Can any BFing experts help me please? Have to go away for a week...

[TheShipsCat]

Next week I have to go away for a conference for a week. DD2 will be 6 months when I get back. I thought I would have stopped BFing by then, but I really don't feel she's ready for it. I've started cutting back, and she has 2 bottle feeds a day now. The HV told me that when I go away, that would be it, no more BFing. But is there any way I can keep my supply going? I don't really want to take my pump etc. Can I hand express, and how little can I get away with so that I can keep doing at least one feed a day when I get back? How quickly does a milk supply dry up?
If I want to continue the last BF feed of the day when I return do I have to express at that exact time (will be in a totally different time zone)?

Thanks for any advice...

Anyone?

i would take the pump, tbh.

Pump or hand express, ideally as many times as you will feed on your return, but doesn't have to be the same times. Even when I was expressing to feed in the day normally, I usually just expressed morning and evening (initially as soon as I got back to the hotel room and last thing at night) and that was fine. I didn't find I could do a really good hand express (but haven't got good hand strength)until I had dropped right down to 1 or 2 feeds a day.

I travelled from when DS was 6 months old, and continued to bf till he was 23.5 months with no supply problems at all, so your HV is talking nonsense.

Thanks! How little can I get away with to keep milk supply going?

Once a day would be fine. Even if you did nothing, you'd have milk when you came back, but would prob be uncomfortable anyway so good to express some

I'd still have milk if I did nothing? (As you say, would prefer to express though.) I've never hand expressed, is it tricky then?

I have to go away for 4 days every 2/3 months for work and took my pump with me for about the first year to stop me feeling uncomfortable. I bf dd til she was 2.6, always still had milk when I got back.
If you can learn how to hand express that would work too (I never got the hang of it but you could ask a bf counsellor to show you) or look up some video on the internet, e.g. www.breastfeeding123.com/free-video-on-hand-expression-of-breast-milk/

I stopped feeding DS in early May, and I still have milk ! Not sure how resilient supply is at 6 months though - you'd obviously drop in quantity, but you'd be able to get that back.

Hand expressing is dead easy, and I often used to do it to 'relieve the pressure' down the sink on planes/airport toilets etc when away, but as I used to have arthritis I just can't do that sort of repeated movement for very long without pain. This of course was when I was expressing 120ml or more off each breast so it took a while to do. It was just easier for me to take my trusty Lactaline so that I could work at the same time as pumping.

How much should I express? Just to feel comfy, or at least 120ml or whatever?

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for being so helpful. (I think my panicking may be down to a more deep rooted concern about leaving my little baby and toddler for a week)

As much as you can really - I knew how much I usually got per feed as I was expressing during work times routinely, but mostly pumped until there was nothing and then hand expressed until I was only getting drops. With my double pump this only took 15 mins or so which meant I could mumsnet do my emails at the same time.

DH really enjoys his time on his own with DS when I'm away, and certainly when DS was small I enjoyed a bath on my own and a guaranteed full nights sleep. I still enjoy waking up to an alarm clock rather than a shout..

I must admit, I'm really looking forward to a whole night's sleep, a hotel room, some one else cleaning and cooking, being on my own for a bit..

Thanks so much for your help, much appreciated. I shall take my pump and spend some quality time MNing working in my room