, just hand expressed off enough to make myself comfortable again.

If you are organised enough, you could just do a feed and pump before you go out. That way you may not even need to pump/express whilst you're out at all.

My DS is six months too and I left him for around seven hours a couple of weeks ago, to go to a wedding.
I didn't pump while I was there (I didn't want to carry a pump and then a bag of milk around with me!) so just hand expressed in the loo for comfort, when I started feeling too "full."

IMO, as an occasional thing it won't affect your supply and your boobs won't get confused. Not at six months, when BF is well established.
I'd just make sure to feed him immediately before you leave, so your boobs are nice and "empty" when you head out.

I didn't at that age. I bit uncomfortable, but DD2 had an enormous feed when I got home.

My DD is only 3 months old, but I left her for 3.5 hours a few nights ago to go to a movie. She usually feeds every 1.5-2.5hrs in the day and wakes 2-3 times a night. I didn't express while out, just fed her immediately before I left her and then again when I returned. I figured that as she sometimes sleeps a solid 5-6 hr stretch at night and my supply doesn't suffer from that, that we'd be okay for a few hours.

Similarly, I should imagine that by 6 months your supply is well established, so a one-off night out won't cause problems with supply, but you might get a bit full!

Thanks all for the quick responses :)
Looking forward to my weekend outing !!

I went out for a night out when DS was 5.5 months. I didn't pump the whole time I was out but I pumped a huge amount of milk when I got back. Sadly it was pump amd dump as I'd been on the cocktails!