expressing while away from baby - help

[sylviamaria]

My husband and I are going away for 2 nights this weekend and leaving our 2 girls at home (excited and petrified!). My youngest is 7 months and still breastfed. I have left enough milk for her at home, but want to keep supply so will need to express while away. Trouble is that I will be flying/at a wedding etc for many of her normal feeding times. Does it matter when I express in the day as long as I express 5 times? How do you know how much to express?

Thanks!

[Pickle]

I'm pretty sure that by 7 months you will be fine to express less frequently than you would normally feed if it's just for a couple of days. Just do it for comfort, as long as you feed again normally when you return your supply will be fine.

I had a whole week away from my daughter when she was still feeding (15 months) and managed to pick it up again when I returned - I tried to express a few times without much luck (it was a very stressful time, so difficult to relax and express successfully).

[canela]

you are not going to lose your milk over a few days, so don't worry. as Pickle says, the main thing is to express for comfort. it doesn't need to be at same times she would eat. just make sure you express frequently enough so you don't feel uncomfortable. I would express as much as you can each time so your breasts don't hurt, but don't worry about squeezing out every last drop.

[etta166]

I had to travel for work quite a lot when my first was that age. It was almost impossible to find time to express because of the nature of my job. I did a quick express at lunch time, and more complete expressing first thing in the morning and then later before bed. It never seemed to cause any problems.

[SLad]

I agree with Etta. I rtw early (I'm the sucker who loves her job) and found that so long as I did a first thing, lunchtime and last thing express my milk stayed high. I tended to express to 'empty' as I wanted to leave as long between sessions as possible. Highly recommend having lots of pictures of baby and perhaps something with their smell to speed things up.

Have a great time though. You will undoubtedly deserve a break and some grown up time.