I just wanted to make some suggestions that might help the active duty mom who wants to return to breastfeeding when her three month deployment is over.  She needs to know that her baby may forget what the breast is for and not automatically accept it when she gets back, but that she can teach him to nurse again, with some patience and creativity.  (Many adoptive moms are able to do this with babies who are the age her child will be, or older.)  She may want to be prepared with a supplementer, both to help her get the baby back to the breast and to make it possible for her to get a maximum amount of breast stimulation from the suckling, to increase her milk supply, which I would think would have diminished, despite her plans to pump.  

While she is gone, it would be advantageous for whoever is taking care of her baby to take steps to preserve breastfeeding behaviors.  Holding the baby as close to nursing position for bottle feeds as possible is important, as is spending time being fed in both the right an left arms of the caretaker.  Encouraging the baby to open his mouth to take the bottle nipple in, rather than inserting it into his mouth, is also helpful.  Another option is to feed the baby with a wide-based bottle nipple with a supplementer feeding tube threaded through it, sticking just barely through the hole (a wide-based nipple is more likely to maintain its shape when the baby sucks on it, without being attached to a bottle).  This is a trick that is frequently necessary in getting older adopted babies to accept the breast, by allowing them to learn to be comfortable held in a position where latching onto the breast is possible.  This mother could use it when she gets back, but it may help get the baby back to the breast faster, if whoever is caring for the baby in her absence could use it, at least for some feedings.  

I sure wish this mom the best!

Darillyn

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