I took four airplane trips during my daughter’s first year while I was pumping. The first trip was really rough, but by the time I took the fourth trip, my system was rock solid. I wanted to share all the tips and tricks I learned along the way so you can be prepared for your next airplane trip while pumping.
So, how do you transport breast milk on a plane? Pack a cooler with frozen ice packs and frozen bags of milk. Traveling through security is easier if your milk is frozen. Breast milk is considered a medical liquid and you can bring breast milk in reasonable quantities in your carry on according to the TSA.
There are a lot of things to plan for when you are going on a trip while pumping. The biggest piece of advice I have is to be organized and to plan ahead. Below I have several tips for how to plan before your trip, while you are at the airport, and during your trip.
Before Your Trip
If You Will Be Away From Your Baby During The Trip
If you will be away from your baby during the set, you will have a few extra things to think about. First, you will want to make sure you pump extra milk ahead of time to have enough milk for the baby while you’ll be away. You may need to start building up a freezer stash a month or two ahead of your trip so you have enough pumped milk for when you are away.
This will obviously depend on your supply and on how much milk your baby drinks in a day. A good rule of thumb is to plan for about 30 Oz of milk per day plus one extra day worth of milk. For example, if you are going to be gone for 3 days, you will want to have 90 ounces of milk plus an extra day’s worth of 30 ounces. This will be 120 ounces total.
So if you will be away from your baby, you’ll need to bring enough milk storage bags to collect during your trip. I would also make sure the pack several extra milk bags so you don’t have to run out to the store during the middle of your trip.
If you pump about 30 Oz per day, you will need five or six milk storage bags per day that you’ll be gone on your trip. Because milk storage bags are so small and pack up so tiny, I usually just took an extra sleeve of bags, which was about 50.
The other thing you’ll need to bring on your trip is a cooler bag. This cooler bag should be large enough to be able to store all the frozen milk that you will collect on the trip, plus a few ice packs.
If You Are Traveling With Your Baby During The Trip
If you are traveling with your baby, there are a few differences. First, you will not have to worry about building up a large supply of milk. When I took my trips with my baby, I would travel with 1 or 1 and 1/2 days worth of milk. This was so I had a little bit of a buffer, in case I wasn’t able to pump as frequently as I would if I were at home.
The other difference if you are traveling with your baby is that you will likely be feeding fresh milk during your trip. This means that you will probably not need a large cooler on the trip home. You will need a cooler that will fit your surplus milk on the trip home. I traveled with a cooler that fit a day’s worth of milk on the way home.
Have The Right Supplies
Before your trip, it’s important to pack the right supplies. You’ll need:
- A bag to store your pumping items and pump
- A cooler
- Milk storage bags
- A hands-free pumping bra
- Plastic storage bags
- Travel-size dish soap, and
- A drying mat.
Take A Bag For Pumping During The Trip
I found that a backpack to carry my pump and pumping gear was the easiest to use in the airport. This is because the backpack allowed my hands to be free, so I could get to my ID and plane ticket at the airport.
An Insulated Cooler Is Necessary On The Airplane
You will also need an insulated cooler. On the first day of your trip, your cooler may only need to hold the milk that you pump at the airport or on the airplane. It will also need to hold an ice pack to keep that milk hold until you can refrigerate or freeze it.
On the way home your cooler will need to be large enough the store all the milk that you pump during your trip. As an example, if you pump 30 ounces per day, and you’re gone for 3 days, you’ll have about 90 ounces of milk to bring home.
To give you a visual, 90 ounces is about the size of 3/4 of a gallon of cow’s milk. The milk will be a lot easier to transport home if you were able to freeze the milk during your trip and store it in milk storage bags. I used the Lansinoh bags, and 90 ounces filled 15 bags when they had six ounces in each bag.
