Get Away!

Hitting the Road Without Baby

By Teri Brown

Breastfeeding your child has some distinct advantages. You never have to get up and fix a bottle, because the food is already made and just the right temperature. You never have to worry about forgetting the supplies at home, because you carry them with you and you get plenty of mini breaks during the day where you can put your feet up and relax while the baby is feeding ... it's almost like meditation.

The disadvantage becomes clear when you wish to leave your breastfeeding baby overnight. But getting away for a short weekend isn't impossible while you are still breastfeeding it just takes some planning.

The most obvious thing you have to consider is your body's milk production. When Teri Patty, of McMinnville, Ore., left her twins, she was surprised by her body's ability to produce. "When they were about 2 1/2, I went away for a long weekend," says Patty, who thought her twins were almost weaned. "I realized the first day I was gone that I'd been nursing more than I'd thought, because I ended up getting engorged."

Patty's experience is a common one. Wendy Haldeman, registered nurse and co-founder of The Pump Station, a company that specializes in providing support and breastfeeding products to breastfeeding mothers, believes the No. 1 thing to remember when traveling without your breastfeeding baby is a breast pump. "Engorgement can be very painful for the mother and [can] result in plugged ducts and a possible drop in milk supply," she says.

To avoid this scenario, Haldeman suggests that you make sure you practice with the pump you will be using before you leave the baby. "I have worked with frantic mothers on the road who packed a pump they had never used before only to discover that either the pump was not functioning properly, the mother did not know how to use the pump or the mother was unable to let down to the pump," she says.

Want to see more?

• The Land of Plenty: Three Steps to Stop Pumping Problems
• Plan "B": Introducing the Bottle to a Breastfed Baby
• Surviving Date Night: Help for Your Breastfed Baby and the Babysitter
• Talk about it!