I'm going away for work - does this mean the end of bfing?

[levan]

My 16 mth old dd is currently bfd morning and evening. However I unfortunately have to go on a course for work and will be away for five days. What are the chances of me still having milk when I get back? (I will take my breast pump but don't hold out much hope as I have not had any success expressing since I stopped bfing her exclusively. I'm also wondering what the chances are that she'll still be interested after a five day break!! I really don't want to stop bfing. All advice welcomed

Many thanks. Have never actually tried hand expressing - how do you do it? (appreciate it's probably a bit difficult to explain without pictures!)

You'll be fine.
I never managed the hand expressing but it sounds brill.
Look in the archives. Tiktok and Mears have given good descriptions in the past.

I bf my 2 for nearly / over a year and in both cases was away from them for a few days. Producing enough for bottles was hard and they had to be topped up on formula (bottle feeding was another issue!) but never had a problem producing milk or either of them being interested in it once i got home.

I've been away a reasonable amount in the 16 months I've been bf, and its been OK - a lot easier once he was one and I wasn't fretting about the freezer stock plummetting whilst I was away (and resenting every drop going down the drain). DS is more interested in num nums than ever when I've been away, especially for a few days.
Hand expressing is very handy as you can do it anywhere - although I travel with a double electric pump I've hand expressed down the loo, into plane wash basins, and even into a sandwich bag (more comfortable than aiming down the loo, and acceptable on planes..)

Many thanks. Whether expressing by hand or pump,is it worth carrying on doing it every day even if I'm not getting anything out? Will it still be stimulating the milk supply?