Plane Travel While EPIng (and brief intro)

[2jelplus1]

Hi All,

I'm flying tomorrow with husband and LO and (luckily) I think I can avoid pumping on plane (4 hour flight) though not thrilled about the idea of a pre-flight pump in a public bathroom. Tips on this welcome. Our journey (if seamless) will be leave home, 45m to airport, 2hr at airport, 4h on plane, 2h to in laws where we will have a fridge and freezer. Staying 4 days and then reversing course home.

Mostly I'm freaking out about how much milk to bring fresh/frozen because my supply tends to take a short term hit when I'm stressed OR dehydrated and traveling with a baby with reflux is likely to cause both of those things! I currently have like 20oz freezer stash total, 16 extra oz in the fridge that will need to come along or be frozen, and can't afford to throw out much of it. Depending on the day my LO drinks 20-28oz, I'm assuming even on an awful day I can pump 15oz. I'm having trouble even wrapping my head around this.

All advice welcome, but most important question is: I'm
thinking of taking some fresh and some frozen milk in a cooler with ice packs, but it's a 9h journey from door to door. Do I have to treat all milk on arrival as if it's been frozen and defrosted or can I keep the milk that was never frozen an extra day or two?

Thanks in advance.

My intro is that after nearly going to EP at 4 weeks, we managed to get to exclusively BF for another 5-6 weeks and then as LOs reflux got increasingly bad she refused to nurse (and screams and cries if I so much as put her in nursing hold). She then briefly refused bottle as well but now will take bottle and until a week ago would nurse if I caught her at the end of a nap or MOTN. Now she's mostly refusing even those BF sessions and it's stressing the sanity out of me so I think we are essentially EP until further notice.

[missk0411]

A few thoughts:
1. See if your airport has family restrooms. They are usually pretty big, private, and have an outlet and a place to sit, so they wouldn't be awful for pumping.
2. When we traveled with a 6 month old, we brought milk in 4 ounce bottles, and didn't have a problem with security (though they did scan my hands and the bottles), but that's also because we had DD with us and probably looked a little frazzled. You might check how much liquid they'll let you bring through--I assume they'll let you bring more than 3 ounces at a time.
3. If you use Dr. Brown bottles, or bottles with that drop in tube/valve, loosen the top of the bottle when you get on the plane. I didn't think about this, and the air pressure forced milk up the tube and out the nipple, and we probably left 2 ounces on the floor of the plane. It was messy and sad.

Good luck!

[Widget123]

I was a human milk machine the first time I flew as an EPer and DD wasn't with me so I can say that I easily brought home a few hundred ounces with me, most of which was in 10 ounce bags, and TSA couldn't care less.

My biggest advice to you is to freeze all of the milk you bring with you so that the only fresh milk is what you pump at the airport. Bringing the milk already frozen will prevent it from going bad during the trip. Then when you arrive, I would use all of the airport pumped milk first, all of the frozen now at least partially de thawed travel milk second, then whatever you produce on the trip third, and try to freeze as much of what you are bringing home with you before you leave.

[2jelplus1]

Thank you ladies. That is all very helpful. We are using Avent bottles at the moment so I don't think the pressure change will be a problem, but I'll make sure to test before offering bottle to LO to make sure it's not a squirt gun. missk0411, I'm so sorry you lost all that milk! I'm sure I will look extremely frazzled tomorrow as well. :0

Widget123 if the cooler stays cold the whole time, wouldn't the fresh milk we bring with us be able to last a few days? I was given the tip of asking the flight attendants for ice as necessary mid flight. I think your system makes sense and is helpful to think in terms of planning, also then I can just freeze everything tonight and not worry about what gets left in the fridge.

What do you recommend for defrosting milk in flight if necessary?

[Widget123]

Apr 15, 2015 20:54:03 GMT -5 2jelplus1 said:

Thank you ladies. That is all very helpful. We are using Avent bottles at the moment so I don't think the pressure change will be a problem, but I'll make sure to test before offering bottle to LO to make sure it's not a squirt gun. missk0411, I'm so sorry you lost all that milk! I'm sure I will look extremely frazzled tomorrow as well. :0

Widget123 if the cooler stays cold the whole time, wouldn't the fresh milk we bring with us be able to last a few days? I was given the tip of asking the flight attendants for ice as necessary mid flight. I think your system makes sense and is helpful to think in terms of planning, also then I can just freeze everything tonight and not worry about what gets left in the fridge.

What do you recommend for defrosting milk in flight if necessary?

Yeah the milk in a cooler should last you a few days if you keep it cool enough but I was always super paranoid about that sort of thing.  I would think they should be able to give you a cup of hot water on the plane that you could put a bag or bottle in.  But if you want to keep enough milk in the cooler fresh / dethawed to have ready for you for use during the flight that would probably be a good idea.  I just wouldn't transport more milk than I think is necessary in a fresh / dethawed state for fear that it doesn't stay cool enough during the trip.

[madalynw]

Following this as I might have some longer plane travel coming up too...

Re pressure in bottles: it doesn't matter what bottles tou are using. Any closed container, including a plain ole water bottle, will experience change of pressure. Be careful with any bottles. I have gotten sprayed by water AND milk (we used to travel extensively with my first DD but I wasn't EPing at the time, just boob/bottle feeding).

[2jelplus1]

Travel went well. Managed to reload my cooler with ice shortly after boarding. The frozen milk thawed to slushie by the time we got to in laws but everything stayed pretty cold (there were still ice cubes in the cooler!) so I think I can treat the never frozen milk as if it was in the fridge the whole time.

