Work travel while breastfeeding

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no limit to the amount of breastmilk you can take with you on the plane. I have a Polar Bear cooler (which looks like a very bulky laptop bag) but that will keep cold milk cold for 12 hours. I put one ice pack there and I'm good. Just make sure your hotel has a mini-fridge. I used the pump in style advanced with a batery pack, but i plugged in whenever I could. I also used a lansinoh momma pump, just in case I had to pump in a bathroom cubicle....yes i know, you're
not supposed to do that, but that's how i survived doing site visits and conferences.

A lot of countries don't have a medical exemption for breastmilk. And minifridges aren't cold enough for milk.

Im the PP you quoted. Which countries are these? I haven't had any problems yet (cross fingers) -- I've traveled to Western Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and haven't had trouble...
Again this is from just MY experience, but I have stored breastmilk for 3 days at the minifridge and bring them home with an ice pack and this is what is given immediately to the baby the next day in daycare. No problems.

I've brought milk back from weeklong trips to Central Africa and South America. I got around the overseas security issue by bringing ice packs and putting the cold ( but not frozen) stored milk in a cooler with ice packs and then putting it in a checked bag so I didn't have to deal with security. They still looked at me funny for the pump parts, not a common thing to see in Cameroon! In both cases I think I had to dump one freezer bags worth of milk that smelled odd, but the rest was fine. I had long flights and I actually decided to bring a hand pump for the travel portion. Not ideal but it helped me feel less stressed about pumping on the plane to be able to stay in my seat and watch a movie while pumping. I used to the electric pump on battery power once I got to my destinations.

[Anonymous]

I haven't had to travel while pumping, but this is an interesting idea:
http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/13/news/companies/ibm-breast-milk-shipping/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no limit to the amount of breastmilk you can take with you on the plane. I have a Polar Bear cooler (which looks like a very bulky laptop bag) but that will keep cold milk cold for 12 hours. I put one ice pack there and I'm good. Just make sure your hotel has a mini-fridge. I used the pump in style advanced with a batery pack, but i plugged in whenever I could. I also used a lansinoh momma pump, just in case I had to pump in a bathroom cubicle....yes i know, you're
not supposed to do that, but that's how i survived doing site visits and conferences.

A lot of countries don't have a medical exemption for breastmilk. And minifridges aren't cold enough for milk.

Im the PP you quoted. Which countries are these? I haven't had any problems yet (cross fingers) -- I've traveled to Western Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and haven't had trouble...
Again this is from just MY experience, but I have stored breastmilk for 3 days at the minifridge and bring them home with an ice pack and this is what is given immediately to the baby the next day in daycare. No problems.

Japan, Germany, and Korea. I've successfully brought breastmilk back as checked luggage from each because they wouldn't allow a cooler of chilled fresh milk as hand luggage. If you have enough time and have the checked baggage allowance, it's always worth a try to hand carry and go back to the ticket counter if denied, but I never changed it after those three countries. Japan is a particular problem because if you connect through Tokyo international to international, you have to go through security and they take all your liquids away. Thankfully I didn't learn that with breastmilk.

[Anonymous]

^
I do pump and dump on the plane, though. I can't get over the nastyness of milk pumped in an airplane lavatory.

[Anonymous]

pump and dump and supplement with formula. lugging breastmilk was so miserable i stopped after 2 trips.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:pump and dump and supplement with formula. lugging breastmilk was so miserable i stopped after 2 trips.

Lazy.

[Anonymous]

PP again--that's odd! I did Germany and South Korea and didnt have problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again--that's odd! I did Germany and South Korea and didnt have problems.

Really? I swear Germany's airport security is on par with ours and the UK's in terms of frustration and ridiculous rules. I suspected they were just hassling me in South Korea, and your post makes me think that's really the case. I've only been once, so I don't really know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pumped and dumped; easier than trying to keep the milk cold. Baby can supplement with formula while you are out of town. Most airports now have "family" or "companion care" restrooms with electric outlets where you can pump, too. I did also get a car adapter for my pump, so I could plug the pump it into a car's cigarette lighter for power. (Bring a nursing cover!) Pumping in the rental car while parked in a dead end between visiting meeting sites wasn't ideal, but it worked. Don't be afraid to tell co-workers, "I need to pump." If you tell them once, they are usually embarassed and won't ask next time you say you need to "take a break".

This is kind of lazy. If I can bring breastmilk back from Malaysia, someone can bring breastmilk back from a shorter trip. It requires dedication and commitment though, so I guess it's not for everyone.

Agree on the family restrooms though, much better than pumping in a bathroom stall or at the sink. Also, the showers in the airline lounge are hands down the BEST place to pump at the airport.

Yes. Your are super dedicated and committed. Super mommy. With the powers of condescension and derision that rival all others. I really detest attitudes like yours: if I can do x which was super hard surely people with lesser skills and ability can do something as simple as y.

[Anonymous]

I have traveled and pumped with both kids. I am weaning second at 11 months.

