Going Out of Town--need Breastfeeding Advice!

My advice is:
Start the bottle now so she doesn't go on a hunger strike with Dad. She is gonna be unsettled without you there and if she is uncomfortable taking a bottle, it will just be a lot harder on Dad.

Try really hard to get a little bit of breast milk pumped to mix with the formula the first few times you give it to her. Might make the transition that much easier for her.

Also, remember her tummy is not going to be used to formula so watch for constipation. Do you give her PolyVisol now? If so, maybe she won't be affected.

GL and HAVE FUN in NY!!!

Why would you think you aren't producing? She is nursing an appropriate amount of time and an appropriate number of times for a 10 month old. Older babies don't nurse as often as a young infant. 4-6 sessions is normal for an older baby.

And if you thought she wasn't nursing enough to get what she needed you would need to talk to her doctor because she wouldn't be getting everything she needed. Gotta think mom! Babies very, very rarely self-wean prior to a year. Babies know they need the good stuff for at least that long. Breastmilk or formula is primary nutrition for the first year! So if you think she isn't nursing enough you need to look at the amount of solids you are giving her.

All that being said, if you aren't used to pumping it doesn't surprise me that you wouldn't get anything. What baby can get and what you can pump are amazingly and vastly different things. Baby will always be better at getting milk.

I would suggest taking your pump with you while you are gone. You will probably be surprised that you will feel some engorgement while you are gone from baby and not nursing for 2 full days.

You could try again to pump but a lot depends on your ability to teach your body to pump-relax, visualize the milk moving. Even the pump you have can make a big difference. But if you can't you could try to give her a gentle formula that is recommend by your doc while you are away. I'm not a formula fan but there are times when you gotta do what you gotta do lol!

Have a great trip!

If you are comfortable with your nursing schedule as it is now, and do not want to increase your production, then go ahead and start her on a little formula. I would start it now though, that way you can monitor if she needs a change or has any issues with it. I have nursed all 4 of my children ages 9, 6, 2 & still nursing 9 month old. I started giving my youngest formula earlier than any of the others (my oldes never even had any). I had a very hectic schedule of softball games and practices with my older two which made things easier if the baby stayed with grandma. I exhausted my stored milk supply and he was not slowing down his appetite. Once I gave him the formula, and realized he was ok with it and actually got excited to see me mix the bottle, I was comfortable with it. It is nice to know that I have a the option for a last minute date-night or what have you, and not have to worry about if I had enough milk stored or not.

Since you have a couple of weeks I would start the baby on formula now while you are arounf try 2 oz of it before you fed in a bottle then nurse, then pump the rest. If she tolerates it with no changes in her bowels, or anything els then increase it. You might need this time to get a formula/bottle/nipple that works for her. This also allows you to store up enough that while you are trying you can freeze some and you might even find that by the time you find a formula she can tolerate you already have all the storage you need.

Also I would take the pump with you because the last thing you want to to leak or be engorged because you do not have it. Better to have it and not need it then not have it and need it.

I Love the Playtex Nurser Bottles, and airvent personally.

Great Job, Good for you for sticking with it for so long.

Enjoy your trip.

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You will have to give formula if you can't get enough via pumping, or supplement your milk with formula. Try pumping right after you nurse, especially in the morning (before noon), since your body makes more milk in the morning.

If you want to keep nursing, I would suggest to take the pump, and pump at the approx times that you would normally nurse. Maybe pump a few minutes longer than she actually nurses. The pump is not anywhere near as good at stimulating your breasts to make or release milk, so I wouldn't worry about causing a huge increase in milk. Doing this should keep you at your current production.

If she takes a bottle or sippy cup, and you don't want to nurse, I would say to pump just a couple of times per day and then when you get back, start decreasing the nursing.

Regardless which way you go, it's the recommendation of the American Association of Pediatrics that your baby get the majority of her nutrition from breast milk or formula until age 1. Solid food is just supposed to supplement the milk/formula.

at 10 months, the nursing schedule you have listed sounds perfectly normal for her age. i dont think there is reason to assume she is ready to wean. at 10 months, she still needs to be on breastmilk or formula for at least 2 more months. you have to be careful not to compare how she nurses now with how she did earlier. she may be nursing for shorter times, but i am sure she is much more efficient than when she was younger.

i would say that unless you have decided you want to no longer nurse for YOUR own self, that you should still pump like normal while away, and dont expect to get what she does. its just to keep your body in its normal routine. that way, when you get back, you can still nurse. if she hasnt had a bottle, and you do plan to nurse again, dont give her a bottle. it will be much easier to give her a sippy cup. if she gets very frustrated, he could use a small cup with no lid, i have heard people sometimes do that when a baby doesnt normally use bottles. it might be a rough 2 days for your husband, so make sure he is prepared.

if you have any pumped milk, i would try to mix it with formula if its no enough, but if you dont, you really have no choice. considering your body is used to feeding her a specific amount, and that you dont normally pump, its not surprising you arent getting any. also, is it a good pump?

on the other hand, if you are done because you dont want to nurse anymore, i would say to use a bottle(not cup), and not pump, but you will feel uncomfortable. but remember, its only 2 more months, you have made it this far, so you are in the home stretch. good luck

There is no should or should not about it. It is whatever you feel comfortable with. If YOU feel she is weaning herself and YOU feel you are ready for the switch, go for it. Depending on how dedicated she is to your milk and breast, it may actually be easier to put her on formula and the bottle as you will not be around to smell/see/hear. Just leave a blankie or shirt that you have slept with for a couple of nights in case dad needs something that smells like you to calm her down. If you really aren't ready to give it up, make sure you pump and possibly store in fridge or dump just to keep what milk you have left.

P.S. Just because her longest nurse is 15 min in the morning doesn't mean she isn't getting alot! Mine nurses maybe 7 min on each side too, and he is gaining just fine.

If you really want her to stay on breastmilk a little longer, you might try renting a hospital pump. The stronger/better pumps can get more. Plus, if you're getting nothing, then you probably aren't getting a letdown with your pumping. Relaxing, good pump, etc, help that. On the other hand, if you don't want to increase your supply, I wouldn't start pumping. As it is you'll need to pump while you're gone to relieve the pressure. Amping up your supply right before you go probably isn't your plan. :-)

It seems like you just answered your own question :-). If you don't want to or can't produce more milk, then formula is the other option. You could pump and store your milk at the times you would normally bresstfeed while you are gone to keep what you do have going if you aren't ready to stop now. In any casse, I'm sure it will work out fine.

I had a similar scenario - same age even- with my first kid (now on kid 3) and what worked well for me was pumping enough for the bedtime feeding and first morning feeding to be breast milk and the mid-day feedings to be formula. I didn't have to pump as much, but baby still got breast milk while I was gone. Even if you just pump enough to store the milk for 1 feeding, the most comforting feeding your baby will be fine. Judging by the nursing time the baby is probably only getting 3-5 ozs per feeding (I pump some as I work 20 hours/week and have a 10 month old) so 10-12 ozs. should be enough to cover some of the feedings while you are gone.