I am working with a mom who is getting ready for a 1 week separation from her baby.  She gave me permission to post.

"I have to leave my 6 month old daughter on June 2nd for 8 days of training. I could use any advice/suggestions. I keep running worse case scenarios of my milk drying up or her not relatching when I return home. It's about to drive me crazy. Please tell me my milk won't dry up! I'm hoping to pump as frequently as possible, but I am a helicopter pilot doing aerial gunnery during this week, so pumping every few hours won't be a possibility during some of it"

The mom has enough frozen milk to take care of her time away. She plans to take a nursing vacation upon her return to reestablish that nursing relationship.

What else should she be aware of?  She has an ample supply of milk currently, and has been pumping each morning for months to prepare for this absence.  Would it be a good idea to ramp up her supply prior to her absence, or reduce it by cutting out extra pumping sessions?  Is there anything she can do the week prior to make this week of separation easier (like bottle feed during the day and pump/nurse at night?)  

What should she do to prevent mastitis in the event that she is not able to pump/express when she needs to?

She knows that this kind of absence will be hard on her but I am not even sure what should be her top concern.

Thanks for your wisdom!
Lisa

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