[raechay]

Omg props to you. I'm planning for a 4 day trip in June with baby and my head is about to explode

[2jelplus1]

Apr 17, 2015 2:25:06 GMT -5 raechay said:

Omg props to you. I'm planning for a 4 day trip in June with baby and my head is about to explode

Thanks and thanks to everyone above who helped with great advice. I think my main tips would be:
(a) bring extra milk, I'd also recommend bringing more refrigerated milk and less frozen in a very well insulated cooler if trip is less than 10 hours because then you don't have to use everything w/in 24 hours on arrival-- also, defrosting milk on a plane can be tricky... We had bad turbulence and limited flight attendant support for hours, I ended up defrosting a (luckily small) bag of milk on DH's chest. He was not thrilled. That got it to cold and I actually whipped out a boob and squirted about an oz of fresh milk to add it to frozen bag to get it tolerably cool.
(b) mentally prepare yourself for some wasted milk, maybe if you have an unpredictable eater like me, bring more smaller bottles so you aren't trying to keep organized putting milk in and out of cooler
(c) I echo what was said about unscrewing caps before giving bottle to baby in flight or after flight -- I was good about it but spaced once when handing DH a bottle and he squirted her in the face, oops,
(d) aisle is better than window if you'll need access to stuff in the bins but window is much better if you want baby to sleep,
(e) if possible pump right before getting on plane, allow extra time at airport,
(f) ask for ice from FA, either bring ziplocks for them to shovel it into or take cooler with you to the galley,
(g) sit middle of plane, right behind wing-- white noise from the jets was so strong LO slept through takeoff, ascent, announcements and even the movie trailer! It's also the most stable in times of turbulence.
(h) sanitizing wipes! LO is in a big "touch everything and then put my hand in my mouth" phase, which I believe extends through the next few years and pre-wiping down the area around us made me feel a bit calmer. Also, I really didn't feel great about hand cleanliness after using the lavatory so was happy to wipe my hands down upon returning to seat before offering them to LO.
And lastly, I don't know if this was strategy or luck:
(I) I kept announcing I had milk all the way through security "I have milk, do you want to test my milk? There's milk for baby in the cooler" which resulted in them not even opening the cooler. They did wipe down my hands after I wore LO in the ergo through the metal detector. Can't remember if it was mentioned on this thread already but if you wear baby you can keep them on through security but car seat has to go through x-Ray and gets removed.

Lastly-- KNOW HOW TO USE YOUR car seat &/ stroller gate check bags before leaving home. Also know how to install car seat without base, these are not things you want to be figuring out with tired cranky baby mid-trip!

[madalynw]

Well so looks like we might be flying with baby sooner than expected. Question to you ladies who did this - has anybody attempted to brimg blue ice packs in their cooler? I have read on these boards that many women do ir they recommend it to others but haven't avtually confirmed that with anyone.

[madalynw]

And found the rules... YES to BM and ice packs! Gonna have print this ahead of time in case someone wants to give me grief...

Traveling With Formula, Breast Milk, and Juice
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Formula, breast milk and juice for infants or toddlers are permitted to be brought on board the aircraft. As with other medically necessary liquids, travelers must tell the TSA officer at the beginning of the screening process that they wish to bring formula, breast milk and juice in excess of 3.4 ounces in their carry-on bag. These liquids are typically screened by X-ray, and formula, breast milk and juice in excess of 3.4 ounces will receive additional screening.

Exemptions from the 3-1-1 Rule

Liquids in carry-on baggage are ordinarily limited by the 3-1-1 rule, which allows travelers to bring one quart-sized, clear zip-top bag containing liquids no larger than 3.4 ounces. However, travelers flying with or without a child may bring medically necessary liquids, such as formula, breast milk and juice, in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces in their carry-on baggage. The formula, breast milk and juice need not fit within a quart-sized bag. Travelers are encouraged to travel with only as much formula, breast milk and juice needed to reach their destination. Ice packs and other accessories required to cool formula, breast milk and juice are also permitted through the screening checkpoint and are not bound by the 3-1-1 requirements. Travelers are also allowed to bring gel or liquid-filled teethers, canned, jarred and processed baby food in carry-on baggage and aboard the plane. These items may be subject to additional screening.

Declaring Formula, Breast Milk, and Juice

Formula, breast milk and juice in excess of 3.4 ounces or accessories required to transport the liquid on a flight must be declared to the TSA officer at the beginning of the screening process. If a traveler does not want formula, breast milk and juice to be X-rayed or opened, the traveler must inform the officer before screening begins.

Screening Formula, Breast Milk, and Juice

Formula, breast milk and juice for infants or toddlers are screened in the same manner as medically necessary liquids. Officers may test liquids for explosives or concealed prohibited items. If officers are unable to use X-ray to clear these items, they may ask for the container to be opened and may also ask the traveler to transfer to a separate container or dispose of a small quantity of liquid, if feasible. TSA suggests traveling with an empty container and avoid filling the container to the top. If the formula, breast milk and juice cannot be X-rayed or opened, officers may be required to take additional steps to clear the liquid as well as conduct additional screening, which may include a pat-down of the traveler and screening of the remainder of the traveler’s accessible property.

The Food and Drug Administration states that there are no known adverse effects from eating food, drinking beverages and using medicine that has been screened by X-ray. For more information about X-ray screening, read the safety reports for X-ray screening.

When traveling with an infant or toddler, please keep these important tips in mind:

Separate formula, breast milk and juice from 3-1-1 liquids, gels and aerosols.
Declare any non-3-1-1 items to transportation security officers as you prepare your property for X-ray screening.
Present these items for additional inspection once reaching the X-ray.
Latest revision: 06 June 2014