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Married2MrWright
member
I need a strategy...help!
Married2MrWright
member
At nearly nine months old, I am a still breastfeeding and bedsharing with Libby. This month, I am headed out of town for 10 days of work in Seattle and am taking her and my mom with me. I'll be working 12-14 hour days but it'll be worth not leaving her behind right now. You might remember that I produce excess lipase and have to scald any milk that I pump for her. Still, she'll only drink it if it's "fresh" and in the fridge less than 5 days...she absolutely refuses any previously frozen breast milk. So I have a HUGE stash that she won't take! 
In early-March I have to be out of town again for 5 days and am wondering how, between now and then, I can prepare her to be without me (and home with daddy and grandma) by then. Is it even possible? Or should I start planning now for her to be able to come on that trip too? I am feeling some pressure at work to not be bringing her along on trips.
I know that at 12 months LOs can start on cows milk...do you introduce it as a means to wean from BM? I don't necessarily want to stop nursing her just because I have to travel for work, but I am not sure what to do here. My goal was to nurse for 6 months and now, since it's been going well for us, a year...and maybe beyond. Can I just pump and dump (to keep my supply up) when I am traveling and have her take cows milk until I get home? What about nursing at night? Is there anyway to plan now...5 months out...how to prepare her for when I am not there for 4 nights? Help.
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Re: I need a strategy...help!
I know you like planning ahead, but somethings you just can't plan. Or you plan and then things change. I wouldn't worry about what she'll do at 12 months until you get there... Things may turn out differently than you think now. Does that make sense?
Yes, you can P&D on the road and give her cow's milk at home. You also could try mixing in your frozen stash with cow's milk, maybe she'd take that? I think you are doing BLW but if you offer any type of oatmeal, can you mix the frozen milk into that? Or sneak it into yogurts, smoothies or other foods? Once she is 12 mo, she doesn't necessarily need to DRINK all of her dairy meals... Yogurt counts too.
Back to that March trip. I would not advise bring her along on a 5-day trip. Frankly, I am surprised that you are bringing her on the 12-day Seattle trip. As a working momma and there are sacrifices that we make in order to do both... Pumping when I went back to work definitely doomed my supply, but what was I supposed to do about it? Quit my job?
My supply gradually dropped until right at 12 months, it ended and I was able to stop cold turkey. I think that was a good way to wean, both for her and for me, emotionally. Introducing cow's milk was easy and painless. Now I have a wonderful freedom where she is not dependent on ME to eat........ I miss BFing, but I do love this new freedom.
Many women wean at 12 months, but you don't have to, that is up to you. It's very rare for working moms to continue past 12 months, or as long as you have already. Realize that you have ALREADY gone above and beyond and pat yourself on the back instead of stressing about going even further. It's OK if your job interferes with your BFing plans... That is life. Don't stress about it, just embrace it and allow yourself to feel peace.
I hope this helps... Hang in there, you are doing such a great job with Libby! :-)
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog
i know you don't do purees but what about doing something like malia suggested, and hide the BM in some solids? what about sweet potato puree + frozen BM? or any other food that Libby likes for that matter! such a shame to have a freezer stash you can't use.... if any of it is close to expiring, make sure you donate to a milk bank!
i agree that you shouldn't stress about the trip in march... not only do you not know what the situation will be like at that point, but i think that by that age she really should be ok apart from you for a few days. you could totally do solids + cow's milk until you get back and pump/dump while you are away to keep your supply up. i wouldn't worry about how to get her to be ok w/o you at night for nursing until you get closer to the date, you never know if she will even stop doing that at night on her own by then...
you are doing great w/her and things will work out!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
this. how knows what she will be eating and what she will be like at that point.
I don't have any experience with refusing bottles etc. I do know that I have a probably slight lipase issue but Jack generally takes the bottle. It was tough going at first but he adapted - he had to. Babies are capable of amazing things - is it possible to keep offering the frozen milk?
There are days (few and far between thank goodness) that Jack refuses his bottle at school, or will only take 1-2 oz. at a time (usually Mondays since he is getting frozen milk) but I know he won't starve and the teachers are patient and caring and continue to offer every hour or so and by about noon he will take the bottle. At first they would call me and I work 30mins away so there isn't much I could do about it - he wasn't sick, wasn't inconsolable, and was otherwise happy. So I let him and them work through it. I guess if I really started to think about it I DO wish I could be there for him in that respect but I can't for many reasons - namely my mental well being (love being at work) so he adapts and I focus my energy on things I can control - like being 100% there for him when I'm not at work.
So I guess to answer your question about travel - revisit the March trip at a later date.
I'm have a couple baby free work trips coming up so I will see if I gain any insight towards tips to share
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
Thanks Malia. It's so hard for me to balance my desires for mothering with my career obligations. If we could afford it, I'd be a SAHM. Never in a million years did I ever think that, but now, it's on my mind a ton. Especially when stuff like this comes up. I guess I should remind myself how lucky I am to have flex time, to be able to come home at lunch to see her and nurse her and that they are cool with me working our convention and bringing her along (although to be fair, I am not the first mama to do this...in fact, many of our staff being family and/or friends along since we tend to go to "destination" cities and they make a vacay out of it). But I am the first nursing mama to work at the company in a long time and I am fairly certain that most of them don't get why it's important to me to be able to nurse Libby, especially since she's now past 6 months old.
I really want to try and let Libby self-wean...I don't know how realistic that will be with my work obligations (and later, wanted to TTC#2) but I don't see myself actively trying to wean her once she turns 1. For now, I'll wait and see. We don't book our travel until January for the March trip. And in babyhood, we all know that three months is a VERY long time in terms of baby developmental strides! By then, who knows? Perhaps she'll be sleeping in her own room and happy to take whatever milk is offered to her? We shall see.
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
one other thing - does libby drink from a straw yet?
Jack never took to sippy cups but I learned while dining out with him at 6mo that he LOVES ice cold water and had no trouble with a straw so I bought the nuby straw cups with handles and modified the silicone tip of one (cut out the no spill valve) and he loves it. Maybe she would like the novelty of a new cup and might drink some of that pumped milk? Does she drink water?
I also have a couple of baby-free work trips coming up, incl one next week. I have not been away from Alexa for even ONE night and this trip next week is THREE nights. Eeek! End of Oct, I'll be gone for 5-6 nights. :-(
Malia & Dave & Alexa
Happily married since 2-17-08! Three since 9-9-09!
Baby Blog