Leaving My Five Month Old

I just have to warn you that you probably don't realize just how much milk you are producing. He is getting almost all of his nutrition from you and is fat and sassy! You will have to pump just to be comfortable and take lost of pads for leakage. If the baby takes a bottle now he will probably do fine but boys are notoriously fussy and hard to calm sometimes, hopefully Gmom is prepared!

Hi. I had to leave my daughter several times when I was nursing because of work (I work part time from home but have to travel occasionally). Mostly just a few days here and there but when she was 10 months old I had to leave her for a week. It was h*** o* me -- I pumped the entire time I was gone and she went right back to nursing. WE never had a problem and I was able to nurse her until she was 15 months old. So I think you will be fine. Just pump while you are gone to keep up your supply - but realize you won't probably pump as much as you nurse. That's okay -- your milk will pick back up when you get back.

Also, you might consider using the first years breast flow bottles -- they simulate breast feeding. WE used those and I think that was one of the reasons it worked out so well.

Enjoy your trip ;-)

does he already take a bottle?? My dd would not take the bottle with breastmilk in it - but would take it with formula, my son would do either - we actually went to San Antonio for a weekend when he was about 3 months - I left a lot of expressed breastmilk and he was fine - nursed until he was one! my youngest would NEVER take a bottle - it was really hard - I could never leave her for more than an hour!

If he already does well with a bottle, then he will do fine - just know you will have to do a lot of pumping!
Have fun!!

You will definitely have an easier time traveling without him and visiting the SA area. We go often and always love it. If you need eating suggestions or places to go please message me. Also, most likely your son will nurse when you come back. Just be prepared in case he doesn't. My cousin went on a cruise and left her baby with her parents. When she came back her little girl wanted nothing to do with nursing. Please let us know how everything goes.

H., have you ever expressed your milk and stored it in freezer? My daughter did this many years ago, now my grand daughter had to do so ,as she made too much, plus she wanted to have dad and grandma help with feeding. It came in handy , when she was hospitalized for a gallbladder surgery. The baby took the bottle reluctantly but soon discovered it was from mom. She was not able to continue as soon as mom came from hospital, but later , latched on, and was ready to go.again. It's just an idea, may work for some and not others. Good luck,
BF

God bless you for being a dedicated nursing mom. Surely you have expressed milk to be given to him while you are gone. And you have made sure that he will accept it in a bottle. I don't think that you will have any trouble getting him back on the breast, since you will not be gone very long. When you get back the only choice that you should give him is your breast. Just make sure that you don't get engorged, while away by making sure to express your milk regularly to keep the milk supply going good. I breast feed 3 children. The first 9 months, the second 15 months and the third 17 months. Enjoy your time with your husband.
J Wright

Don't even worry about it. I continued to breastfeed when I went back to work FT. I had a work trip where I had to leave out-of-town for a week. I had no issues when I got back. Good for you for taking a vacation. you need to take them when you can. Good luck!

I forgot to add - don't forget to pump! That would be the only critical thing b/c you need to pump every 3 - 4 hours or so. The more often the better as you will have a much easier time when you get back. Take a cooler with you or call the hotel to make sure they have a fridge to store the milk.

Hi H.
I think it's good that you will be getting a little break from your kids and you will be able to spend some time alone with your husband! Your son can still exclusively breastfeed even if he drinks from a bottle occasionally. "Breastfed" means he's getting breastmilk, no matter how it's delivered. There will come a time, probably soon, when it will be really handy for him to be able to take a bottle. It can be expressed breastmilk or (if you want or if your supply goes down) it can be formula. I breastfed my daughter until she was 10 months old. I never pumped breastmilk when I had to (or chose to) give her a bottle. She still nursed all the rest of the time. Even if your son only nurses once a day, and takes formula all the rest of the time, he is still reaping the benefits of breastmilk. Just remember that your sanity is pretty important too.

I know this doesn't answer your questions about your worries that he will or won't return to nursing when you return. I think since it will only be a couple of days, it will be okay. But I have a LOT of girlfriends who chose to only nurse their babies, and when their babies got older, like closer to one year, they actually couldn't leave them at home because the babies had never learned to use a bottle and eventually refused. That's just as much of a problem as a child who won't nurse. Well, I guess it's only a problem if you don't mind never having an evening for yourself! LOL

Hope you figure it all out. Blessings to you!

When my daughter was 6 months old my husband and I left her with my parents for 5 days. I was a bridesmaid in my bff's wedding in Mexico and decided it was best not to take her along. I had the same worries and concerns as you. My daughter is also exclusively bf and only had a bottle once in awhile per my pedi's suggestion in case something came up where she needed to have my pumped milk. She did just fine with my parents, of course having fun with them. By the time we got back she was soooo excited to see me, excuse me, us. lol I didn't have any problems nursing her again. She was so happy to snuggle up with me and nurse. I guess it's part of that good mommy comfort. I hope you have the same luck and have a good vaca! :)

i had to be away from my 2 1/2 month old bf'ing baby. i left pumped milk and bottles. yes i pumped for the day or so i was gone from him. he survived just fine and went right back to bf'ing till the year mark.

Lucky you! Enjoy your time away! In my opinion, he's been nursing long enough to know how to do it, even with a 3 day rest...it may take some relearning on his part, but my guess is he will be just fine...I just picture you guys being reunited and him being totally content to nurse, especially since you've been gone, it's the total bonding experience. I would just suggest, and I'm sure you already know this, but just pump as often as you would nurse so you don't compromise your supply. HAVE FUN!

Has he ever taken a bottle? I mean, does he occasionally take a bottle? My middle child was stubborn, stubborn, stubborn about taking a bottle once I started to breast feed exclusively and even when he dropped in percentiles and his pedi suggested I cut him off the breast completely and bottle feed only, we had to try to stop cold turkey. He went all evening and into the night without eating until I finally gave in and nursed. Just a forewarning. Make sure he will actually take a bottle before turning him loose on your mother. Maybe even let her bottle feed him before your vacation just to be sure.

If he will take a bottle I'm sure he will go back to nursing. All of my babies loved the snuggling at that age much more than the bottle. And yes, make sure you are pumping on your trip otherwise you will lose your supply and be very sore. Another suggestion, take lots of pads for your bra as you may leak more than usual.

Have fun!!!

Hello H.,

I had the same worries when I left my 6 month old. My daughter became severly ill and hospitalized with a virus when my son was only 6 months and I had debated on keeping him up there or having someone bring him to me but ultimately knew I couldn't. So I was away from him for about 2 days and had some milk pumped for him and then he tried I think a little bit of formula at the time but didn't really like it. But after it was all over, he jumped right back into nursing and was fine.

Have you bottle fed him before? I think if he's been bottle fed previously he should be ok. And even so, just keep pushing nursing when you get back and he'll get back into the swing of things!

Good luck and have fun!