Traveling Overseas and Pumping

Hand pump! I traveled when my son was just 3 months old and got the avent manual pump. It worked very well for me and allowed me to just pop in a public restroom to pump and also pump while on the flight. My hands were a lot stronger when I got back - but the hand pump did the trick for me!

Good luck and Happy Travels!

I have a battery pack for my pump and I use a hands free pumping bank to pump (Made By Moms). I have pumped standing in a bathroom with the pump hung on the hood on the door with those two items it is possible. Good luck, I can only imagine how difficult this trip will be for you!

I was doing a lot of air travel when my son was 2 - 6 months old. He is now 9 months old. I found it a lot easier to have a hand pump on the flights. I sat in the window seat so I could turn away from the other passengers. I covered myself just like I would have had I been feeding my son and pumped right in my seat. I also had some really great flight attendance on my flights. Most times, if possible, they helped to keep the middle seat empty.
As for the airports, most I have found have a "family" restroom. It was set up so I could breast feed, with made it really great for pumping. I didn't have my electric pump with me for the flights, so I didn't look for outlets in the bathrooms. However, there are plenty in the terminals to plug in laptops. Just remember that you will need to have converter plugs for the outlets overseas. Each country seems to have a different plug.
Good luck and enjoy your trip.

A.,

I had to leave my 10 month old for 4 days unexpectedly this past May and we did fine. I bought a handheld manual pump that I could just use to express enough milk to relieve myself. I used bathrooms at the airports (causing a huge line...oh well), I pumped in moving vehicles, and in the luxury of my friends living room. It is not easy to do...and definitely not "glamorous". But since I just dumped all the supply (probably can't bring it back overseas anyways), it worked fine for me.

When I returned my son latched on immediately (and then refused to use the bottle again!!), and my supply came back full throttle almost right away. It is amazing how our bodies work like that.

Good luck! But my advice...don't lug a huge pump...there are going to be way too many issues (different electrical outlets, voltage...etc.) Just get a small manual one...it will do the trick.

H. Z. (SAHM to 5, almost 4 and 15 month old boys)

Here are some tips i learned:
1. you can go right through security--ice and all. have not had a problem yet as soon as i said "breastmilk"--and I've actually flown a lot. Some morons will try to swipe your pump parts with their dirty weird scanner handle thingys that have touched god knows what--to make sure it is not a bomb--but the milk should go through no prob. If you put your pump through security--be sure to tell them it's a pump and prob save some time :)

2. In a hotel, you can request a fridge in the room for free--it is considered a medical condition and therefore you shouldn't be required to pay extra or you can ask the front desk and they will put it in a fridge for you--i did this for many trips and have not thrown out a drop of milk for my little one

Dear A. M:

I use to travel a lot while I was still nursing. Take a hand pump and make sure you pump often so your supply doesn't diminish while you are away. Drink lots of water. It's hard, but worth it. I actually had a friend who froze and Fed Ex'ed her milk home everyday. Hope this helps.

My pump actually came with a battery pack and I think most bathrooms have outlets. I think the outlets are different oversees so you might not be able to use it anyway without an outlet converter. Babies r us should sell the battery pack that you need. What type of pump do you have?

I suggest a hand pump, Isis makes a great one, it is small portable and works really well. Some airports may have nursing rooms, best of luck.

J.

A.--

First of all try not to stress...that is probably the toughest advice to take, but it will make the trip a lot more emjoyable and you're milk levels will stay up more easily. I left my DS at 7 months for a trip to Atlanta, GA from Boston for 4 days, and although I didn't have a 7 hr flight, it wound up being a 9 hour commute, so I know your pain. A couple nuggets of advice:

1) Your electric pump should have come with a battery pack. It is a little black box that holds something like 8 double AAs. I have a medela PIS (pump in style) and there was a battery pack that I used instead of the plug in adapter. This is ideal for pumping on the go. You can go into a family bathroom in the airport or just a regualr handicapped stall and pump away quickly and efficiently. If you don't have a battery pack, see if you can get one before your trip. Try the internet or your local baby supply store.
2) If you don't have a manual pump, I wouldn't go out and necessarily get one, especially if you've been pumping w/ a double electric all this time. I found the manuals to be far less effecient and pretty expensive. It was also more painful. It didn't help me because I was frustrated by the inefficiency and pain level.
3) If you're planning on trying to save your milk, ask for a fridge in your hotel room. Take your milk storage bags and a couple coldpacks, along with a small cooler. You can bag up your milk, keep it in the fridge and then transport it back in your cooler for your little one. I couldn't even handle all that pumping and throwing it down the drain! If you don't plan on trying to bring it back, then this won't be necessary, but it's worth a try.