Bring Milk Storage Bags With You During Your Journey
The next thing you’ll need is milk storage bags. Be sure to bring a Sharpie so you can write the date you pump on the outside of the storage bag. It’s much easier to store your pumped milk in these plastic storage bags than in bottles. You can fit a lot more milk storage bags in a cooler, which will make your trip home much easier.
Another tip is that it is easier to take your breast milk through security if it is frozen. Any milk that you carry through security that is fresh will have to be tested. Frozen milk will be visually inspected to ensure it is frozen, and the process moves much faster.
Pack Your Hands-Free Pumping Bra
You will also want to bring a hands-free pumping bra on your trip. Depending on how frequently you need the pump, having a hands-free bra will help while you’re pumping at the airport or on the airplane.
Bring Extra Plastic Storage Bags
I also recommend bringing lots of plastic storage bags. I used gallon size storage bags to store my clean pump parts and my dirty pump parts. I also used gallon size storage bags to organize the smaller bags of frozen milk. This was also in case any of the milk bags leaked, then the milk wouldn’t get all over my cooler for my carry-on bag.
I had a few extra gallon size storage bags in my carry-on. If my ice packs started to thaw, I could ask a restaurant for extra ice so my milk would stay cold. This was my backup plan because you never know if flights will be delayed, or if I would possibly be stuck at the airport longer than I initially planned.
Pack Travel Sized Dish Soap For Cleaning Pump Parts
I packed travel-size dish soap in my liquid toiletry bag that I carried onto the plane. Usually the hotels I stayed at only had hand soap. The hand soap did not work well to clean my pump parts, so having the dish soap was a lifesaver. If it is difficult to find travel-size dish soap, just buy one of the empty travel size shampoo bottles and fill it with your own dish soap from home.
Bring A Drying Mat or Small Travel Drying Rack
The last thing I made sure I had was a drying mat, or a very small travel drying rack to use for my pump parts. I used this drying rack in the hotel at night after I cleaned my pump parts so they could air dry.
Going Through Security At The Airport With Your Pumping Supplies And Breast Milk
There are a few things to know about going through security at the airport. When you get to the point where your bags are about to go through screening, tell the TSA agent that you have a cooler with breast milk in it. They will send it to the side so it can be screened.
The TSA agent will inspect the bags and bottles of milk that you brought through security. One tip is to have most or all of your milk frozen before going through security. If the bags of milk are frozen, the agent will inspect the bags and then send you through.
If you have fresh milk, the agent will need to perform a test on each bag or bottle of fresh milk. After the test, a TSA agent may ask that you open your bottles of fresh milk so they can wave a test strip over the top of the bag or bottle. This is to test any vapor coming from the milk.
Another tip is that you can bring frozen ice packs through security. Check the TSA website for the current rules, but I never had a problem bringing Frozen ice packs through security. If you don’t want to mess with ice packs, you can also bring an empty plastic storage bag in your cooler. Then after you’re through security ask a restaurant to fill the plastic storage bag with ice so your milk will stay cold.
How Much Breast Milk Can I Bring On A Plane?
Breast milk is considered a medical liquid, and you are able to bring reasonable quantities on the airplane. A reasonable amount of breast milk would be enough to feed your little one for several days.
I was able to bring enough milk that would last my little one for two to three days. I’ve also known other moms who have taken a week’s worth of milk in their carry-on on an airplane.
Because breast milk is a medical liquid, you don’t need to worry about fitting the milk into a quart-size bag. Individual portions do not need to be less than 3.4 ounces like other liquids that go through security. You are allowed to bring more than the standard amount of carry-on liquids on the airplane.
It is also a good idea to print out rules from the TSA website on breast milk and bring that with you on your trip. I never had a problem at the airport. Having the rules on hand is a good back up plan in the event you have a TSA agent who is unfamiliar with the rules.
Can I Check Frozen Breast Milk On A Plane?
It is possible to check frozen breast milk on an airplane however it is not recommended. It is recommended to bring fresh or frozen breast milk in your carry-on on an airplane.
