Today I'm happy to share a story and some great advice from Rachel on breastfeeding and pumping when on a business trip.
I wasn't exactly thrilled about leaving 6 month old Matthew behind to go to a conference for work. I tried everything I could to bring him with me, but in the end it just didn't work out that way. My husband couldn't take off work as he had just started a new job. Neither of our parents or my aunt could go either. I didn't trust the hotel daycare and knew I would have long days. I knew I had to go to the conference (it was definitely something my career would benefit from), so I decided to bring my trusty pump with me.
I calculated how many days I would be gone and the number of bottles he would need during that time. I thought I would be safe with 150 ounces. This seemed like an impossible task since I only had six weeks' advance notice of the trip. However, I pumped in the morning after he nursed, and before bed at night. I also added an extra pumping session during the day at work. At first I wasn't able to get that much, but eventually I got the full 150 ounces that I needed for the trip. If I wasn't able to nurse him while away, I felt really good that I would be able to provide him with my breastmilk.
Right out the gate (or should I say just when I got to the airline gate), things began to go wrong. I forgot to pack my flanges and had to have Matt (my husband) make an emergency trip back to airport to deliver them to me. They'd been sitting clean on the counter, and didn't make it into my 'last minute list.' Once that hurdle was overcome, I was cleared for takeoff.
I had planned to pump during my layover and made arrangements for this by bringing the battery-powered attachment to the pump along with me. However, when I got everything set up and switched the pump on...nothing. The battery feature of my pump wasn't working, and I didn't think to pack the manual attachment. I started to try to hand express, but wasn't incredibly successful at it. Matt had told me a few days before that I should figure this out, but I had never tried it. I was very frustrated, but made a conscious decision not to let it stress me out, thinking that this would make the situation worse. My breasts were very full by the time we made it to the hotel, but once there I was able to pump and everything went well.
I was able to break away from the conference to pump regularly, and followed Matthew's schedule as much as I possibly could. I stored the milk in a refrigerator provided by the hotel. Coming back to the room to pump actually provided me with several breaks during the day which I might not normally have taken.
Also, I took the opportunity to talk to others about pumping while away. I felt like I could educate others on nursing - after all, I am the product of a family that doesn't nurse their babies; the way I learned about nursing was from the example of my friends an others I met in later years. I actually ended up meeting a lot of other nursing moms (or former nursing moms) who had been there, done that, and it was terrific.
I went to the conference really nervous about what would happen to Matthew while I was gone. I was scared my supply would dry up, scared he wouldn't latch back on, and worried that he would get completely off his sleep schedule. It turns out that all my fears were in vain - Matt got that much closer to Matthew and did a fabulous job caring for him, he actually learned to sleep better while I was gone, and had no issues with his latch. I learned a lot at the conference, got some sleep, and all in all had a good time. Did I miss my family? YES! But I survived it, and you can, too. Check out my tips below for surviving a business trip without your little one as a nursing mom.
Tips for Traveling Without your Little One:
- Always have a backup option for pumping. Bring your manual as well as electric pump. And double check that you have all the parts before you go. In a pinch, Target carries some replacement parts for Medela pumps.
- Contact the TSA and ask them about regulations and their suggestions for traveling with breastmilk (see their guidelines). When I called they were helpful and I didn't have to wait on the line at all. Ironically, I was traveling the week before they announced their newer, more lenient, standards. if you educate yourself about the regulations in advance, you'll feel more confident at the airport. Also, you may want to bring a copy of TSA regulations along in your carry-on bag for security guards who aren't familiar with their policies.
- Arrange to have a refrigerator in your room in advance with the hotel. At the least, they should let you store the milk in the refrigerator or freezer at their restaurant.
- Pack a cooler for the return trip, or plan to buy one there. If you're going to carry in the milk on board, you can get a soft-sided collapsible cooler for packing with your bag. If you're planning to check the milk, get a hard plastic cooler and some packing tape. Don't forget to pack ice packs, or get ice before you pack it!
- Try to stick to your baby's eating schedule when you pump as much as possible (but don't let that stop you from getting a good night's sleep if you can!). I mapped out the conference itinerary in advance, and scheduled the times I could get away to the room to pump and take a break.
- Calculate how many days you will be gone, and compare this with how long you can store your milk in a refrigerator.
- Bring a sleep-aid for the first night. I didn't fall asleep for hours my first night away from Baby Matthew.
- Relax and trust your instincts. If something goes other than as planned, trust that you will intuit the right solution for you!
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