11 month old - need advice

[@llli*newmama19]

I'm not sure where exactly to post this question!

My 11 month old daughter is currently nursing between 4 - 5 times a day. I would say only 1 - 2 of those sessions seem to be substantial, the rest she gets very easily distracted or disinterested. She is eating a lot of solids, but always after I have nursed first.

In one month (she will be one), my husband and I will be away from her for 3 days. I have every intention of continuing to nurse her past age one (with my son, I nursed until 18 months), but I am not exactly sure how to proceed here.

I am planning on pumping several times a day while away from her to make sure my body doesn't think we are done - but in the past week I have attempted to pump and gotten barely any milk...

So two questions really - what can I do for her while I am away for three days, if I am struggling to get ANY milk when pumping? (As I mentioned she is eating a lot of solid food) And, is pumping several times a day while away from her going to be effective in maintaining supply until I am back?

Sorry in advance for the long winded post. It's feeling like a complicated and stressful situation!

[@llli*maddieb]

Hi.

Is it possible the problem is your pump? Also, your baby is already down to relatively few session per day, so I wonder if it is possible your milk production is already adjusting down and perhaps even that this baby is on their way to weaning a little earlier then your older child?

Anyway, my best suggestion for the separation is to try to relax. Yes, separating from a nursing child of any age is difficult, and separating for several days from a baby this young is difficult. But if this trip is happening when it is happening, no other possibilities, best to relax and enjoy it.

My next suggestion is to troubleshoot your pump.
Be sure to bring a working pump with you, even if you are not sure it is going to do much for your production. Perhaps right now you make pretty much what your baby needs and not a lot more, and that may be why you are not pumping much. In that case it will be a different story when you are away from baby overnight or for a day or more! You do not want to be in a situation where you start to feel full and have no way to get the milk out. Trust me. Also a good idea to be comfortable with hand expression because stuff happens.

How often you pump when you are away is up to you. If your child is nursing 4-5 times then it probably does make sense to pump at least 3-4 times a day. But it you can't you can't. Milk production reducing is a gradual process. Milk production is not going to evaporate because of three days of non-optimal milk removal. If you have concerns about your overall production and breastfeeding longevity I would suggest maybe try encouraging your baby to nurse a little more often now.

Another concern is whether a three day separation will lead to baby abruptly weaning/going on a nursing strike. I would suggest that if your baby refuses to nurse when you come back, view it and treat it like a strike and not "natural" weaning. In other words, try to encourage baby to nurse again. Most likely, she will, given a little time and encouragement.

[@llli*newmama19]

Thank you, that is very helpful. I know it is not an issue with the pump as I recently did check parts etc. This baby is definitely so different than my first. He would have nursed around the clock by choice whereas she has always been much more about getting what she needs and being done.

Do you have any thoughts on if I need to offer her something else in addition to solids while I'm away from her?

[@llli*maddieb]

Do you have any thoughts on if I need to offer her something else in addition to solids while I'm away from her?

As long as her weight gain has been normal and she is happy to eat solids and drink water, I do not see why you would have to offer anything else. If whoever is going to be caring for her when you are gone is concerned about comforting, you can offer suggestions there that do not involve intake of liquids with bottles. On the other hand and if you think your baby will respond ok to small bottles of water or milk of some kind that is probably fine at 12 months old as long as baby is eating solids as well. Maybe ask your pediatrician?