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Leaving BF infant for 2 1/2 day job interview - advice?

1K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  WombatMama 
#1 ·
I have to leave my baby for a job interview in about a month. The trip will take 2 1/2 days. DS is just over 5 months old right now, and he's used to taking bottles of expressed breast milk because DH has been caring for him since I returned to work at 12 weeks.

However, I've never been gone for longer than 9 hours and I'm really nervous about nighttime. For better or worse, DS is accustomed to nursing to sleep, and I always feed him when he wakes up during the night (2-3 times/night).

I don't know what to do. I haven't done any sleep training because I feel like he needs the calories (he's kind of a distracted eater during the day) and, frankly, nursing is the easiest way to get him (and me) back to sleep. I'm not willing to do cry-it-out, but should I try to wean him off eating at night in the next few weeks? Or will that just stress him out and even less able to cope with me being gone when it happens?

To further complicate matters, we have to start daycare MWF about the same time as the job interview, so it's already going to be a difficult time.

I'd appreciate any advice for making this easier for my baby!
 
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#2 ·
If you haven't already, you could try replacing the night time feeds with bottle feeds and you pump during the feeding. After the interview, you can go back to regular night feeds if you want.

Depending on how old your child is, if you night wean your child will likely start getting enough calories during the day instead. We actually decided to night wean when we realized kiddo was getting something like 90% of calories at night- clearly capable of getting all those calories in a 12 hour period, so we just needed to switch which 12 hour period it was. (kiddo was around 8mo, I believe) Just for the record, there's a 6 am feed that we still haven't been able to phase out- kiddo can't go all the way from bedtime to breakfast time without food, and the same could definitely happen with your baby.

Your baby is younger than ours was, but you can still nudge it if you want to. I would not do a total one at all, that seems cruel, but you can do it gently so the child doesn't suffer. Just nudge it slightly so that your baby isn't eating as much at night, so needs to eat a little more during the day, and eventually will be eating everything during the day (hopefully). There's a lot of advice on how to night wean from breastfeeding and I'm sure you can find advice that works for you. "The No Cry Sleep Solution" is also a very helpful book on how to adjust sleeping routines without CIO.

It's your call if you actually want to night wean or not, though, if your baby will take a bottle instead of a night feed, that may be an easier adjustment for both of you. It doesn't sound like you want to night wean over all, it sounds like you still enjoy the night feedings.

Have you looked up advice on traveling with breastmilk? You'll need to bring a cooler, pump, etc. If you have to fly, you'll want to look up airline regulations (you're allowed to bring breastmilk on, but some airline employees may give you crap- so if you know your rights, it'll be easier) and how best to deal with it.
 
#3 ·
For only two days I wouldn't do anything different. Make sure your partner has a good supply of EBM and is prepared to have two rough nights then go back to your routine when you get home. I definitely would not try to nightwean for the sake of only two nights away and IMO 6mo is young to be doing it anyway.

You may need to express once or twice overnight when you're away as well or maybe just first thing in the morning so factor that into your timetable for getting ready each day.

All the best. It might be a hard couple of days but you will all be fine.
 
#4 ·
Thank you, ladies - you're very reassuring! I've been pumping and pumping, so we should have enough breast milk. I think we'll try a few night-time bottles over the next couple weeks and see how it goes. It's going to be hard on all of us, but hopefully worth it in the long run!

Also, I'm sorry my thanks are so late. I tried to respond twice last week, but for some reason, the site wouldn't allow me to post. Hopefully, it works this time.
 
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