Pumping during Work Travel--Extended BF

[konayossie]

Mamas,

I hope that you can be more helpful than my LLL leader was!

DS is 18 mos, and we have a great nursing relationship. Next week, I will be traveling for work for the first time since I had him. I'll be gone just about 48 hours (two nights).

DS is currently in daycare, and we nurse as soon as I pick him up (3-4 pm) and then on demand throughout the evening, and then he nurses from once or twice to a million times a night, depending on what's going on with him in terms of teething, illness, etc.

I guess my main question is what pumping schedule should I use to maintain my supply while I'm gone? I have not pumped at work since DS was 13 mos. I don't get engorged in the 8 hours I'm away from him, though I do start to feel really antsy (and I attribute that to the milk-baby-hormones). Would a morning, afternoon, late evening schedule suffice? (using my trusty old PIS)

I asked for info on this at LLL, and the leader didn't help me at all. She just told me that I was going to ruin my relationship with my son (she thought he would probably strike when I came back b/c he would feel abandoned) and tried to convince me to "postpone" my trip (yeah, I'm giving a conference presentation--I'll just ask them to hold the conference for me ).

I was already worried about the trip anyway (mostly just being away from him for the first time), and now my anxiety level has skyrocketed!

Any tips from extended breastfeeders who have traveled sans toddler?

[Mosaic]

Ohmigosh, that was horrible advice from your LLL leader!

Honestly, I'd do the same thing I've always done: pump for every missed feeding, maybe an extra session or two if I'm particularly worried about my supply or just want extra comfort. I think the schedule you came up with sounds great for where your DS is right now.

[EdnaMarie]

Subbing because I'll be in a similar situation soon.

We can only hope mom's increased happiness, confidence, and of course the ability to pay for music lessons and other stuff we wanted as kids but couldn't have, will make up for that two-days.

[somelady]

I left my then 20 month old ds for a week over the summer for a work trip. He was nightweaned so had only been nursing 2-3 times/weekday. I only pumped once a day and then hand expressed whenever I was in the shower, because I wasn't responding to the pump real well (hadn't had problems while I was pumping at work). He was fine while I was gone (DH took him to the beach with grandma and grandpa so he may have been too busy to notice) and he seems to have been mostly ok since I've been home. More twiddling maybe, but since I keep thinking I'm going to wean him "any time now" I haven't taken any real steps to increase my supply again. But I didn't really notice the dropoff till I'd been gone a few days.

Actually now that I think about it last year I left him overnight before he was nightweaned even and he was ok then too. I was really busy so didn't get to pump as often as I would have otherwise but it still worked out ok. I think DH was more traumatized by the whole thing than anyone not being used to getting up with DS.

So I imagine you'll be fine. And give your leader a big :P~~~~ from me.

[Geofizz]

I never got good advice from LLL leaders on this, either. The best I found was to read up on strategies for dealing with a nursing strike in toddlers. Not that my going would cause a nursing strike, but the trip is a bit of an artificially enforced strike.

At 18 months, your supply is going to robust and solidly established. I wouldn't worry about your supply, but instead worry about getting engorged or plugged ducts. Plan to pump about the same times you would nurse, and have your pump with you in between just in case you need to relieve some pressure.

Larger conferences with >10% women in attendance tend to now have stations set up for pumping moms. If not, I've found excellent spots by asking at a first aid station.

Don't forget to request a fridge in your room!

Have a good conference. You'll do great, and your baby will be fine.

[konayossie]

Thanks for the reassurances, ladies! I'll plan to do my 3-a-day pump schedule and more if needed

Originally Posted by Geofizz

Larger conferences with >10% women in attendance tend to now have stations set up for pumping moms. If not, I've found excellent spots by asking at a first aid station.

I'm staying in the same hotel as the conference will be held in, so I'll just pump in my room; however, I might ask them if they have a pump station and check it out just to see!

[CheriK]

I'm so sorry you didn't get good support from your LLL Leader. I'm glad the working moms in our LLL group get better support! It might help your Leader to hear some (constructive and kind) feedback that working moms might need more information about pumping for separations and support for supporting the mom/baby relationship during separations.

When I traveled without my toddler/preschooler nurslings, my biggest surprise was that I needed to pump/express more frequently than expected. I wasn't pumping at work by the time I traveled, nor were we nursing at night. I figured pumping 3 times a day would work, but quickly got a plugged duct. My body had "forgotten" how to let down for the pump, so that was an issue. And the pump really isn't as good as a nursing toddler at emptying the milk. I found that adding a few random hand-expression sessions throughout the day (usually during bathroom breaks; I was also at conferences) helped a lot. The next trip, I left the pump at home and simply hand-expressed to comfort several times a day.

Nursing strikes are a possibility when you're gone. But don't be surprised if you have the opposite reaction. After an initial period (30 minutes or so?) of totally ignoring me, mine always wanted to nurse more when I got back, probably both to reconnect and to rebuild my supply.

Good luck on your trip. Be glad you have nursing available. It really helped us reconnect when I got home, and pumping/expressing helped me stay "in touch" with my babies since I had that dedicated time several times a day to think about them.

[konayossie]

Originally Posted by CheriK

I'm so sorry you didn't get good support from your LLL Leader. I'm glad the working moms in our LLL group get better support! It might help your Leader to hear some (constructive and kind) feedback that working moms might need more information about pumping for separations and support for supporting the mom/baby relationship during separations.

Yes, I've been thinking about how to let her know nicely how she can be more helpful. I was so absolutely shocked at her reaction at the meeting that I didn't articulate at all how unhelpful she was or how attacked I felt as a parent... I really did feel it kind of came down to the fact that I'm a WAHM, and from what I understand she isn't/wasn't (her children are teens now). I had already mentioned to her that I was interested in working on becoming an LLL leader myself, and now I'm really thinking I should pursue it to make sure that the WAHMs in my area are able to get good support.

Originally Posted by CheriK

When I traveled without my toddler/preschooler nurslings, my biggest surprise was that I needed to pump/express more frequently than expected. I wasn't pumping at work by the time I traveled, nor were we nursing at night. I figured pumping 3 times a day would work, but quickly got a plugged duct. My body had "forgotten" how to let down for the pump, so that was an issue.

That sounds like what one of the PP said too. I'll definitely keep that in mind. I wasn't the best responder to my pump when I was doing it regularly and did manual expression to "top off" almost every time... I hope I can get some letdown for the pump though!

[haydn'smommy]

I left my oldest for a week for work when he was 19mos. At that point, he was nightweaned and nursed morning, naps, bedtime and whenever else he felt like it. I had not been pumping at work since he was 13mos. While I was away, I pumped first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, at the end of the conference when I got back to my hotel, and at bedtime. I stored all my milk in the fridge in my hotel room and took a cooler to bring it home with me. When I got back, he went right back to nursing without missing a beat.
I had left him once before for a week and went on vacation when he was 15mos. I kept up a similar pump schedule then. He had some difficulties nursing at first when I got home...basically, a mini strike. I was just persistant and offered in the middle of the night when he was good and sleepy and he went right back to it.

[konayossie]

Thought I'd update: DS and I both made it through my 48 hours of work travel just fine. DH had a rough night with him the first night, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing, and my pumping on the 3x a day schedule at the conference worked out just fine. When I returned, DS initiated BFing within 10 mins, and clung to me for the rest of the evening. No nursing strike or signs of our emotional relationship being irrevocably damaged!

I feel like sending my LLL leader a snarky email, but I'm trying to be mature.