getting ahead of myself

[@llli*babiestl]

I know it might be too early to start worrying about this but DH and I are going away in November for a week and leaving DD with my parents. If I'm still breastfeeding at that point (DD will be 7 months old) I assume I will have to pump to keep up my supply while we're away. But what I'm more worried about is having enough milk stored up for a week for her to eat while I'm gone. I'm struggling with oversupply right now so part of me thinks I should just pump now and get the stash stored while I have it but then part of me is worried that it might go bad by then. Any suggestions? Should I hold off and try and build up a stash closer to when I'm going to leave?

[@llli*browncow]

If you're struggling with oversupply personally I'd wait to start pumping and get the OS under control first. Pumping now is just going to exacerbate the problem. That being said if you do decide to pump now your milk should be just fine in the freezer until nov.

[@llli*auderey]

i agree with pp. but is there a reason you can't take baby with you? 7 month olds travel really well, and if you're breastfeeding, it'll be so easy. you can travel light, use a carrier, it can be super super fun. way easier than traveling once they start getting really mobile.

[@llli*djs.mom]

It wont' do you any good to have the milk pumped this soon anyway. It needs to be used in a regular freezer in 3months time and can only stay in deep freeze (separate freezer that you don't open every day) fro 6 months. I would honestly start pumping to stash closer to a month a head. AND....you honestly may want to re evaluate the whole thing closer to the time. It may seem like your child will be really old by then, NOW. But Most of us would have a really really hard time leaving a 7month old baby for a week. Like there is NO WAY. Before I had my son I thought by 6months I'd be ready to wean and go back to work. And I couldn't even go back to work. I went to work at 14 months but I never left him over night until this Dec. Right after his 6th B-day. Now LOTS of people leave their kids before that! But a week is LONG LONG time for a 7month old to be without their mother. And I have seen plenty of women think it was going to be fine only to be thrown into a panic in the weeks before. So I would leave that trip open ended if I were you. Or consider finding a way to bring your baby with you.

[@llli*babiestl]

We went away for a week without DD#1 when she was just about the same age. My mom and dad watch DD#1 at least two days a week and at least one night a week. They have since I went back to work when she was 6 months old. DD#2 is only 7 weeks old and exclusively breastfed (DD#1 was formula fed) so I haven't left her with them yet, but I will when I go back to work in two months. She, like my other daughter, will be very used to them. I know I won't have separation anxiety because I didn't with #1....and some nights I wish someone would take #2 away for a while too!!!!

[@llli*auderey]

oh, yeah, i just counted and november is 5 months away. seems so close i wouldn't have any problem using milk iwthin 4 months in a regular freezer, but it depends on how cold it is and how often it's opened and all that. if you pump and freeze now, you'll have to rotate it out along the way, and that just means pumping continuously the whole time. i totally agree with what djsmom says about leaving babies ... i left mine the first time at exactly 6 months, for 2 nights, for an interview, and it was tough. logistically and emotionally. and getting up in the middle of the night to pump - not fun at all!

[@llli*phi]

Pumping to build a stash now is a really bad idea, given your oversupply. Pumping now is a sure fire way to bring that painful engorgement back with a vengeance. I told you in an earlier thread that it took 3 months to get my OS under control; part of the reason for that is because I went back to work very early and had no choice but to pump during certain points during that 3 months. In your shoes, I would give it at least a couple weeks or longer to make sure that you really have a handle on the OS before starting to pump. When you do pump, pump only once a day at the same time every day. Sporadic pumping is more likely to aggravate the OS. Be prepared to adjust your pumping and block feeding routines to accommodate your OS.

Frozen milk needs to be used within 3-4 months (Storage guidelines).

Also, have you considered the possibility that your baby will wean from the breast while you are away? A week is a really long time and you cannot discount that possibility. Because breast milk should be he main source of nutrition for the first year, you should have a plan in place in case of that. Are you willing to exclusively pump for 5 months? Or is going through the weaning process with your pump rather than your baby acceptable to you should you choose to switch to formula? These are things to think about. It may not come to that, but you should be ready for it in case it does because it is a very real possibility.

I'm not trying to be a buzzkill here, but I do think that you should be prepared for the possible outcomes.

[@llli*djs.mom]

We went away for a week without DD#1 when she was just about the same age. My mom and dad watch DD#1 at least two days a week and at least one night a week. They have since I went back to work when she was 6 months old. DD#2 is only 7 weeks old and exclusively breastfed (DD#1 was formula fed) so I haven't left her with them yet, but I will when I go back to work in two months. She, like my other daughter, will be very used to them. I know I won't have separation anxiety because I didn't with #1....and some nights I wish someone would take #2 away for a while too!!!!

I don't really think it's comparable. Breastfeeding is very different from formula feeding. You are still in the throes of how overwhelming and difficult it is in the beginning. But by the 7 month point you and your child will have a very intimate bond that didn't exist with your first child because she wasn't breastfed. In short I wouldn't assume that your relationship with your 2nd child will go the same way as it did with your first. That is always true now matter how they are fed. I of course fully support you pumping enough to feed while your child while away if that is what you choose to do.