Travel Tips

Happy Wednesday friends! I've received some travel questions lately so today's post is for all my new nursing Mamas with a trip on the calendar. So since our baby was born, my husband and I have been on two getaways without her, which does require some extra planning on the mom front, but it is possible even with an exclusive breastfed baby! Here are my top travel tips!

Car Travel:
So our first getaway was to Charleston, which for us was a simple 3 hour car ride. At this point baby was 6 months old and had not started solids yet, so I made sure that my freezer stash was plentiful. I added in a couple extra pumping sessions a week or two before we left for my own peace of mind, and pumped while we were gone to replenish.

Choosing a destination that was just a car ride away for our first getaway was ideal because I pumped on the way down (placed milk in cooler), when we arrived and checked into our hotel, before we headed out for the evening and then before bed.

While our hotel did have a refrigerator in our room it was not quite cold enough, so the hotel informed us to call the front desk after each session, and they would come pick up the milk, and store it for us in their kitchen. This was amazing! Before we checked out the following afternoon, I just asked for all the milk to be sent up and packed it away in the cooler for the car.

When booking your stay, let your hotel know you are nursing and be sure to ask about the in room accommodations. This is something that is so common and handled easily.

Air Travel:
My husband and I just celebrated our five year wedding anniversary, and originally we had hoped to return to The Exuma Islands, where we traveled on our honeymoon. However, with the risk of zika and me still nursing, this just did not seem like the best time or option for that location. Instead we ended up in New York City, which was perfect! A quick hour and a half direct flight and we were there.

With this getaway, our baby was 10 months old which required less milk and less pumping. Before we left I did some research and discovered that your pump is actually considered a medical device, so always carry it on. This saves any kind of issue too if it were to get lost in baggage. Once we arrived and checked into our hotel, I just stored the pumped milk in our rooms refrigerator. Also, to keep things as simple as possible I packed the pump wipes that easily clean all the parts to avoid having to wash them in the bathroom. 

The night before it was time to head home, we called down to the front desk and asked them to place our ice packs in their freezer. While flying be sure to use the ice packs that will remain a solid once they thaw as opposed to the gel packs. We placed the ice packs and milk in a small collapsible cooler that I had packed and were good to go. 

Once at the airport and headed through security, I just informed the officer that I did have milk in the cooler. They took out the bags and placed them in what looked like a microwave, to ensure that it was in fact breast milk, because you know I looked very questionable with my pump and monogrammed cooler. In all honesty, it was quick and easy and they never opened any of the bags and sent me on my way. 

Traveling while nursing was so much easier than I had even anticipated! Absolutely no hiccups with a little extra planning, and everyone from the hotel staff to the airport security could not have been more accommodating. Hope this was helpful to you! Happy traveling! 

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