BF and being away from baby for 3 nights

[TurquoiseKiss]

My baby is almost 11 months. Next week I’m going to a wedding abroad (away from Friday morning and back Monday afternoon).

She’s a good eater and on 3 solid meals a day but still breastfeeds during the night mainly. I give her ad-hoc short feeds during the day and to get her off to sleep.

I should probably have planned better for this and tried to switch to formula only (she has a bottle the odd time if I’ve been out for more than a few hours but this will be our first time apart for this long) but here we are!

Should I bring a manual pump with me to relieve inevitable discomfort? Is my milk likely to dry up being away from baby for this period of time?

DH will be at home with her. I imagine it’s going to be a tough one as I’m her main comfort - has never taken a dummy 😐 Never expected to breastfeed for 11 days never mind 11 months!

I had to stop breastfeeding very suddenly when my DD was 9 months due to medication I had to start taking. She got through it as will your baby. It was hard at first but she survived. I think you have to prepare yourself that your milk might dry up though.

I've fed beyond age 3 so can reassure you.

By now you have a well established supply. If you take a pump to express three times a day (ie to mimic your usual feeds) you will be absolutely fine. No need to do any prep. Baby will carry on feeding when you get home and probably more than make up for it the first few days! If you can express now so baby can have some of your milk at bedtime in a cup that might go down well.

Oh and on the day of the event just pump twice/for comfort that will be fine.

I would start pumping now to build up a supply for your absence. Then bring a pump with you to both provide relief and maintain your supply while you are gone.

my dd was happier with a sippy cup than a bottle. Though I definitely could not have left overnight at that age, but every child is different.

For me at that point relief would have been the bigger concern. I breastfed for 3 years and my milk lasted several more after that. I don’t know what would have happened at 11 months because I didn’t test it, but I suspect the supply was pretty firmly established by then.

Thanks all. I’ll try the manual pump and then see what happens when I return! 🥛