Thanks for your advice, guys.

Rach - I was thinking about preparing some stored EBM for her, but I would have to see whether she would take EBM out of a sippy cup first, as it's been so long since she had it (except in her porridge, which I also stopped a while ago anyway). We've never tried EBM in a sippy cup, and I could count the number of times she's had it from a bottle on one hand, all before she was 5 months old. Not sure I could be bothered trying to build up my supply for expressing again lol - I'm too lazy now Might be easier to try getting her used to cows milk from a sippy cup - we've not tried that yet, but it might be a good time/excuse to have a go at it! In any case she drinks plenty of water during the day now, so I'm sure she'll be fine if that's all she's having plus plenty of dairy in her food. I think you're right about the time though - 3-4 days is very optimistic - I think 5 days is far more realistic, and from that point of view, it would make me more likely to consider towards taking her with me (even though I'm quite scared of the idea of a 17 month old on a 24+ hour flight on my own!). Hmmm, food for thought Thanks for your words of wisdom hun

Kmn - thanks for the tip! I think having a trial of maybe a day away would be a good way to test the waters - will definitely be considering this. As to taking our embryos out of the country - they are stored in Melbourne and I know that I am fine to bring them / have them couriered to the UK - I've been getting the process up and running from both ends (my clinic in Melbourne and my receiving clinic in the UK) at the moment. Thanks for your concern and giving me a heads up though Not sure why you were told it was illegal for you? It may have been to do with the reason for sending them o/s - mine would be for continued IVF treatment and please correct me if I'm wrong but I read your post as saying that you would have shipped them for use in medical science / research. That may make all the difference regarding the law etc. Not sure though

thepixie - thanks for your experience! Gives me hope that we could do it! I won't be taking a pump, but I'm an experienced hand expresser so I have no issues expressing large amounts by hand (full feeds), and it will save the hassle of lugging a pump etc. One of the other reasons I'm definitely considering this as an option - the ease at which I know I can manage my supply whilst away. All good - glad to hear you had no issues with DD starting up again (other than being engorged) - not sure if the amount of days would make a difference (3 as opposed to a likely 5 for me) but it's all helpful in making my decison.

Thanks again, ladies