I rented a hospital pump but also have a Medela Pump In Style. For long trips, I bring both. I use the hospital one in the hotel and I carry the other around during the day.

I always bring my milk home. This is not that hard.

The most annoying thing that has happened is that once I had to switch hotels because none of the mini fridges could keep a reliable, consistent temperature of 37 degrees or cooler. I love Residence Inns because they have normal refrigerators and it eliminates the problem of the sometimes unreliable mini fridge.

This freezer cooler bag is ideal for carrying home breastmilk on the airplane.

[Anonymous]

http://www.containerstore.com/s/kitchen/lunchtime-essentials/carriers/ziggy-packit-personal-cooler/123d?productId=11000094&sort=meta:category_78865_sort:A::::Y&ps=60&p=0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pumped and dumped; easier than trying to keep the milk cold. Baby can supplement with formula while you are out of town. Most airports now have "family" or "companion care" restrooms with electric outlets where you can pump, too. I did also get a car adapter for my pump, so I could plug the pump it into a car's cigarette lighter for power. (Bring a nursing cover!) Pumping in the rental car while parked in a dead end between visiting meeting sites wasn't ideal, but it worked. Don't be afraid to tell co-workers, "I need to pump." If you tell them once, they are usually embarassed and won't ask next time you say you need to "take a break".

This is kind of lazy. If I can bring breastmilk back from Malaysia, someone can bring breastmilk back from a shorter trip. It requires dedication and commitment though, so I guess it's not for everyone.

Agree on the family restrooms though, much better than pumping in a bathroom stall or at the sink. Also, the showers in the airline lounge are hands down the BEST place to pump at the airport.

It really depends. Breastmilk can only be store in a cooler for a limited time period. If you don't have access to a fridge it's probably easier to dump it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no limit to the amount of breastmilk you can take with you on the plane. I have a Polar Bear cooler (which looks like a very bulky laptop bag) but that will keep cold milk cold for 12 hours. I put one ice pack there and I'm good. Just make sure your hotel has a mini-fridge. I used the pump in style advanced with a batery pack, but i plugged in whenever I could. I also used a lansinoh momma pump, just in case I had to pump in a bathroom cubicle....yes i know, you're
not supposed to do that, but that's how i survived doing site visits and conferences.

A lot of countries don't have a medical exemption for breastmilk. And minifridges aren't cold enough for milk.

Im the PP you quoted. Which countries are these? I haven't had any problems yet (cross fingers) -- I've traveled to Western Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and haven't had trouble...
Again this is from just MY experience, but I have stored breastmilk for 3 days at the minifridge and bring them home with an ice pack and this is what is given immediately to the baby the next day in daycare. No problems.

Japan, Germany, and Korea. I've successfully brought breastmilk back as checked luggage from each because they wouldn't allow a cooler of chilled fresh milk as hand luggage. If you have enough time and have the checked baggage allowance, it's always worth a try to hand carry and go back to the ticket counter if denied, but I never changed it after those three countries. Japan is a particular problem because if you connect through Tokyo international to international, you have to go through security and they take all your liquids away. Thankfully I didn't learn that with breastmilk.

NP here. I travel to Japan and Korea regularly (as well as other Asian countries), and have never had a problem with my breastmilk. When you transit through Narita and they do the ridiculous transit liquid check, you can try telling them it's for a baby and it's breastmilk. I tend to be really pushy and willing to escalate to a supervisor (and I can speak Japanese) so I haven't had a problem.

That said, for longer trips to Asia (anything more than 3 days), I'd bring baby and nanny along. For shorter trips, there's always the option of packing the milk in dry ice in your checked baggage.

I'm guessing since OP only travels a few days a month, though, she's not going to Singapore or something. In all likelihood, she's doing domestic travel and the TSA rules (rather than random countries' rules) will apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pumped and dumped; easier than trying to keep the milk cold. Baby can supplement with formula while you are out of town. Most airports now have "family" or "companion care" restrooms with electric outlets where you can pump, too. I did also get a car adapter for my pump, so I could plug the pump it into a car's cigarette lighter for power. (Bring a nursing cover!) Pumping in the rental car while parked in a dead end between visiting meeting sites wasn't ideal, but it worked. Don't be afraid to tell co-workers, "I need to pump." If you tell them once, they are usually embarassed and won't ask next time you say you need to "take a break".

This is kind of lazy. If I can bring breastmilk back from Malaysia, someone can bring breastmilk back from a shorter trip. It requires dedication and commitment though, so I guess it's not for everyone.

Agree on the family restrooms though, much better than pumping in a bathroom stall or at the sink. Also, the showers in the airline lounge are hands down the BEST place to pump at the airport.

It really depends. Breastmilk can only be store in a cooler for a limited time period. If you don't have access to a fridge it's probably easier to dump it.

24 hours in a cooler, but if you replace the ice consistently, you can get an indefinite amount of time out of it. Don't ask me how I know.