Well I did it, I made it through 2 work trips post-maternity leave. It may be hard leaving my TWO boys behind, but to further complicate things, I am still breastfeeding. I would not let anything stand in my way of breastfeeding, so I got creative when traveling and pumping.
Below are my tips and learnings from these trips
Air Travel:
What you NEED
- Small/medium cooler
- Ice packs (FROZEN when you go through TSA)
- Extra pump parts (valves or membranes depending on your pump)
- Extra storage bags for milk
- Quart size Ziploc freezer bags
- Hands free pumping bra
- Sanitizer wipes
- Pump (obviously!)
- Nursing cover or blanket
- Reusable wet bag to store pump parts in cooler in between pumps
These essentials are similar to the ones I recommend in Pumping Essentials to ease your Return to Work. It’s nice that you don’t have to go out and buy a bunch of additional items to be successful with overnight travel.
Tips for hotel stay:
-If you have the choice to stay at a Residence Inn or other hotel with a full fridge, DO IT! The mini fridges at other hotels are small and likely won’t freeze the icepacks.
-If your hotel only has a mini fridge, call ahead to see if they have any other accommodations for a larger fridge or freezer, as some do.
-Leave the ice packs with the front desk if you don’t have a full size fridge/freezer. I left them at night and called in the morning 5 minutes before I went downstairs and they were waiting for me. I felt so accommodated!
-Bring a trial size dish soap and bottle brush, soak pump parts in hot soapy water in ice bucket if your sink doesn’t have a stopper.
When things go wrong:
-Here’s why I say pack extra pump parts… In the Atlanta airport, I made my way to a Mamava pod (more on this in a minute). I connected everything only to realize I left one of my valves to my spectra pump at home. I was upset because I thought I had planned so well. Unfortunately, I never bought spare parts, so I didn’t pack them. To my horror, I had to DOUBLE my pumping time in order to empty both sides.
-When you forget something, Amazon Prime. The area I was staying didn’t offer free same day shipping like they do in Dallas, but I paid $3.99 and the parts arrived at my hotel in 24 hours. So at least the last day I cut my pumping time down.
-Put your extra milk storage bags in different pockets. Another mistake I made was leaving my storage bags in the hotel. When I went to the store I was visiting that day, I had no bags!! Thankfully, I had 2 empty bottles and managed to store 13 ounces between the 2. It was another, “I can’t believe I did this” moment.
Airport pumping:
-Some airports have a Mamava pumping/breastfeeding pod and some have lactation or nursing rooms. My experience with the Mamava was not great. Atlanta airport is huge, they have 6 pods, but not in my terminal. I trekked over from C to D and walked over a mile to get to it. Only to find it was not tidy inside. Dirty floors, smelled stuffy, and felt tight. Also, it was supposed to have sani-wipes but there were none restocked! Thankfully I had these in my bag to wipe off the tiny shelf inside.
-Family restrooms seem to be more abundant and always have a plug. I felt bad on my return layover for occupying the family restroom for 20 minutes, but Mama’s gotta do what Mama’s gotta do.
-I felt too awkward to try and pump at the plane’s gate, but I would if I needed to with my nursing cover over me.
-You could also pump on the plane from your seat (if you have a battery powered pump) or in the plane’s restroom, but for me, I planned around this! *Edited to add I did pump from my seat on the plane! One trip had tight layovers, so I had no choice. I chose a seat in the back of the plane and sat by a friendly mama and her 2 year old. I wore a top that was long and easy to pump under, so no cover needed!
Carry-on Bags
-I had a positive experience with TSA checking my breast milk. It was only about 5 extra minutes. TSA put new gloves on and looked through the cooler to verify it was breast milk. I had no problem carrying on 90 ounces!
-For longer stays I would suggest shipping milk home. I’m currently preparing another post on this topic!
-I carried on my cooler, pump/laptop bag, and rolling suitcase no problem. Someone did ask me to consolidate my bags once and I simply told them I had breast milk to carry on and they said ok -good for you mama- no worries. Love Southwest airlines!!
Well those are my first learnings! If you have an upcoming trip away from your baby, just know it is possible. So many mama’s do it, even though it is not ideal! I wish you all the best and if things go wrong (which something is bound to) just remember it’s ok, and forgive yourself.
Are you still breastfeeding? Do you have any work trips coming up? I’d love to hear from you and see how your breastfeeding and pumping journey is going.
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