One reason for bringing breast milk in your carry-on is if you put it in your checked luggage, you do not know the temperatures the milk has been exposed to. For example, if you are traveling during the summer, the milk may have sat in a storage area without air conditioning.
Another reason for bringing it in your carry-on is because if it is in your checked bag, you do not know if the milk was inspected, and how they handled the milk. I would want to make sure that I observed how the milk was handled before I gave it to my baby.
If breast milk is in a checked cooler, you will be apart from it for several hours. If the milk thaws, you will not know how long it has been thawed. You will also not know the milk was warmed and then cooled again due to the fluctuating temperatures outside.
If you have your milk with you, and your ice packs melt and the milk begins to thaw, you have more options. You can always ask a restaurant at the airport, or a flight attendant for extra ice to help keep your breast milk cool.
How To Pump Milk After You Are Through Security At The Airport
Call ahead or look online for information about your airport. Check out the location of any pumping, nursing, or family rooms at the airport. Be sure to check for family rooms at the airport where you are leaving from, and at your arrival airport.
I always tried to get to the airport an hour early so I would have enough time to pump before boarding the airplane. I also ran into a situation where someone else was using the family room when I needed to pump. Planning some extra time is a good idea.
Pumping at the airport will be easier if you have a battery pack for your pump. The nursing room will likely have an outlet, but having a battery pack will give you an extra option and will allow you to pump anywhere you need to.
I took three sets of pump parts so I didn’t have to wash them in between pumping sessions. I was able to wash the parts by holding them and not letting them touch the sink, but the problem was when I needed to air dry the parts. You can also check out some of the tips in this article for quickly drying breast pump parts after pumping.
Can You Pump Milk On The Airplane?
Yes, you can pump breast milk on an airplane. This is easiest if you have a window seat, which will give you a little more room and privacy. Put your pump bra on before boarding the plane. If you are more comfortable, you can wear a nursing cover or scarf so you do not draw attention to yourself.
I pumped on the airplane with my Spectra S9 several times. This worked because it had a battery pack and did not need to be plugged in while pumping. I also sat in the window seat and my husband sat in the middle seat next to me, which gave me some extra privacy. Because I wore a nursing cover the other passengers on the airplane had no idea I was pumping.
How To Warm A Bottle Of Milk At The Airport
If you need to warm a bottle at the airport, you may ask a restaurant for a cup of hot water. Use the hot water to warm the bottle as usual. You may also leave the bottle out of the cooler at room temperature for 30 minutes. Then, feed the room temperature bottle to your baby.
How To Store Milk During Your Trip
Refrigerate And Freeze Your Milk At The Hotel
Before you go on your trip call the hotel where you will be staying. Request a refrigerator and freezer in your hotel room so you can keep your breast milk cold. I also suggest calling the hotel again the day before you will arrive and confirming you will have a refrigerator in your room.
You can also ask the hotel about putting your cooler into their large freezer. This would be a great way to ensure your milk stays frozen. It would also be beneficial to make sure all of your milk is frozen the day before you need to travel home. You can also try adding extra bags of ice from the ice machine into the refrigerator in your hotel room. This will lower the temperature in the mini fridge.
Maintain Your Pumping Schedule While Traveling
While traveling it’s important to maintain your pumping schedule like you would at home. If you’re traveling for a conference you can call the hotel and ask about pumping facilities that may be available. If you are going to be in a different office also call ahead and ask about any pumping facilities. I have also pumped in my rental car while on a trip so I had some privacy.
Consider Donating Breast Milk While Traveling
If you have an oversupply, you may consider donating the milk that you pump while you are on your trip. You can look up a local Human Milk For Human Babies Facebook page and offer to donate to a mom in the city where you are traveling. This will help eliminate the need to carry a lot of milk on the airplane home with you.
These are the best tips and tricks I learned while traveling with breast milk. I hope they help you plan for your next trip.
References:
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/traveling-children