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Original poster

Will I be able to leave a breastfed 6 week old?

36 replies

MissMilly88 · 10/02/2019 20:09

Hi all, due to have a baby girl at the beginning of May. I've signed up to exam mark mid June as I do every year and am trying to figure out the logistics of leaving my baby from around 8 until 3pm when Breastfeeding to attend the conference . I plan on expressing when I can so that DP can get involved in feeding too, if I bring a pump with me (to alleviate pain etc) and leave enough expressed milk for the day, do you think this would work? I'm a first time mum so I just need to know if it's viable or not. Thank you :)

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HavelockVetinari · 10/02/2019 20:13

It depends on whether your DC latches well. My DSis told me that as soon as DS cracked latching without a fuss we could introduce a bottle, so we managed to do that when he was 2 weeks old. Your DC might be different though, it's impossible to say for sure. You also might not be ready to be away from him/her for 7 hours at 6 weeks, don't underestimate the natural pull you'll feel towards your baby, particularly if breastfeeding works well for you.

frillyfarmer · 10/02/2019 20:14

Physically it's possible, but emotionally it's impossible to say until you've had the baby.

I was planning all kinds of excursions when pregnant, and then when my DS arrived he didn't leave my side until 5months.

Woodchiponthewall · 10/02/2019 20:19

I think if you are exclusively breastfeeding you’ll struggle. It’s quite a long time to be away and at that point they might still be feeding fairly constantly. Plus if you are over due the baby might not even be 6 weeks. Can you do the training course online? Is this your first baby? I’d also be slightly wary about signing up to a load of marking so early on - your head really might not be in it!

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AssassinatedBeauty · 10/02/2019 20:20

It's impossible to say. You might have birth injuries and be physically recovering, or similar from a c section. Breastfeeding can sometimes take a while to establish and being away for a day like this could be very tricky.

If there are sufficient breaks in the conference, could your partner have the baby nearby and you could feed the baby in any breaks? You'd likely need to express at least twice in that timeframe - will there be breaks for that?

PRoseLegend · 10/02/2019 20:21

Bear in mind that the "due date" is more like a "due month" as well... You could have a 6 week old, but you could equally have a 4 or 3 week old, if baby comes late, which is statistically more likely for first children.
Not saying what you want to do is impossible, but you need to be realistic... You will most likely be sleep deprived, possibly still recovering from birth or c-section, may not be able to drive (especially after c-section), and you may not want to leave your baby at all.
Also early in the child's life you need to be pumping at least as frequently as the child will eat eg pump every 2-3 hours, to maintain milk supply, you don't want it dropping because of missed feedings.

MrsTerryPratcett · 10/02/2019 20:23

If you have good supply, can pump, have a baby that will take a bottle, deliver on time and don't have any other issues...

Good luck

Gentlygently · 10/02/2019 20:23

Can whoever is babysitting come with you and bring baby to you for feeding? That would make it very possible. Otherwise (in my experience) one way or another it may be stressful.

thenightsky · 10/02/2019 20:25

I couldn't have done. It was 6 weeks when I settled down to breast feeding (with each DC). I wouldn't have wanted to disrupt it at that point. Also, neither of mine would touch a bottle at all. No way. They couldn't get their mouths around one for some reason. Even when starving hungry they'd both rather scream the place down than accept a bottle.

Fraula · 10/02/2019 20:26

My short answer is no.

You're still establishing bf at that age and they can need to feed every hour. You'll be on very little, or at least very broken, sleep. You'd have to express a lot of milk to leave at home, and express every couple of hours at least, in order to keep your supply up and avoid mastitis.

Plus, your baby may not take a bottle well (or at all, like mine...)

Wagonwheelsandjammydodgers · 10/02/2019 20:29

There is no way that at 6 weeks I would have been able to pump enough milk for all that time (for either of my babies)...and also I was so exhausted from being up all night and all day by 6 weeks I wouldn't have been in a fit state to concentrate on something other than my baby!

DoAsYouWouldBeMumBy · 10/02/2019 20:33

I couldn't have done anything like that st 6 weeks - physically, I wasn't in good shape after a section, and the baby fed non stop, plus I couldn't express. But I also wouldn't have wanted to be away from him at that point. And I'm really not one of the mums who felt the need to be with my baby all the time - but at six weeks I was. I would leave him for half an hour maybe, but that was it. I also wasn't up to anything intellectual tbh

mindutopia · 10/02/2019 21:25

No, definitely not. I have an academic job as well, but the best place is to be at home with your baby.

