Weaning Advice - Old Forge, PA

You don't have to wean her if you don't want. When I traveled while breastfeeding both my boys, I pumped while away and they would pick right back up where we had left off. You will need to pump though while away. I was still feeding my youngest at about 15 months when I went away for 3 days, I pumped once and that was good. He had a lot of milk waiting for him. I generally took my pump and if I became uncomfortable I would pump or if I was still feeding them a lot I would pump. Good luck!

M., if you are nursing now you may still need to pump while you are gone to reduce the pressure. If that's the case you should still be able to nurse when you return. As long as you are pumping you will be able to keep your supply up. As for weaning, it's usually best to replace on feeding with a bottle, then work up to two feedings, three feedings and so on. If you are weaning to whole milk you can start by using half breast milk, half whole milk and work your way to a full whole milk bottle.

I think it is worth a shot. Even if your milk dries up in three days, weaning either way is going to be hard for your daughter. I always nurse until mine are ready to wean themselves. Maybe you could just bring a pump and pump if you get too uncomfortablly engorged. Even if you pump once or twice a day, it will still keep your milk demand up until you get home. I'm pretty sure the first thing and the best thing your daughter will want as soon as she sees you when you get back is to cuddle and nurse. It is the best source of comfort for them when they are so young. Good Luck.

I would not worry about weaning her, I would pump milk to leave her to be put in the bottles. And while away, you should still pump your milk, even if you have to throw it out. You want to do this so your milk flow doesn't change, and to also get relief.

M.,
Unless you still get very full right before you nurse, you may not even need to pump. Often at that stage just expressing a tiny bit to relive the pressure was enough to make me comfortable when I was away for a day or two. Also there is no guarentee that your milk will dry up after just a few days. I stopped nursing my son in February and I still have milk, and shortly before he weaned he would sometimes skip two or three days totally and then come back and nurse without any problems. I would not try to wean her if you think you want to continue to nurse once you are home. She will either self wean while you are gone or she will be so happy to see you home that she will throw herself back into nursing again. You may even find her wanting to nurse more for a day or two to make up what she missed while you were away. Enjoy your vacation.

I think you will be very uncomfortable if you don't pump for three days. You should pump before you leave and let your daughter have her cup or bottle and then pump a few times while you are away so that you don't get uncomfortable. You don't have to save the milk if you don't want to, although that would be ideal.

There is a VERY good chance that you will still be able to nurse her some after you come back! I think that is a wonderful idea!!! Ideally, you should pump at least 1x/day while you're gone to keep up your milk some & to prevent blocked ducts or mastitis.

There is some great gentle weaning advice on www.Kellymom.com and through LLL, but I am a huge fan of child-led weaning when possible. At a year, there are still SO many crucial bennefits to both of you. Especially since studies have shown that for nursing for at least 2 years can reduce your risk of female cancers by at least 50% & now there are some studies showing that extended nursing for girls reduces HER risk of female cancers as she grows up!

Have a great trip!

You probably won't have a problem nursing after just three days. I skipped a week and it only took 2 days to get back on track when I got home. However, it may trigger you to wean if your flow is less. If you want to wean before you go, just cut one feeding for a few days, and then nurse once only for a few days, and then once every few days, and then stop. Congrats nursing so long-good job!

I also believe that weaning nautrally is the way to go. My son weaned himself just before he truned 10 months old. I dried up and didn't have any pain or anything like that. They say to help you dry up to put a cabbage leaf in your bra.. I never did but it worked for a friend of mine. Any how good luck and the longer you nurse the better for you and your little girl.

After I weaned my Daugter it took three months for my milk to go away completly. She nursed till 22 months sometimes skipping 1 -3 days. At the end it was a comfort thing. If your daughter is anything like my daughter she will take comfort in nursing when she sees you again.
J.

I agree with the previous mom. You will need to pump some on vacation to stay comfortable. So if you are not ready to make that decision now, do not feel like you have to. With my son, I ended up having surgery when he was 13 months old. While I was away my mother went through a lot because he would NOT drink from a bottle or a cup. She even had to give him milk with an eye dropper to get fluids in him. So I think your daughter will do great seeing that she is already drinking from a cup already. If you do decide to wean just pump, increasing the intervals between pumping until you are down to pumping once every other day then stop. Your breasts will be tender for a few days but it wont be too bad. Do what ever you feel is right. I really had no choice, I wished I could have nursed longer. But every one is different. He was my last baby, so it was harder for me to let go of the nursing, knowing that I'll never do that again.

Pump a little, like the others said. My daughter was 16 months when my sitter needed emergency surgery, so I had to take my daughter to my parents' at the shore for 3 days. Although I pumped for the 2 days that I worked, this was different, and I was devastated, as I weaned her because of this, and I realy regretted it. I would take it all back if I could, nursing her longer and weaning her naturally, if possible. (My son weaned himself 2 weeks before her turned 2.)