The ins and outs of exclusively expressing

[steph.]

Lately is been hard squeezing in my pumping sessions at home when baby is awake. He wants to be entertained and play when I get home from work. And I find myself trying to entertain him and pump at the same time which makes me stressed out and I'm sure is affecting my pump session quality. Also it takes about 30 mins to empty my breast so its not just a quick 15mins.

My baby is now 6 months old! I can't believe I've gone this long EP and baby has had nothing but breast milk thus far. Im actually very proud of myself ....Lets see if I can make it to a year now We have a trip to Disney planned for the summer though so I might stop pumping before then he will be 11 months when we go so almost a year. Have any of you ladies pumped while vacationing, how does that work on airplane?

Good going for getting to the 6 month goal, I've got just a few more weeks until I get there myself. I'm pretty lucky that when I pump DS is typically asleep at the time, and if not Hubby is around to keep an eye on him.

I've got no ideas about what you could do about flying. I've got a while before we take DS on a plane, not until he's about 2 years old, so won't have to worry about pumping at that point. The most I know is that the rules are pretty strict when in comes to fluids, but I think that it can be worked around by taking frozen stash.

In a week I'm flying from south America to Australia about 40 hours from door to door. I dont know how I will manage on the plane and with the time zone change but I'll let you know how it goes. If anyone has any advice, let me know!!

 

[seaweed eater]

I pumped through long-haul international travel. I used my battery pack on the plane and a cover in the airport. You can bring BM and baby food and formula, but not cow's milk. They are not allowed to let passengers use the fridge or freezer on board, so keep that in mind. I haven't traveled with frozen so I don't have any tips about that. The pump bag doesn't count toward your carry on total since it's medical equipment, but if you are depending on that rule, I would bring a printout of the policies so you don't get harassed by airport people, especially if you are traveling outside the US. If you are going from a 110V country to a 220V country, make sure you get a converter for your pump and not just an adapter, or you will fry the adapter

Bring a stroller AND a carrier. You can gate check the stroller in most places. But in some places you have to pick it up at the baggage claim so it's good to have a carrier. I would recommend getting LO his/her own seat if you are flying long haul.

 

[mills80]

Hi ladies,

I posted ths on the main forum but am putting in here as well, 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....apologies if this topic has been discussed before, I haven't gotten around to reading all the posts in this section.

Thanks

Mills

 

[steph.]

Mills I am wondering the same as I have two 15 hour flights waiting for me on Saturday, one after the other eeek! Luckily we are flying with Boeing 777 which I found out has power plugs in each seat so I plan on expressing on the plane. But does anyone know how I'd go about cleaning my pumping stuff?

 

[mills80]

Mills I am wondering the same as I have two 15 hour flights waiting for me on Saturday, one after the other eeek! Luckily we are flying with Boeing 777 which I found out has power plugs in each seat so I plan on expressing on the plane. But does anyone know how I'd go about cleaning my pumping stuff?

Oh dear yes I forgot abt cleaning the pump, yes how do you do tht on an airplane? I came across these Medela antibac wipes on Amazon but don't kno if thy are safe enough to use on unwashed bottles. Anyone else use thm?


Gosh ths is goin to be one long stressful journey!

 

[seaweed eater]

Keeping cool: don't forget that the milk stays good for 8 hours at room temp. If you can, I would plan to just keep feeding what you express for the duration of the journey. If you need extra, maybe an insulated bag with frozen milk in it? Or even cooled fresh milk would probably be ok for a few hours. I don't think you can take ice blocks through security.

For pumping discreetly, bring a cover and wear your hands-free bra for the duration of the journey.

For cleaning parts, Medela makes wipes, or you could buy some (less expensive) pacifier wipes. I used Arm & Hammer wipes and they worked fine. Bring a microwave sterilizing bag so you can sterilize once you get there.

When you arrive abroad, don't forget to look into whether you need a converter for your pump adapter -- if you plug it in and try to run it with the wrong voltage, you could ruin the adapter.

You will get through it!

 

[Mimzy3]

Mills I am wondering the same as I have two 15 hour flights waiting for me on Saturday, one after the other eeek! Luckily we are flying with Boeing 777 which I found out has power plugs in each seat so I plan on expressing on the plane. But does anyone know how I'd go about cleaning my pumping stuff?

Oh dear yes I forgot abt cleaning the pump, yes how do you do tht on an airplane? I came across these Medela antibac wipes on Amazon but don't kno if thy are safe enough to use on unwashed bottles. Anyone else use thm?


Gosh ths is goin to be one long stressful journey!

