pump before you leave and put it in a cooler

try reaching out to a lactation specialist, they helped me so much, my daughter just wouldn't latch after her first couple of months because she became too used to a bottle. and try Nipple shields! the few times I got her to latch on my own was with a nipple shield, it stopped my nipples from becoming cracked and their was no pain what so ever! and another plus is that the shields often time correct latch issues because of their design! if you do decide to pump exclusively then make sure you pump every 2 hours for at least the first month you switch over to make sure your supply will come in fully and last. make sure you're pumping enough to produce 32 ounces a day, eventually you can pump less frequently ( with an 8 month old I now pump every 4 hours) but breaks in between pumping will depend on your supply. I would really recommend trying with a lactation consultant before you switch to exclusive pumping though. try nipple creams and frozen cabbage leaves for your nipples right now though, they will help.

if you can look on YouTube & try to work on his latch, you may be able to fix the problem. or maybe see a lactation specialist. I'm sorry that you're having trouble. breast feeding is hard enough on it's own.

@aeb3, @bigmom-ma my son is not latching well, he's not getting enough to eat and is leaving sores on my nipples that bleed.

a pump just can't do it at first, usually. some women get lucky, byr usually you have to make it through the first 6 weeks, until your milk supply I'd regulated.

& all of the women that I've talked to that exclusively pump, would have much rathered nursing.

it's very, very hard at first. breast feeding takes a lot of learning for you & your baby.

you have to make the decision for what's best for your situation though. I can tell you that the sore nipples won't last long & there are things you can do to help, but if it's not working, that's okay too. as long as your babe is being fed, it doesn't matter. he'll be a happy hoy either way.

I tried this , and it dried up my milk , I could never get enough and it was so hard .

and I agree with @aeb3 exclusively pumping is alot harder. I wish my daughter would have latched. but as long as you're found whats best for y'all that's what is important!

I forgot to say breast milk can be kept in a cooler on ice for up to 24 hours.

please keep in mind that exclusively pumping is a lot harder than exclusively breast feeding. it takes a whole lot more work. of course, you need to make whatever decision works best for you, just try to be as educated as possible about it. there's a really great private Facebook group called milky mommas, you might want to try to join. they really helped me.

i worked very closely with lactation consultants and this is what they told me: breast milk is okay at room temperature for up to 6 hours ( but I usually will only leave it up to 4 hours, just personal preference) but if its going to be longer than 6 hours then the milk needs to be kept chilled in a cooler with ice packs or ice. one thing that I've also done is bring frozen stored breast milk and let it thaw so that it was like having a cooler ( for trips that were 6 hours long, again personal preference)

Yes, ma'am. As long as the milk stays cold with the ice packs, you can be out for a long while. Or better yet, you can freeze some bags of milk and then put them frozen in the diaper bag for extra reassurance, and put ice packs in there as well, and then thaw them out under warm water the same as you would if it wasnt frozen, and run the water over it until it was defrosted and warm

You'd have to bring an insulated bag.

@sarahemccormick, awesome, so I could be out and about for several hours right??

pump, store in breast milk bags, and keep ice packs in the diaper bag with the milk. Then, heat it up under warm running water and fill the bottle. Simple 😄