I just came back from a refreshing 5day trip with some girlfriends!

Our 5th baby just turned one last month, so I’m still deep in the breastfeeding journey, which meant that I had to factor in some expressing on my travels.

Here are 5 things that make the pumping experience manageable for me while I’m on holiday without the baby.

5 BREASTFEEDING TIPS WHEN TRAVELLING WITHOUT BABY

  1. An Efficient Breastpump

    Ideally a double pump – because when you’re on holiday you don’t wanna be spending hours expressing milk – and you already have to do it a few times a day.  I don’t personally own one of these double ones but when I travel, I usually borrow from a friend.

    I highly recommend the Spectra pump (that’s my friend’s one that I’ve been using).   I think it might be new to the market because I only came across it late last year, after over a decade of breastfeeding haha!  It’s a double electric pump, and it’s easy to use and super efficient, I usually take between 10 to 15 minutes to be done.  It’s chargeable, and the battery is pretty good, it generally lasts me a few days at a time, I could take it on a weekend away without the charger.  I’ve also used the Medela brand before and was very happy with it.

     

  2. A Comfortable Breastfeeding Bra

    Or bralette or one of those JT-one like tank tops that have inner support – because you’re likely to need to sleep with your breastpads on if you’re usually breastfeeding through the night …which brings me to the third thing.

  3. Don’t Forget Your Breastpads!

    And remember to wear them throughout the day, especially if you don’t know when you’ll get a chance to express (or when you’ll be thinking of your baby and then suddenly the milk comes rushing out…yep, what a phenomenon, hey! God is just amazing!)

    And back to the last point, you’ll likely need to keep the breastpads on during the night as well in case of leakage, even if you’re doing one night away.  I’ve had my fair share of waking up with bed linen soaked in breastmilk!  I must confess, I’m quite lazy; and when I’m away, it’s to rest, so I’m not one to wake up and express at night.  The best I do is to express first thing in the morning.

    With regards to the breastpads, I’ve used a few brands but the one I consistently use and am happy with is Pigeon.

  4. Pack A Small Cooler Bag.

    If you’re planning on saving the milk to use for your baby, you’ll need to keep the milk cool and safe – both throughout your holiday, as well as in transit on your way back home.  I know some people prefer to go the route of just expressing and disposing of the milk.  For me, it’s like liquid gold…haha! And few things are more depressing than having to throw out breastmilk!!!

    How you store your milk will depend on where you’re staying, how long you’re staying for, etc but I usually just keep the milk stored in the fridge at my accommodation, and then just pack it in a cooler bag with lots of ice on my way home. And then I’ll usually get home and freeze it.
    You can look up tips and guidelines for safe breast milk storage, but popular research at the moment says it should be ok in the fridge for a few days, and in the freezer for a few months.

  5. Have Fun!

    And lots of it, Mama!  Taking care of a baby is no small feat.  It’s a wonderful season and an incredibly demanding and physically draining one as well, so if you have an opportunity for a little break, grab it with both hands; or even better create it for yourself.

I would love to hear what your experiences of travelling and breastfeeding have been.   The most challenging part of the whole thing for me is probably the discipline to express milk a few times a day, in order to keep my supply up, and funny enough it wasn’t really an issue for me with all the other babies, but this time around I can see the difference with my milk supply if I don’t express often.

And that’s it for my tips :). I hope you found them helpful.  If you can think of another breastfeeding Mama you can share with, I’d most appreciate it!