breast feeding after 8 day break?

[Lorien]

My ds2 is 7 months and just has one breast feed from me, in the evening. In May, I'll be away from him for 8 days, and I wonder (if I express inbetween) if I might be able to return to breastfeeding him when we are reunited? Seems like a bit of a long shot to me, but does anyone have experience of picking up breast feeding again after a lengthy break?

I left my 8 month old for 4 days. I had enough expressed to cover my time away - morning, evening and midday (freezer like a dairy). I expressed while I was away to keep my supply up although it was a pain and seemed a shame to throw away the milk. Anyway came back to very happy child who had not really missed me (and delighted dh). Although he was delighted to see boobies again and nearly savaged me. We took up from where we had left and still feeding now 3 months later. Must say the break actually did me the world of good as you can feel tied sometimes.

I left my ds when he was 6 months old for 10 days. I left enough expressed milk to last him while I was away (JUST!) (fortunately I was used to epxressing as I'd been back at work since he was 4 months old, and just had to put in some extra sessions) and expressed while I was away.

I filled the chalet freezer with sachets of milk! I had also taken a freezer bag with me, plus some freezer blocks, so I could store it on the way back. This was during the middle of the foot and mouth crisis - so I was just waiting for someone to stop me at calais and say "you're not allowed to bring dairy products into the country" - and to tell them that I could personally vouch for every drop! .... but we weren't stopped.

Ds was fine - but then he was used to a mixture of EBM and boob. I think I got the most comfort from him being back on the boob!

I continued to bf till he was 13 months old.

The break did me a world of good too! It was good for dh and me to have time together as a couple!

I had horrible problems feeding and gave up for 8 days when ds was 7 weeks. I was winding down, expressing less & less, when I changed my mind and restarted (I missed the closeness). It took a while for the milk to come back but it did. I was recommended fenugreek to help bulk up the supply

Thanks for the encouragement -- I'll post again after the 8 days.

I somehow managed to miss this thread and was just about to start my own, when I searched and found this one. I too am going away for 5 days (mid-may) from my 7 mo. old and would like to continue bfing when I get back. I'm glad to hear all the success stories. Lorien, please post as soon as you get back to let us know how it went.

So how did it go? Well, I had cut down to one (evening) feed before I left and I didn't express when I was away. And ds2 wasn't at all amused when we were reunited and ignored me for a whole day, so there was a 9-day break altogether. After that I gave ds2 breast and them formula milk in the evening. Now, some three weeks later, I seem to have enough milk for the evening feed. BUT it did take some time and perseverance. And I haven't tried to extend breastfeeding to other feeds....