Tiktok and others - would appreciate your expertise, have a quick question about supply

[cyteen]

Hello

I'm off to a hen weekend at the end of March (yay!) - very old and dear friend so looking forward to it lots BUT it will mean leaving my excl bf PFB DS who will at that time be almost 7 months old. He's just started taking a bottle again (double yay!) so it's looking hopeful for me to actually be able to go, but I had a couple of questions:

• how can I expect this to affect my supply, if at all? I mean, presumably I'll need to take the pump with me to avoid the leaky Dolly Parton look but should I do anything in particular i.e. pump at normal feeding times?

• do you think it's a good idea to try DS with some formula between now and then just in case, for whatever reason, DP runs out of my milk over the course of the weekend? I'm not especially keen to give formula where there's no need but don't want DP and DS to have a stressy time should the situation occur.

TIA

not sure on the exact workings of it, but if you are expressing when you are away adn your baby is seven months old then your supply, as far as I know, should be OK.

You've got lots of time though so hopefully you'll be able to build up a decent supply in the freezer.

I'm not an expert though so bumping this for someone who is

a weekend away without kids

that's encouraging i'm only going to express and throw away on the actual trip as obviously the milk will be sodden with booze but will be stocking the freezer as much as possible between now and then...guess i'm just having my own little PFB moment, considering all eventualities worrying that he will miss me and be traumatised

cyteen, can't see any potential probs with supply as long as you express.

Just a little teesny hint, though: your baby will notice you have gone and will also notice you have come back, and he might need a lot of mummy-lovin' to reassure him all is well in his world...even if he has been fine when you were away. 7 mths is the absolutely typical age for working out who is who and who loves him, and he may be confused and cross at first. He may even have a nursing strike.

With lots of feeds and cuddles he will get over it, though.

Not wanting to paint a gloomy pic, but it's best you know

No no no, that's exactly the type of thing I'm worried about so I'm grateful for the advance warning Lots of mummy-cuddles are always available for my boy [mad about PFB emoticon] but I will also discuss it with my DP beforehand.

Two nights does feel like an awful long time to me and I know I will miss him like crazy and probably have some 'wtf am I doing here' moments. Have even considered seeing if DP could book somewhere nearby for a night so I could see them both and feed DS But my friend is really dear to me too and it will probably be good for me to go...

I brought DS and DH along to Scotland for a friend's hen party Went out for a nice meal, a couple of drinks and clubbing while DH looked after DS. Didn't do any of the day stuff that was planned but had a nice weekend away with DH and DS and still got to enjoy the hen weekend - so it is an option if you want!