Pre-planning trip away from bf 7 month old

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Dc3 is due in May (waaaay ahead planning here)

Dh turns 40 in Dec and we are hoping to have a few days away (3 nights) just the two of us. It will be the longest we have been away from our children, let alone the baby. Other dc will be 10 and 6 by then and whilst we will miss them I am not worried about how they will cope (although maybe little a little bit for the grandparents who will be looking after them!)

But it is v likely to be the first time away from the baby overnight. Well, nothing else planned in at the moment although things do change, 11 months is a long time away!

Am planning on exclusively bfing this one as per previous 2, neither took terribly well to bottles of either ebm or formula when older and I want to do all that I can to get this one comfortable with a bottle of ebm well in advance of our mini holiday. Am comfortable with pumping to build up a stock.

Any experience to share?

I went away for a very long day when DD was about that age - I know you're talking about slightly longer but . . .

1. I built up a massive stock of breast milk in the freezer - as much as I could.

1. I introduced her to drinking breast milk from a bottle for the first time at about 8/9 weeks if I recall correctly. After that I think we offered it fairly irregularly, but often enough that she remembered what it was. When the day came for my mum to have her while we were away, she was fine - drank about 30oz I think.

1. The only thing that wasn't easy was the pumping while away. I took my pump with me but the environment was so not conducive to relaxation that it was really hard to get any milk to come out. So by the end of the day I was quite uncomfortable. I was never prolific when pumping, but that day I was getting hardly anything. So I would say that anything you can do or take with you to relax and focus on the baby would be useful. Maybe clothes that smell of him/her, photos on your phone, headphones with relaxing music - whatever!

Hope this helps.

Thanks Secret. How often did you feed her by bottle? This is the bit that I am worried about, knowing how often to do it so the baby remembers how to/accepts it OK.

It wasn't regular at all - certainly less than once a week. Maybe once/twice a month? The first time wasn't a massive success - DH did it and she did take some in the end but she got a bit upset. Second time I did it and she was fine. So I would say don't be worried if the first time is tricky. After I could see that she knew what the bottle was all about, I think probably once or twice a month at most. I didn't want to use up too much of the milk I was stashing in the freezer!