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Excited to finally have a chance to link up with my friend Hallie who is one of my favorite reads. 1. Fashion or Fret? Debating whether or not to attend fashion week this fall. I have a few things I am trying to cram into a quick 48 hour trip. I keep hemming and hawing over leaving a […]
Traveling, Growing Pains, and a dose of Honesty

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Katie
says:You know yourself, Gabe, and Max the best, so you will make the best decision for your family about traveling with or without him!
I (being emotionally pregnant) don’t think I could leave my newborn babe…I did pump a lot with Paul and that side of things worked fine, so I will pray for you to have guidance in making your decision! I wish I could just join you and hold Max whenever you couldn’t!
Megan
says:The above comment said it best… You know your family and what would work best for you! With that being said, I couldn’t make the trip. I am all about making things as easy on myself and my family as possible, and for me a trip would add unnecessary stress! But everyone is different… You may need a break to relieve some stress!
Vanessa Irons
says:I don’t have babies so can’t completely empathize, but I would think the only options are 1) skip the trip. Or 2) leave the baby with your husband. I can’t imagine taking a newborn to NYC by myself, plus it’s Fashion Week! Gabe woulda manage fine 😉
Kris Chatfield
says:I would have a hard time, myself, leaving a baby that little if I was nursing – I nursed all 4 exclusively and it just presents some challenges if you are not with them for a lengthy period of time. Is there anyone that could go with you and help you with him? If not, you CAN do it – you just need to do a couple of things. First, you need to be sure you’ve pumped enough ahead of time to leave him with breast milk bottles, AND that he’ll willingly take the bottle. When you’re away from him, you need to be sure to pump at regular intervals, similar to the intervals that he’s currently nursing. This will help keep your supply up while you’re gone. You can either “pump and dump”, or store the milk – if you have access to a refrigerator or freezer while you are in NYC. You’ll have to transport it back on the plane, so you’ll need frozen ice packs and a cooler. Your supply may drop slightly over the two days, but it will pick right back up once you’re home and nursing. Because you won’t be with him for 2 days, it could also impact fertility/NFP tracking. Just an FYI on that one!
Katy
says:Aw you are so beautiful! I love your blog and all your realism. I need to check out the thread on reflux because Andy, our first, suffered from this for his first four to five months I would say. I wanted so badly to find a solution. The only way either of us would get any sleep is if I would lay at a vertical angle on the sofa with him laying straight up on my chest. Other then that, we went through about 20+ bibs a day and truly suffered through it daily with him. Everyone gave us so much great advice that never seemed to work – it was just a matter of him developing those muscles to teach him how to swallow. I realize my experience is definitely not an encouraging one, but it made him quite the fighter, and getting to know his personality at 19 months old – he picks himself pretty easily.
As far as pumping while on work trips, I’ve done this many times. Just stick to the schedule and using private bathrooms was constantly on my radar. Plus, whenever my coworkers would see me with my pump bag on a mission to find a private place, it almost becomes a team effort on the hunt to make it happen. For Fashion Week in Lincoln Center, they’ve got tons of bathrooms and many restaurants right in the neighborhood (PJ Clarks, Starbucks, etc.). Also, St. Pauls Catholic Church is just a few buildings down from the Lincoln Center, so perhaps they’re community center will be open during the day. I wish we still lived across the street and you could stay with me!!! Hope this helps! God bless you Anna!
If you do decide to go, I think 48 hours of pumping is doable, as long as your body really does respond well to a pump (and you have a double-electric pump because otherwise you will have such a terrible hand cramp at the end that you won’t be able to carry your bags). I just had a quick 24-hour getaway from my 8mo twins and had to pump the whole time and was REALLY ready for them to nurse when I got back home! Just be prepared for possible plugged ducts/mastitis if you’re prone – pumps are nowhere near as efficient at milk removal than a baby 🙂
You can totally take that trip! Plus…you might be begging for a break by that time! I did an extended weekend trip to Vegas with ‘the girls’…baby stayed at home. I just pumped every few hours…it all worked out!!
April
Thought: perhaps a (quick) weekend away for Fashion week will recharge you a bit and give you a moment to be YOU without kids and such? I know whenever I get a chance to get away I come back missing them like crazy, but ready to be a good mom and better rested. Just a thought:) P.S. If you had a travel size pump, could you duck into rest rooms and such? I know breast milk can go awhile without refrigeration.
emily
says:you know i don’t know nothing bout birthing no babies. or leaving/not leaving them. but selfishly, i want you to go to Fashion Week…because i’ll be there!
so there’s my two cents. (:
Oh, that’s a tough call. Only you and your family can really weigh the advantages vs the stress. My little one didn’t take well to the bottle, so pumping and leaving weren’t an option – we were, well, glued together! Honestly, when I can’t make up my mind, I pray for the right decision to just sort of happen 🙂 Best of luck!
I might be too attached and not a good reference point, but I would not leave a newborn… pumping or no pumping. I would be dying inside the whole time and worrying too much for it to be worth it. But that’s my personal emotional reaction. I just would not be able to do it.
If it’s something that’s truly important to you, I would say yes. Babies can always benefit from some good quality snuggle time with Daddy. My son, Finn, is 18 months and we are still nursing strong! I recently was away from him for a quick overnight for Alt Summit and expressed in the shower that evening. My supply is nowhere near that of what it was when Finny was a newborn, so I could get away with just expressing at night and first thing in the AM. On a side note, I really hate feeling like pumping is something that has to be relegated to a bathroom stall. There’s this post that’s a bit old but a lot of the info still holds true: http://mommypoppins.com/newyorkcitykids/where-to-nurse-in-nyc and Medela even made an iPhone app called iBreastfeed that a friend of mine told me there are nursing friendly lounges listed. Good luck, Anna!
If your husband says he can handle it, GO!!! A happy Mom is the best Mom. Missing your children from time time is a GOOD thing. It reminds you just how much you love them. 48 hours will go by in a blink of an eye. It’s important to balance work AND family. Much love!!!
i can’t speak to some of the baby pieces, but i do understand the fiction world of pinterest and love how you touched upon that! i am with you – i love to dive into that “i wish it was reality” but it isn’t world.
kw ladies in navy
Oh I hear you all too well with much of this post. My son was really clingy and I never knew why.. but oh boy our relationship has been so close (even though he’s 2) so I’m glad I just enjoyed the snuggles– but I bet it’s more difficult with 3. 🙂
And I’ve found my self drowned into Pinterest lately, pretending life was as lovely as the pictures I pin!