At that stage with my first, I was still working out how to brush my teeth every day, let alone actually leave the house!

Unless you would default on your mortgage without the added income, no, it’s just not worth it.

thenightsky · 10/02/2019 21:33

Also, not everyone can pump. I couldn't. I spent hours trying and only ever extracted 1oz.

zzzzz · 10/02/2019 21:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ginger1982 · 10/02/2019 21:38

You're not going to want to do this once baby is here.

TheLovleyChebbyMcGee · 10/02/2019 21:39

My DS took a bottle at around 3 weeks no problem. However, he also wouldn't sleep on his back, so we were taking it in shifts to sit on the couch with him asleep so I'd have struggled with what you are describing.

I also can't express much. I've no problem feeding DS, but could never express more than 40 ml from both sides, even after an hour on trying, so I've given up on that.

JennyOnAPlate · 10/02/2019 21:41

It's impossible to say sorry op. Many breastfed babies refuse a bottle...do you plan to introduce bottles in advance of the day in question?

ReaganSomerset · 10/02/2019 21:44

I went for an evening out at six weeks leaving DH to feed DD using expressed milk, which seemed to go well. However, she did forget how to latch afterwards and never really got the standard wide-mouthed latch back again. I have a good supple, so it hasn't as yet been an issue, except that my nipples are now three times their original size!

Thesnobbymiddleclassone · 10/02/2019 21:47

Physically yes and emotionally most likely.

I left my DD at a similar age and loved being able to do something else for a day.

I'm due second any day now and have a night away booked end of March and can't wait!

beela · 10/02/2019 21:50

I'd say not, for all the reasons already given.

Also there's a growth spurt at around 6 weeks iirc (and if your baby arrives on time) so they may be wanting to cluster feed at that stage.

On the other hand, potentially you may have a 4 week old, and be still recovering from a c-section. Who knows?

Personally I wouldn't count on being able to (or wanting to) go.

TitusAndromedom · 10/02/2019 22:05

My baby will be seven weeks tomorrow. I had a very straightforward delivery, have recovered well and she’s been exclusively breastfed from birth without any problems at all. There is no way I could leave her for that length of time. I wouldn’t have been able to express enough in the first six weeks, particularly in the midst of cluster feeding. It’s also worth remembering that some people really struggle to express successfully. It’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself when recovering from birth and adjusting to life with a baby.

It might also be worth reconsidering exam marking. I have done exam marking for the last two years, and there’s no way I could do it this year. You might have a laid back baby who naps frequently, or you might have one who asks a lot more of you. It’s a big commitment to make with a newborn.

chipsandgin · 10/02/2019 22:15

I would say from personal experience absolutely no way on earth! If it had been my first I had a tricky birth, physical recovery was slow & at that point would have had a 1 month old (42+2) still getting to grips with bf, cluster feeding, hadn’t slept more than an hour at a time since the birth & couldn’t bear to have him out of my sight. Also covered in puke & wearing stretchy maternity trousers with my house in chaos, greasy hair scraped back, didn’t know or care where my make up bag was & was constantly googling nipple thrush/the torture of sleep deprivation & wondering why my tummy looked like a bag of porridge! Also learning how to eat a cold meal with one hand & learning that my gorgeous baby had some built in radar to know how to start crying at exactly the moment I sat or lay down..or actually fell asleep.

However ther will be many women here who were quite fine, had babies sleeping through & pinged back into their pre-pregnancy jeans & were back at work saving the world whilst doing Pilates in their kondoed houses before they head out for ‘date night’ with immaculate hair & make up & a spring in their step.

Trouble is, with the best will in the world you can’t predict which one you’ll be (hilariously I did think I’d be a version of the latter, oh how we laughed...).

pasbeaucoupdegendarme · 10/02/2019 22:19

From my experience (2 dc ebf) I wouldn’t have been able to. I couldn’t have pumped enough for the time and neither dc would take a bottle for love or money!

PetrovaFossil1 · 11/02/2019 02:51

Conversely to most other posters I would have been able to. But you do need to ensure you've already introduced a bottle in advance

CustardCreamLover · 11/02/2019 03:31

I'm currently up with a 3 week old who arrived 5 weeks early. There is no way I will be able to leave him at 6 weeks. I'm bloody exhausted! I can't even manage to brush my teeth twice a day at the moment and it's a choice between sleeping and eating and sleeping usually wins. I thought j would be able to do so much more and cudos to anyone who can but don't underestimate how much a new baby will take from you in the first few weeks.!

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