I am on my tenth month of breastfeeding. One of the more challenging aspects of breastfeeding I have encountered is all of the pumping I have had to do. A few months ago, I traveled out of town for my cousin’s wedding which required me to spend about four days away from my son. Luckily, I had a freezer stash saved up for him to have, but I still needed to prepare to pump for the four days that I was away. As you fellow breastfeeding moms know, society does not make it especially easy to breastfeed. I wanted to share a little guide I put together to hopefully help add a bit of convenience to a seemingly inconvenient process!
1. Purchase a quality pump, preferably one with a battery pack. Make sure to call your insurance to see if you qualify for a FREE pump. I received a $300 pump for $12 through my insurance, so it definitely pays to check! The battery pack definitely comes in handy when you are in a bind and do not have a plug available. It will also allow you to pump on the plane if needed. I have used my battery back countless times to pump in the car as well.
2. Purchase pump accessories. Invest in a good quality pumping bra OR you can make one from an existing sports bra. I would also recommend having at least three sets of pump parts, plenty of batteries for the battery pack, a couple of burp cloths or small towels, and some pump wipes. Pumping can also be a bit more indiscreet than nursing so I also packed a couple of nursing covers to use in public.
3. Take along a bottle brush and a travel size bottle of dish soap. If you knew you would have access to a microwave you could also take along a few steam clean bags to sanitize the pump parts.
4. Know the rules and regulations about traveling with a pump and with breast milk. I think this was the aspect of our trip that I was most apprehensive about. I printed out a copy of the TSA guidelines and was only hassled once. Most of the TSA workers were very nice. I made sure to disclose that I was traveling with breast milk and a breast pump. They did open the milk (in front of me) and wave some sort of test strip over it. I have heard of women refusing this process with no problem, but since I was standing there during all of it I was not bothered to allow them to test it.
5. Pack storage necessities. Make sure you have plenty milk storage bags or bottles, ice packs, and some sort of cooler to keep it all in.
6. Plan ahead. One thing I did not do (but wish I had done) is call all of the airports I would be pumping in to see what (if any) accommodations they had. In one of the airports I was told I could go pump in the bathroom… I would hope that if I had called ahead maybe I could have secured more comfortable places to pump. I had to sit in the floor both times because I could not find any plugs that would be close enough to chairs.
Have you had to deal with pumping while traveling?
Do you have any advice to add to the list for traveling pumpers?
Also, get a car adapter for your pump! Pumping in the car is my go-to and that many batteries can break the bank. I keep a set of the medela bags with the adapter so you can pump right into them in the car, so if I ever forget my storage bottles, I am not in a bind.
Great idea! Thanks, Katie!
Any tips on how to pump while driving? I had to do it with my last child twice but with this baby I believe it is going to be a must. I have a long commute to work 🙁
Tiffany-
I pumped while driving a lot! I would just set it all up before I hit the road. I used Katie’s idea and bought a car adapter! Life saver for sure! I also always had ziplock bags to store dirty pump parts and a lot of paper towels and burp cloths… and also a clean shirt just in case!