expressing during long flight journey

[mills80]

Hi ladies,

I am going to visit my mum who lives abroad.we are lookin at a 16 hour journey by flight nd then road. I will be travelling with my DS who's 3 nd LO who's now 5 weeks old. He doesnt breastfeed so I express nd give him my milk in a bottle.

Could anyone guide me on how I should carry my expressed milk on the flight? Also which thermal bag do you recommend? And how do I carry my pumps nd where can I discreetly express on the airport nd flight without drawing too much attention to myself?

I have a handpump nd an electric one, plan on taking thm both with me.

It seems like so much of a hassle esp with making sure tht the milk stays cool with such a long journey but I don't want to give in nd give him formula..

All suggestions welcome please....

Thanks

Mills

 

[Simonecah]

Thanks for asking! I'm facing a similar trip soon, although shorter flights.

 

[staralfur]

Not sure about bringing the milk with you on the plane as I haven't done that.

Could you pack your electric pump and just use your manual on the plane? I'm assuming it would be easier to just throw in your carry-on and would probably be a bit more discreet to use.

If not, then you could check with the airline to see if you can carry on an extra bag for your electric pump.

Most airports have quite spacious family washrooms. I fed my LO in those when we were traveling and it was nice and private without feeling like I was stuffed in a bathroom stall.

Do you have a whole row of seats to yourself on the plane? It's pretty hard to peek into other people's rows so you'd probably be okay just pumping right in your seat if you don't have to worry about someone directly beside you.

 

[goldstns]

My friend said if you pack it in 3oz containers your fine. Or if you put in bigger containers and tell them its your breast milk for your baby, then they wave a thing over open container and it will tell them if its ok or an explosive...but id call airline to double check.

 

[mills80]

Thanks for ur replies, airport guidelines say tht it ok to carry breastmilk for baby, v would b asked to taste it at security. I was plannin on carrying enough for at least 3 feeds but am not sure how long my thermal bag would be able to keep it cool for.

we were offered a carry cot for baby right in front row which means more leg room which was great but is next to toilets so guessing there will always be people in the aisle waiting for the loo which means expressing could be ackward...kwim?

I also need to check if airport has a family room where I could express. I will be travelling frm Heathrow T5 in London.

Would b great to hear from someone who's done this before nd how you coped?

 

[susannah14]

Well, I'm from the US so it might be different, but I had no difficulty at all transporting breast milk through the airport. They didn't even ask about it, and they even randomly searched my bag!

Pumping at the airport was hard. They didn't have a nursing or family room so I had to pump in a "family restroom" which is the ONLY private room with an outlet in the entire airport. There was no chair, it was hot, smelled like smoke and was basically a terrible experience. I didn't have to pump on the plane because my flight was only 3 hours.

Recently there was a pumping/nursing station added to the Vermont airport, the first of its kind, and hopefully they will be installed in tons of other places. https://www.today.com/travel/vermont-airport-first-stop-mom-friendly-lactation-station-8C11010506