You are here:
- Home
- Parenting/Family
- Pregnancy/Birth
- Breastfeeding
- Breastfeeding and leaving baby while on vacation
Breastfeeding/Breastfeeding and leaving baby while on vacation
Advertisement
Question
We have a one year old daughter who is still breastfeeding about five times a day in addition to eating solid food. My husband and I would like to go away on vacation in four months time and leave our daughter with her grandparents for about a week. I had thought I would breastfeed for a year and then slowly wean her, but I'm just not sure if we're ready for that yet. She is still very interested in the breast and seems to take great comfort in it. Is it possible to pump while I'm away and continue breastfeeding when I return? I'm concerned that I won't be able to maintain my milk supply and that my daughter will either lose interest or be traumatized by the process.
Dear Lindsay,
First, congratulations for giving your daughter the best start in life by breastfeeding her!
And yes, it will be possible to pump while you are away and continue to nurse when you return. However, it's also quite possible that your milk supply will diminish during that week, since even the best breast pump is not as efficient as a nursing baby. And since your daughter will have been drinking from bottles, I assume, while you're gone, she may no longer be interested in the breast after you return.
It's unlikely that she'll be traumatized if you or someone else (preferably the grandparents who'll be taking care of her) gives her bottles occasionally before you leave and so she'll be used to them. It's quite likely that she'll miss you (not just your breast) while you're gone, so I would also get her used to short separations from you. And do you know that song "Mommy Comes Back -- she always comes back"? That was really comforting to my granddaughter. I think it's on a cassette called "Baby Songs."
You will have given her a wonderful start, whatever happens.
Good luck!
Sally
--------------------------------
Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters. Now in revision for a fourth edition, with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D.
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
Sally Wendkos Olds
Expertise
What do you want to know about breastfeeding? I can tell you what`s good for the baby, what`s good for the mother -- and the father, how it`s related to a woman`s sexuality, how working moms can nurse, how to overcome obstacles, and lots more. As the author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING and author or coauthor of 8 other books and more than 200 articles about child and adult development, I can offer sound, sensible advice on breastfeeding, child care and family issues.
Experience
I nursed my 3 daughters and am the grandmother of 5 breastfed children. My book THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING (written in consultation with pediatrician Marvin S. Eiger, M.D.) was first published in 1972, and in 1999 came out in an updated 3rd Edition by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books. It is now a classic, with over 2 million copies in print. I am now revising this book for a fourth edition, consulting with pediatrician Laura M. Marks, M.D. This new edition will be published September 2009. I welcome any and all suggestions for the new edition. I coauthored college textbooks A CHILD'S WORLD: INFANCY THROUGH ADOLESCENCE, and HUMAN DEVELOPMENT; both are leading texts in their fields and have been read by 2 million students. I am the coauthor of HELPING YOUR CHILD FIND VALUES TO LIVE BY and RAISING A HYPERACTIVE CHILD, and author of THE WORKING PARENTS' SURVIVAL GUIDE & THE ETERNAL GARDEN: SEASONS OF OUR SEXUALITY. My newest book, A BALCONY IN NEPAL: GLIMPSES OF A HIMALAYAN VILLAGE, published in 2002, tells the story of the way of life in a remote village in Nepal, where all the women breastfeed! My book, SUPER GRANNY: COOL PROJECTS, ACTIVITIES, AND OTHER GREAT STUFF TO DO WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS, will be published March 2009. I speak often to professional, parent and general audiences and make many radio and TV appearances.
Credentials I received my B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, where I minored in Psychology, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated summa cum laude.
Other points of interest
I have received national awards for my writing, and am a former president of the American Society of Journalists & Authors. I am listed in the World Who's Who of Women, International Authors & Writers Who's Who, and Contemporary Authors, and am a member of several professional and civic organizations. I believe: that all parents are working parents; that parents employed outside the home need special support; that mothers' well-being is crucial to their children's welfare; and that the family is the best institution in the world and the one for which we are least prepared. My thrills come when parents or kids tell me they were helped by my writing or speaking or just understanding.
To find out more about me, go to
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.