Breastfeeding 19m old + work trip? Will boobies cope?

[Starbruk000]

Hi! My boss has asked me to travel to the US on a work trip. I value my career and would love to go. However, I am still breastfeeding my DS who will be 19months old then. I think he will be absolutely fine without me. It would be his usual routine throughout the week anyway. My main concern is will my boobies
cope? He only feeds x2 a day. Im happy to pump and dump but pumps don’t seem to pump out the milk as well as baby does. Perhaps I could hand massage to express morning and night?

I’d also love to resume BFing when Im back though I don’t think this will be an issue. Pretty confident my LO will rush to my breast the minute he sees me.

My little girl got hand foot and mouth a few months ago, couldn't latch for a couple of days, and stayed off the milk for about 5 days total. I was v sore for the first couple despite pumping, but it eased after that. At 2.5 she feeds a lot more than your ds still. She's back with a vengeance now alas...

I have a work trip coming up too that'll be about 5 or 6 nights away when she is almost 3. I'm not worried now (except perhaps for dp trying to get her to sleep). I'll use pumps, painkillers, and hot flannels/massage to keep the milk moving and avoid mastitis. Hand expression has never worked for me.

You'll be fine :)

All of the above but i also got told to use raw potatoes. Weird but it stops inflammation

@Blessedbethefruitz thanks. That’s reassuring.Yeah I don’t think pumping is as efficient as the real suction power of a toddler/baby!

I will take a pump with me just in case though

I would take a pump with you, you don't want to risk getting mastitis

I was feeding twice a day at that stage. Didn't have to go away till over 2 years when down to once a day though. I think your boobs will be fine, I'd plan to hand express some in the shower but pack a pump just in case. I think breastfeeding should resume but be prepared for him not to want to. I couldn't pass up a chance to go to the US on expenses!

@Ihadenough22 Woah! I take it the number in your username refers to your birthdate of 1922?

The World Health Organization (WHO), the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the CDC all recommend that babies should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives. After that, they recommend that babies continue to be breastfed while also eating other foods for up to two years or longer. The WHO and UNICEF also recommend starting breastfeeding within one hour of birth.

Shame the World Health Organisation disagrees with you - they recommend at least two years. But you know better do you?

Just to clarify, by 'normal milk' you mean milk from a cow? Milk that is designed for baby cows? And milk produced by a mother for her own child is 'abnormal' milk I assume you would think? Yes, absolutely nothing natural about a mother providing milk to her own child and instead a different animal's milk should be used. I suppose the World Health Organisation's guidelines for longer term breastfeeding are incorrect then? I think you should probably write to them to let them know that they're wrong and all babies and toddlers should be moved onto normal milk as soon as possible.

Following with interest as I feed my 17 month old (but more like 4-6 times in 24h including 2-3 during the night). Work trip isn’t quite as exciting as the US, but will be away for 2 nights so interested to hear views on how to cope. I do currently pump once when I’m working and he’s at nursery but completely agree pumping isn’t nearly as effective for me! Glad to hear others saying it’s possible without ending feeding as I’m happy to carry on 🤞🏼

@AegonT thanks! I know right, would be missing out to not go.

@Cdoc fingers crossed it goes well for you! I don’t think it should be that bad with reduced feeds

I used to go abroad for work quite a few times a year, trips 1-2 weeks whilst breastfeeding my youngest two at about the same frequency as you do. I would get a bit of swelling day 2-3, then it would go and milk would always come back after a few mins of sucking on return.

@Scottishflower65 that’s very reassuring, thank you! ☺️