I hope that this is helpful. Try to have a great trip, take in some sights and have a heifeweitsen for me!

R. P.

You can also pay a fee if you are not a member and go to the airline club. My husband was laid over unexpectedly and it was a very long day so he had paid a fee with his airline and went to the club. They will have an outlet for sure. They have a locker room and it was just a nice break area.
Good luck with the flight. Take lots of photos with you and take advantage of the 'you' time. It will be hard to do and not feel guilty about but sleep in (if feasible), bring a book for your leasure time and anything you want to catch up on!!

I would recommend you get the Avent manual pump. It works extremely well. I purchased one specifically for traveling and ended up using it exclusively, abandoning my electric forever. I never needed to worry about finding an outlet. (I would even bring it to the beach and pump with a towel slung over my front, much like breastfeeding in public!)

It's small enough to fit in a carry-on, can be broken down, and they won't make you turn it on in security. ;-)

Good luck with your travels!

A. - I agree with all of the advice below. You are allowed to bring the milk back with you thru airport security even if you don't have a baby with you. I did it recently and didn't have any problems at all. I kept my pumped milk in freezer bags (but not frozen) b/c i thought it would be less bulky to transport than bottles. I kept them in the ice bucket in the hotel until I was ready to leave. I had the concierge freeze my icepacks for the way home. I didn't waste a drop! The thoughts of throwing it away after all that trouble are unbearable! It stinks lugging the milk and pump around and having to pump milk in not so glamorous locations. Best way to get thru it is laugh about it. :-) Good luck!

A.
i didn't pump but i do travel overseas a bit ....
am not sure about plugs in bathrooms, i would assume so
but don't forget to be a converter plug at radio shack... you can get one with multi country plugs!!!! have fun
I.

I've done a fair amount of pumping in restrooms. I don't think you'll find outlets in the stalls in the multi-unit restrooms, but look for the family/handicap-accessible restrooms (usually right beside the women's room). You'll have the whole room to yourself and can pump in privacy.

If you ask your flight attendants, or the flight attendants at the gate check-in counter- they should be able to give you a nice place to do it. In my experience- I was shown to a break room for the airline workers, they let me do it in there. I only did this once though- and I don't know if I just got lucky with a nice employee??!!
You may also want to try a manual pump while traveling. It's lighter and easier to use in a bathroom stall if you have to. You could also do it in the airplane's bathroom if needed.
-S.

A.-
I just did this in the begining of Sept. with my 4month old at the time. It is heart breaking to leave, but I felt so much better knowing that the 1st trip was over with! I have to travel for work as well. I do not have to fly overseas but I did fly from Boston to LA a 6.5 hour flight! This is what I did.... I fed her right before I left for the air port and then about 45 minutes before the plane was to board (15 minutes before boarding) I went into the bathroom and pumped. I did fine on the flight and did not need to pump but as soon as I landed I went to the bathroom and pumped again. I also brought the milk back with me. I bought gel packs and a hot/cold bag and put it in my suit case. I just made sure to double zip lock baggie everything. It worked out great the milk was still below 41 when I got home. The bathrooms do not have any power outlets that I have seen but you can buy a battery pack for the pump just make sure to bring lots of batteries!

I haven't read the other answers yet, but if I were you, I'd take a backup manual pump along just in case. Also, try to research the type of outlets you might find and whether or not your pump will be able to work in a foreign currency - sometimes even if you buy the adapter plugs, the machines still can't work on the different electric flow they get.

Have you used a hand pump? That might be easier to travel with and then you don't have to worry about outlets. I believe the outlets are totally different in Germany so you might have a problem with that. I used the Medela handpump and loved it. Good for you for still pumping and breastfeeding. I did it until 17 months and don't regret a moment of it! Good luck and I hope you find something that will work with your travel plans.

I've also used a manual pump for travel. I got a Medela manual pump for about $35 and could use all the attachments from the powered pump. It will make it so much easier to pump in the airplane bathroom, for example. I've also known moms to express milk manually (with their hands) in a pinch, but I think that takes some practice so you don't hurt yourself. Good luck and have a nice trip!