extended breastfeeders a question?

[hermykne]

what have u done if you wanted to go away for a night or maybe 2? anyone done longer?
have u been able to do it or does baby/toddler come too?
ds is now 9mths, i would love a wee break away for a night in the summer and dont know how to plan it?
i have stopped expressing and i dont know if he would take a bottle of ebm, he does take water from a bottle or a cup

If you went away, who would he stay with? Once you've sorted that out, plan for them to take him out without you to the park,say, to get used to them, if he's not already. Then work on the ebm from a bottle, give it when he's hungry so he's more likely to take it. If he's reluctant, stick at it, keep offering the bottle - after a few days of trying he will get the idea.

The next step is to for him to stay for longer periods during the daytime with whoever will be caring for him. Then try an overnight as a trial run before you go away so when you actually do go away, you will be happy that he's settled as it will be something he's used to doing with familiar people.

This is what I did with my kids' grandparents and they were quite confident staying with them. It works the other way round too, the grandparents were confident caring for them too.

Where are planning to go btw?

I bf my dd until 2 years, and she stayed with her granparents overnight every now and then. When she was young i left bottles of ebm, later she had bottles of cows milk.

Your son will be old enough by summer to not "need" the milk, it will be more for the comfort factor when going to bed probably.

If i were you i'd see what you think he'd prefer, milk in a cup/bottle when mummy's not there. Get him used to this before you go and then enjoy yourself!

queeneagle - anywhere ! i d like an uninterupted bath and dinner and sleep!!

thanks for this advice will read again later

have been regular away (for work) when ds and dd were about 5 months old . left dh with EBM and left it at that...

just a little question, how often are you bf? Just asking as dd (25 months) was ill recently and bf was the only thing she did for a few days. Surprise surprise, after a day/night away I felt I had two footballs on my chest and was quite uncomfortable. (Doesn't happen on "normal" days/nights away)

I left DS3 when he was 8 months old for 2 nights. I left a stock of EBM in the freezer for his night time feed before going to bed and also in the morning after breakfast.
I expressed in the evening to keep me comfortable - didn't keep it but threw it away (what a waste!).
Resumed feeding when I got home, no problems.

your not flying to america are you?

Depends on whether you want him to get used to bottles of formula or not-me,myself and I would advocate mixed feeding as my 16 month ds will take formula from others.....just not me!!

misdee nooooooooooo

dropin - the prob is he is allergic to formula, i havent tried him for ages on it - he throws it up, its a weird one, as he can take cheese and milk cooked, and i dintgo the soya route....my other threads

You can either express for 2 feeds or he does without milk for a couple of days. He will survive

thanks mears
i lovei t when i see your responses on my threads
havent expressed for well over 6 wks now, it taking ages to get even 1oz.

Remember you do not need to express a whole feed at a time. Small amounts soon mount up. Also do not express after you have fed. Takes too long. You could express a couple of ounces not long before you do feed. Baby will still get plenty.