I need some advice please...

[mako]

Ok girls I have a little problem that I need your thoughts and suggestions on

My wonderful DH has organised a weekend away for just the 2 of us in 5 weeks time for our wedding anniversary. We will be away for 2 nights and DS will be staying with my MIL.

Now my problem is is that DS will be 22 months is BF. He has atleast 2 feeds per day. They are just before he goes to bed each night and 1st thing in the morning and if he wakes during the night he'll have a feed then too( this happens most nights).

Now here is my dilema..MIL hasn't looked after DS overnight before,actually the only sleep over he's had was 12 months ago and he literally screamed the whole time(I expressed enough milk for that time but he didn't drink any of it)
Anyway should I try and express some milk for him this time or should I just get MIL to give him cows milk???
I've been thinking seriously about weaning but I don't think thats going to happen anytime soon. But then I thought this time away might be a good time to wean him
Would this time away be the perfect time to wean him though?

Another thing is is that for some reason MIL thinks DS is weaned already and I haven't really had the oportunity to tell her otherwise

So girls what should I do??

Thanks for your help

[Ella]

Maybe best not to wean him while you are away, but why not start now, that way by the time you are ready to go he would almost be there and it wouldn't be such a dramatic transition for all involved.

Also if MIL hasn't figured it out... bugger her, not her bubby and you can feed till your hearts content. If you have to tell her for when you go away then do, but if you don't feel it's neccesary then don't.

With the shifting to cows milk. If DS has not been switched before hand he is likely just to spit it at MIL (which may or may not be the desired effect). Maybe try halving breast milk with formula, alternately halve breast milk with cows for a while slowly increasing the amount of cows till it's all swapped over.

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

It is likely that your little one will be fine when you are away - and will take up breastfeeding right where you left off when you get home. Any problems he experiences will be because he misses his mum and dad - breastfeeding is really irrelevent. 12 months is a long time and developmentally he will have changed a lot in that time. Talk to him and prepare him for staying at grandmas - make it sound like a very exciting and grown up thing to do.
At this stage you probably feel like you have very little milk, but you might be surprised at how full you get when you miss a couple of breastfeeds. I mastered the art of hand expressing quick smart when I left 2 yr old Cassie to go to a breastfeeding conference - boy was I full. Take a breastpump if you have one.

[RoyaUK]

Are you ready to wean right now? If not, I would think that your 22 mth old will cope perfectly as you won't be there, he'll be fine with cuddles and even just a drink of water and then will pick up feeding again when he sees you. I would warn your MIL to be ready with food and distractions first thing in the morning!

I'm trying to remember about how my 19 month old DD1 coped when I was in hospital for 5 days with DD2 (after giving birth) - although she did see me briefly each day, she didn't have me at night and she coped ok till I came home again!

If you are personally ready and are going to wean, i would suggest doing it sooner rather than later as it may or may not take a little while and he/you may find it stressful. Personally I weaned DD1 at 30 months and it took 3 days and a few packets of yoghurt coated sultanas but that's another story!!

[Michelle71]

Mako - slowly introduce cows milk (if you haven't already) and use that for your time away. See how things go when you return with the BF.

DS self weaned at 15m when I went away for 2 nights while pregnant with DD. If you aren't ready to wean, you may need to look at your options