Baby-free vacation without weaning? (toddler)

dottymobo

DH and I are going to Las Vegas in April, when DS will be 18 months old, and we're considering not bringing DS with us. 

I wasn't really planning on weaning by then, but I don't know if it's really possible to be away for maybe 5 days and NOT wean a toddler.  Would I just pump to make sure that I don't totally dry up, and trust that Leander won't starve to death? 

At the moment, he nurses quite a bit- including to sleep for nap and several times during the night.  I'm actually starting night weaning this very evening, and wouldn't mind cutting down day feedings some time soon (teaching the "milk" sign seems to have been a bad idea ), so hopefully milk won't make up as big a portion of his diet by then regardless.

Has anyone done anything like this, or have ideas?  I'm feeling very conflicted right now.

Allie30

I have no advice, but i just LOVE the name Leander!

ArmyBride14

Sorry, I have no advice, I'm also hoping to hear replies though.  I literally could have written this exact post except that we aren't going to Vegas until May, it's only going to be a long weekend, and bringing DS isn't an option (it's my brother and FSIL's bachelor/bachelorette party).

Ugh, and I haven't even thought about night weaning yet 

Hopefully someone has some advice!

Harper'smom

I went on a business trip to Hong Kong for 5 days when DD was 16mos. I was freaking out about it. I think my first post on this board was pretty much your post. I was worried that abruptly leaving was equivalent to weaning cold turkey. It wasn't. I pumped the entire trip and had enough stash so she only had bm while I was gone (dairy allergy so cm was not an option). DD nursed within an hour of my return and other than a permanent dip in my supply and loss of my stash we didn't skip a beat. ***sorry, formatting, on phone****. Here are my tips: pump more frequently than you would nurse at home. After a few days of no DD stimulation I could tell my body wasn't into it. Drink tons of water, eat well, and relax. I ran myself ragged and probably slept 20 hours in 4 days and it was hard on my body. Make your time away count! I felt horrible leaving her and not being there to nurse her but the trip was a great opportunity and I don't regret it. In our case she slept through the night so working on night weaning may be a good idea.**We are still nursing at a week away from her second birthday. In the grand scheme of things those 5 days were not worth the amount of worry I invested in them but every inconvenient pumping session was so worth our current nursing relationship. GL.

Harper'smom

Btw, if you decide that you or lo are not ready that is ok too. Vegas will be there when you are ready.

dottymobo

Thanks!

We're taking the opportunity of DH's conference to head out with a few friends and meet another who lives in a few hours away, and we were assuming that our friends would bring their then-5mo DS, and having two babies there would mean we'd just do different things and we wouldn't be dragging anyone down or get left out... but they decided to leave him.  That plus the charm some baby-free time which we get so little of living far from family/friends... I think we're going to do it. 

Obviously there is quite a bit of time to plan, but I envision pumping while we're gone but not leaving any pumped milk behind for DS. 

Next up in the planning: sleep. Duh duh DUNNN.

ncbelle

A friend of mine went away for a week around that age and her kiddo was still nursing quite a bit.  She pumped while away and he went right back to nursing when she got back - so it's definitely possible!

And I think you'll be surprised at how much his eating habits can change between now and then in terms of how "important" nursing is to his diet.