Work travel while breastfeeding

[Anonymous]

I'm tagging on to previous threads. I'll need to do some work travel right after maternity leave. Generally it's just 2-4 days a month.

Tips for managing?

Momma wants to keep her job! open to travel is a must.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Get a good pump! Get your system down if you want to bring milk back with you. Choose hotels that have refrigerators - not minibars, which I've found aren't cold enough. Read up on airport security and breastmilk, and realize the laws in the US don't apply overseas, if you'll be doing overseas travel. Understand that most clients and customers are pretty accommodating when you need to pump. If you have a nanny, consider bringing her and your baby with you.

[Anonymous]

Pump pump pump pump. Around 6 months, I started working off site one day a week, and I only pumped twice instead of the three times I should have. That was the beginning of the end of my supply. By 9 months, we were mixing formula into the breast milk, and I was pretty much dry by 12 months. Might have been coincidence of timing, but it might not.

[Anonymous]

Don't be afraid to ask conference organizers and/or facilities personnel to help you find somewhere to pump if you're, say, at all-day conferences. Alternatively, or additionally, stay at hotels close to where you'll be working. Also don't be afraid to ask hotel staff to freeze or refrigerate your milk for you. I've had to do all of this. It meant lugging my pump and soft-sided cooler with a frozen cooler pack with me everywhere, along with my laptop and assorted conference-going detritus. But that's what had to be done. It's also why I'm probably going to wean before DC hits one year and is already getting at least half formula. You just do the best you can.

[Anonymous]

Good pump, lots of ice packs, family restrooms are your friend, ask staff for help, and swallow your pride. There is nothing more inglorious than pumping in a supply closet with an intern guarding the door, but it'll all be water under the bridge eventually. Bring a small, TSA approved, amount of dish soap. You can boil water in your hotel room, amd so if you have the soap you can clean the parts. Don't lose your pump's membranes. Make sure you have good caps.

[Anonymous]

Medela quick clean wipes.

[Anonymous]

You have to always keep in mind it's temporary. Was pumping in an Amtrak bathroom the highlight of my life? No, but it was kind of hilarious for its awkwardness. As was racing across NYC to find the Bye Bye Baby because they have a pumping room.

Get a good travel pump, make sure it can use batteries and a plug. It's hard when you're in an all day meeting somewhere, but sometimes you just have to excuse yourself. And ask your hotel when you book. I got upgraded to a suite once because I said I needed a fridge.

I actually bonded with a client over it. She saw my pump bag and immediately recognized it. She called it the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pump." So, think of it that way, there's lots of women who travel and have to pump and there's a silent sisterhood sitting awkwardly in closets across the world

[Anonymous]

Look for the baby care rooms and use that. I found that many airport toilets are stuffy, smell, and have long lines. The baby care room has a chair some times, and is out of the way. It's just you and people trying to change diapers.

The Medela Freestyle has worked for me really well.

Signed,
On the road for 11 days now

[Anonymous]

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".

[Anonymous]

I brought my baby and nanny with me.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I switched to formula when I went back to work. So much easier, and my baby turned out fine.