In answer to your questions:

1)  Will she be able to maintain her milk supply with a handpump for this length of time.  Probably, and especially if she is sure to massage her breasts and compress, at the end, by hand, to make sure of absolutely draining them.

      1.1) pumping 3X a day?   If she is already feeding only three times a day, this should be no problem.  If she is feeding more often at the time she leaves, she should pump more often, slowly starting to leave out feedings, otherwise she runs the risk of engorgement, plugged ducts and/or a mastitis.  She should also be aware that once she cuts down to three pumpings a day, it will be very hard for her to increase her supply at other times, should she want to; and baby might not be able to go back to the same number of feedings per day as it is used to before she leaves.

2)   What is the likelihood that the baby would wean after 1, 2 or 3 weeks?  
For a baby of that age results are extremely variable.  Some babies will go back to nursing easily, some will go back after some wooing and honeymooning, and some just won't go back.  They can be feeling very angry or very abandoned, or they might have gotten past that, become happily independent, and forgotten breastfeeding as well.  It seems to me that the less time mom is gone, the less likely the permanent weaning, but I have no facts on this, only feeling.

      3)  You didn't ask, but referring to bringing the baby along, or baby and dad.
You don't say how old her class is, and it doesn't really matter. Whatever their age, this is a prime living example to them that a woman can carry on her professional obligations, carry on "a" life, and still nurture her infant.  And maybe the younger they are, the more matter-of-factly they will accept it. Furthermore, when you take a class on a trip (been there, done that), for however long, there are usually other adults along, and the group is not your total responsibility 24 hours a day.  You do indeed share mealtimes and many activities -- but you also are allowed, especially if you structure it in, some time for yourself and your needs.

There should be someone along, definitely, whose ONLY assignment is taking care of the baby while mom is leading, teaching, etc.  If daddy can come, that seems to me to be the most ideal person, for he is someone who the baby already knows and is used to as a caregiver, eliminating one more set of problems that might come from a less known or loved baby-sitter.


You say the woman is not sure about taking her child, she might be "divided in her loyalties" -- to whom does she owe her loyalty?  Her school or school district, which pay her; her students who rely on her for their educations and as a role model; or her baby, who at this point is still very dependent on her.
I would hope the last two answers are the ones she chooses, and for both of these the answer is : BRING THE BABY.

The job is not making her leave her baby behind.  If she is looking for a way or excuse to wean, at that time, on the other hand, this might be just the excuse she needs that will absolve her of guilt feelings, or help her with her dilemma.  You might be able to broach this and discuss it with her.

What is her ULTIMATE goal?  Does she want to be breastfeeding still when the baby is a year, 16 months ... the best way to ensure it is not to interrupt it at 8 months.  Does she want to be feeding her baby only three times a day, anyway, by that time?  Then she might want to start weaning away the extra feeds before her trip, to prevent or lessen the problems of sudden stopping.

This baby is only two months old.  On the one hand, I applaud mom for thinking and planning ahead, especially since taking  baby and husband along probably calls for a lot of extra arrangements.  On the other hand, she doesn't know now how she will feel about breastfeeding next month, or at six months, much less when the baby is 8 months old, and should not spend too much time worrying about it now.

So that is my $.02.  Sincerely, Chanita, San Francisco