I don't have advice on travel but I use the medela wipes to clean my pump supply while at work.

 

[Mimzy3]

seaweed eater had a very good point... I remember when traveling in a car never the plane over the holidays...I would just use the freshly expressed milk for the next feeding always and only had on bottle as a spare in a little cooler bag. So that cut down on having to worry about storage. I think it would be hard to bring frozen milk because that has to be used within 24hrs and I just feel frozen milk from months ago just won't keep as well as fresh or semi fresh milk.

 

[BabyMaybe917]

This is an odd question. Today I've noticed a vibration type feeling in my right breast only. I've felt it through various points of the day and can't pinpoint a relationship to pumping. Any idea what this is? It almost feels like when your stomach grumbles or something like that.

 

[missbabes]

For the ladies that have already had their period return do you experience a drop in supply when it arrives? Mine finally returned yesterday and in those pumping sessions since my supply seems noticeably lower. Is it worth throwing in extra pumping sessions to help?

 

[seaweed eater]

Yes, I noticed lower supply during my period, and many other pumpers (and nursing moms) do too. An extra session might help if you need more in order to stay caught up, but your normal supply should come back on its own in a few days.

 

[Mimzy3]

missbabes how far postpartum are you? when did most of you ladies get your period back? I'm six months and it has not returned yet. I'm not complaining lol just curious to when I might see it come back.

I've also herd women say their supply dropped during their periods, totally normal from what I understand.

 

[missbabes]

missbabes how far postpartum are you? when did most of you ladies get your period back? I'm six months and it has not returned yet. I'm not complaining lol just curious to when I might see it come back.

I've also herd women say their supply dropped during their periods, totally normal from what I understand.

Was exactly 25 weeks pp (1 week short of 6 months) when it came back. I've been pumping twice a day for the last 3 weeks, so it might have played a part or it might have nothing to do with it.

 

[chevy4by]

How do you stop pumping? My girl will be 1 on sunday and I will be done pumping!!!! I am down to one pump per day as it is, but I don't know where to go from here. Do I go to every other day? how does this work?
Thanks!

 

[BabyMaybe917]

Any recommendations for milk storage bags? I've been using the bottles the nicu provides but they're too bulky for my deep freeze at home. It's almost full and my baby is barely 1 month!

 

[shellideaks]

I used Lanisoh breast milk storage bags and never had a problem

 

[Tweak0605]

babymaybe - Target breastmilk storage bags!! I used TONS of them when I pumped. They were great. Out of the 2-3 boxes I bought, I only had 1 or 2 that leaked.

chevy - when I stopped pumping, I would cut a pump out every few days. Once it wasn't painful anymore in between pumps, I would cut another. I wasn't producing a lot when I stopped at 7 months, so it wasn't that hard to stop. I think it took me maybe a week or 2 to fully stop. GREAT JOB on making it a year!! ETA: whoops saw you are already down to 1 a day. If it's not painful, you can go as long as you can without pumping. If after a couple days it's hard and painful, pump a bit to relieve some of the pressure, but don't empty fully.

 

[missbabes]

Any recommendations for milk storage bags? I've been using the bottles the nicu provides but they're too bulky for my deep freeze at home. It's almost full and my baby is barely 1 month!

My personal preference are Medela. They're a little costly, but I find them the perfect size for individual feeds and take up less space, plus they're double lined and have a strong seal. Also they stand up perfectly when defrosting. They make other brands seem flimsy in comparison. Not had a single problem with them.

 

[Mimzy3]

I used Medela bag but two leaked. And they didn't hold enough milk for me. My little guy will drink 8oz in one feeding. The lanolin bags hold more milk and can be stored flat so take up less room. Also I find the Lanolin ones easier to transfer to bottles.

 

[steph.]

Well i did it! My monster flight from Brazil to Australia went better than I thought. I pumped just before I left and sterilized everything. I pumped on my seat and just covered myself with a blanket and it was more discreet than I thought it would be, I dont think anyone even realised what was going on! I asked them to store the milk in the fridge and they had no problem with it. The only mishap was when I went to get a bottle a few hours later and realised the fridge hadnt been on so had to chuck out 8oz, so after that I always made sure they put it in a working fridge. I used my double electric pump as a single so that I could pump twice without having to wash it, then washed it when I got half way (in Dubai), I brought my own washing up liquid and brush. Though I am sure they would have let me store the pump parts in the fridge in a ziplock bag if I had asked.

The hardest part was arriving here and trying to pump with two jet lagged kids and two jet-lagged boobs. Its a 13 hour different which has messed up my supply a but after 3 days I'm just getting back on track.