Source
r/workingmoms•
tinycatface

Away from baby for work

Advice Needed

I’m speaking at a conference my first week back from maternity leave and unfortunately it’s on the one day a week we don’t have childcare - I’m supposed to not work but obviously for this opportunity I will. My husband is taking the day off to watch the baby but I’m nervous. We are usually both home or if one is out it’s for like 4 hours max. The conference is 2.5 hours away so I’ll be gone likely 12 hours. Baby will be 4.5 months old. I’ll probably get a dog walker for the day - any other tips or advice to help make this a success?

Posted Mar 25, 2022, 1:46 PM UTC

2318
jefedawg•

This will be good for your husband! He will find his own groove and baby will be fine 😊

77
iceskatinghedgehog•

Do you have a plan for you regarding pumping? You will be miserable if you don't express milk for over 12 hours. Check with the conference for your options regarding a (non-bathroom) space to pump and where you can store your milk (most have a refrigerated space they will let you use). Worse case scenario is you have to dump the milk b/c it's not practical to store and drive home, but at least make sure you get it out of your body!

49
Honeyoatmeal101•

I had gallon ziploc bags for the hotel and would use their freezer to freeze the milk each day. Makes it easier to fly or drive. Also frozen water bottles make great ice packs. Bring a nice cooler.

1
Vegetable_System9882•

I had my first full work day without my EBF babe yesterday (had to be on-site, typically WFH) and stored my pumped milk in a yeti rambler! I just put some ice in it in the morning and it was still good like 10 hours later - I'm sure it could have easily lasted a few more hours too. Just a tip in case there's no fridge or cold storage available.

1
octalditiney•

Everything will be fine. This will be hardest on you. I repeat, everyone and everything will be fine.

27
Frillybits•

As long as your baby takes a bottle it really shouldn’t be an issue. Plenty of women need to leave their baby for the day at this age. It’ll be good for your husband to get used to doing it on his own!

14
Fine-Bottle-16•

Make all the bottles in advance if you can and have a written out schedule and list of important phone numbers (pediatrician, etc). I think it’s easier to see it all written down. Most important, enjoy your adult only time!

13
tinycatfaceOP•

Good point! Baby is EBF right now- that will certainly be a change to have a full bottle day! I’ll get the list ready too - we will need it for our babysitter anyway.

9
hipdady02•

Start weeks ahead if possible getting baby used to bottle ahead of time. Worst time for first bottle is when you're not available.

10
Content_Platform•

Yes, you definitely want to start bottles now. My LO didn’t take a bottle until she was 6 months old. She’s 8mo now and still struggles.

2
starchypasta•

I think it depends on the baby. I’ve been away from my daughter for 12+ hours a day, 4 days a week since she was 4 months old. Turns out, she doesn’t really need me, she just needs someone to play with her and feed her 🤷🏼‍♀️ lol

8
SunshineSeriesB•

I agree with prepping bottles if you can, maybe if you'd like to make it easier on your husband you can also prep lunch and dinner for him? A dog walker would also be nice.

All that said, he's a dad as much as you're a mom and he can figure it out! If you trust him with your baby, i'm sure he'll be fine! Anxiety and returning to work makes it so hard to let go.

7
giantredwoodforest•

You have one more option: bring your husband and baby! If your worried about being so far away or baby getting sad, they can just travel with you and back. Dad can walk baby around in a park outside the conference center, if the baby wants to nurse or you don’t want to pump you can sneak out for a moment.

3
tinycatfaceOP•

I want to do this- currently my baby just screams in the car however so a long drive isn’t possible.

4
blondduckyyy•

I recently left my LO with my parents for bedtime for the first time ever and was so nervous. A friend reminded me that it was one day. Just one day. And you know what? It was totally fine.

Your husband has this! I agree with other comments, it’ll be so good for your husband to have that time!

2
BrutusAganistMe•

This happened to me this week, gone for 12 hours first time away from home, older kid (20m), husband with her all day. I had scheduled a food delivery for the husband at lunch and then he ordered pizza for dinner to make things easier. Gotta keep him not hungry, and I know if he gets too busy, he will not eat but then crash. Also, LO had a music class today that he took her to. That kills a good chunk of time. In your case, make sure he can go for a walk with everything being set up? Do you guys have any friends with similar age babies? He could go for a visit just to drive somewhere. I find that it is good to change the environment and the time passes by quicker if you are actively doing something; the baby can also be quiet and interested observing.

2
tinycatfaceOP•

I haven’t done a good job of introducing him to my mom friends, but he could definitely walk baby to the beach or park if the weather is good.

1
overthinker1331•

Yes definitely test out bottles before that day. Mine didn’t drink from some. We had like 4-5 different types!

1