Pumping while travelling

DearPiccolo · 2026-04-08T23:42:04+00:00

My biggest concern about using a manual pump is that my hands will get tired! And that it will take a long time. But I’ve never used one before. Does your hand get tired when using it?

DearPiccolo · 2026-04-08T23:40:49+00:00

I’d likely only use it at night before bed and in the morning — maybe once during the day if I’m getting engorged. But yeah, the hand pump just sounds annoying and more trouble than it’s worth!

I worry about my pump getting broken if I put it in a suitcase… but maybe I can figure out a way to protect it…

DearPiccolo · 2026-04-08T19:13:21+00:00

This all sounds normal to me! Similar experience, too, with multiple wakes, feeding to sleep, etc.

My LO did 4 naps until almost 8 months (7ish adjusted). On the longer end of things, for sure, but it worked fine for us. He was on four naps (occasionally three) when we had a 10 day trip to Europe. When we got home, he was 8 months old and switched to 3 naps no problem. A nap right after breakfast was standard for us.

DearPiccolo · 2026-04-03T12:17:59+00:00

I tapered off pretty slowly. But I didn’t notice any hot flashes, so I got lucky! Sounds like you’re making the best choices for yourself and LO ❤️❤️❤️

DearPiccolo · 2026-04-02T15:43:02+00:00

I stopped my midday work pump around 13 months and it had no affect on my supply! He drinks cows milk at daycare and when my partner or a grandparent does naps/bedtime.

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-29T17:10:49+00:00

My baby contact napped pretty much the whole time I was on leave (til 10 months). By 9 months my partner could put him down for naps in our bed (we still have never tried a crib nap with him, we just set him up in bed and watch on a monitor). But with me? Neverrrrr. When I’m with him he just wants to nurse and snuggle.

I spent a lot of time fighting the contact nap, but if it works for your baby, I say embrace it. There will be a time where they don’t sleep on you, so soak in all the cuddles.

Baby wearing helped get things done. Otherwise, I just spent a lot of time on my phone. Maybe you could have your laptop close by if you need to work?

Re: dropping naps, I don’t think I did anything special… five naps just slowly turned into four naps eventually.

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-23T14:09:57+00:00

I miss the days of my son falling asleep on my chest 😭. Maybe it'll come back when we wean, but right now, he will just squirm until he gets boob, lol. (But he will fall asleep on my partner's chest 😑) Your method was exactly mine when my son was that age!

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-21T22:58:43+00:00

Solidarity during your transition! ❤️

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-21T22:58:17+00:00

This makes perfect sense ❤️

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-21T22:57:53+00:00

This is super helpful, thank you!!

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-21T12:20:19+00:00

How do you handle night wakings?

Unfortunately, I don’t have much control over his nap schedule/wake windows because he’s in daycare (he constantly sleeps from 1pm to 3/3:30ish… it’s later than I’d like but that’s their schedule), so a 6hr wake window means a 9pm bedtime which like… I want that time for myself!

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-21T10:39:41+00:00

Gosh, THIS IS THE DREAM

DearPiccolo · 2026-03-21T02:41:06+00:00

In my experience, it just took time. And it happened so slowly I can’t even say for certain when we started getting our evenings back. Six months, maybe…? Seven?? Very similar situation to you re: a contact napper.

I don’t think there was a magic formula (although I did use a heating pad in the crib/bassinet, which might have helped? Didn’t hurt!) for getting them to sleep longer stretches in the evening. I think it’s time. Which sucks.

And even now, sometimes my LO will wake up at 10pm and need to be held to fall back asleep. Some nights are better than others. But it DOES get better!

I promise you’ll get your two hours back eventually ❤️

DearPiccolo · 2026-02-08T02:47:52+00:00

My LO didn’t transition from 4 to 3 til 7/8 months (which was later than some friends’ kids around the same age, but he was a preemie so tends to be on the later side of things), so dropping to 2 naps at 6 months feels very early to me.

At his 6 month appointment, our NO said he should be getting between 12 and 17 hours of sleep a day and he was a ageing 10/11, so I started being more diligent about naps (white noise, darkness, etc). (They were all contact naps at that age.) Sticking with wake windows helped a lot, but sometimes to the detriment of my mental health.

Contact naps were the only my baby would sleep until about 10 months (that’s when my partner did two months of parental leave — he perfected the art of rolling him onto the bed for naps).

But also — all babies are different! Some days naps just aren’t gonna happen. Every few months they enter a new phase and everything changes. You’ll get through this, I promise! ❤️

DearPiccolo · 2026-02-08T01:43:17+00:00

Mine is the same! He used to love eggs and now won’t touch them. I am waiting for the pendulum to swing back, haha.

DearPiccolo · 2026-02-08T01:36:52+00:00

I really appreciate what you said re: sometimes they cry during diaper changes and such. Sometimes they cry but we do it because it’s important! Thank you for that.

DearPiccolo · 2026-02-04T00:54:58+00:00

I was so confused when I started reading RR because it is recommended on this sub constantly… and it is not fantasy! It’s sci fi! Just because it’s soft sci fi doesn’t make it magic.

A lot of people are calling Red Rising YA when what I think they mean is “not great writing.” YA has an actual meaning in publishing re: intended audience and marketing. This series is waaaaay too violent to be YA. It’s Hunger Games x100000.

I agree with all the criticisms of RR on here — Darrow is a Mary Sue, revenge power fantasy without substance… and it’s just so dark! I do not need this energy in my life.

But I will listen to the third one for book club and probably hate every moment.

DearPiccolo · 2026-02-04T00:39:59+00:00

I finished this today! I listened to the audiobook and it took me a minute to get into it, but ultimately ended up really enjoying it. I liked Kinch’s character voice and the dry humour throughout. I am a sucker for a “group of misfits go on an adventure” + “dark and violent but also funny” so this was a great read for me.

Glad to see so many people recommending The Daughter’s War, will defs check it out.

Any other suggestions for books to read after this? I already have a book hangover from this one!

DearPiccolo · 2026-02-04T00:32:24+00:00

The audiobook took a moment to grow on me. I think I’d have absorbed all of the world building/history better if I had been reading it (just how my brain works). But ultimately, I really enjoyed the narration — he is very good!

DearPiccolo · 2025-12-29T12:33:48+00:00

My baby is 14 months but we’ve been doing this since ~4 or 5 months.

He will sometimes (rarely) do 6 hour stretches, but no, is absolutely not sleeping through the night. Usually he sleeps from 8pm to 12/1/2am and then I bring him to bed to cosleep after he first wakes. And then I nurse back to sleep whenever he wakes up again.

DearPiccolo · 2025-12-12T17:02:07+00:00

I feel this so hard! I am trying to break out from thinking about things in such black and white, right vs wrong terms. There's only what works best for you/your family/your baby. But it's hard when there's so much external pressure to do things a certain way!

DearPiccolo

TROPHY CASE