You may be wondering what is the best way to store your pumped milk while you are out of the house and on the go. 

When you are pumping and providing milk for your baby, there are a lot of moving parts. You may have your routine at home figured out, but when you need to leave the house, there are a few new challenges.

It can be overwhelming to think about how much stuff you need to bring with you. You will need to have a place to pump, and you will need to know if you have access to a refrigerator to store your milk.

You will also need to think about where you can clean your pump parts.

One of my followers asked this question:

“How do you store breast milk on the go? Next week I will be out all day in a meeting. My son will be with a friend and I have just enough bagged frozen breastmilk saved up to last him the day if I make his bottles half formula and half breastmilk.  I don’t produce enough to have a stash.

While I’m gone I will need to continue pumping but what is the best way to store it? I’ll be gone from about 7am until at least 4pm with no access to a fridge but regular breaks to pump. 

Normally I just use a bottle on the go. I bring 2 empty bottles, 1 for my pumped milk and 1 to feed my son. 

I will be making his bottles for the day before I leave and we only have 8 bottles. He drinks 8 – 10 bottles per day (5 oz each).”

Tips and Advice For Storing Milk While Away

If you will be apart from your baby for an entire day, there are a few things that will make your day go by more smoothly.

If you think that you will be apart from your baby on an ongoing basis, you might want to invest in this breast milk cooler to store your milk. It is great if you are returning to work and want to make sure your milk stays cold all day long.

If you won’t be able to use your normal feeding bottles, like this mom, then you can store your pumped milk in milk storage bags or in a clean glass jar, like a mason jar with a spill proof tight lid. 

I recommend using glass jars for short-term storage because the fat from the breast milk will not stick to the sides of glass jars as easily as it will stick to plastic jars. 

I’ve used these lids for our mason jars (link to Amazon) and they are leak-proof. As a bonus, after you are finished pumping, the lids and mason jars are great for storing smoothies or overnight oats.

How To Pack For Pumping On The Go

When I was pumping for my baby, there were a few times when I would be away all day long. I had to plan differently if I was working in the office or if we were traveling to visit our relatives and would be gone all day.

When you leave the house you’ll want to pack a few essentials.

You will need:

• Your Pump
• Pump Charger
• Pump Parts (flanges / bottles / duckbills)
• Pumping Bra
• A pumping cover or large blanket / scarf
• A cooler with ice packs to store milk
• Milk bags or bottles to store milk

Below are some more details on all of these essential items.

Pump and Charger

First, you’ll want to make sure you have your pump and a charger to plug it into the wall or into a car outlet. It is easy to forget the charger, so you may want to store an extra one in your pumping bag.

If you forget either of these parts, you may want to store a manual pump in your car as a backup so you do not have to go all day without pumping, which would be very uncomfortable.

Pump Parts

Usually I preferred to pack multiple sets of clean pump parts and bring them in wet bags or ziplock bags. I would assemble the clean, dry pieces (flange, duckbill and pumping bottle), then store them in a large wet bag or gallon size ziplock bag.

The wet bags are machine washable and reusable. You can find the wet bags here.

This meant I had a clean set of pump parts and I could set up quickly when I needed to pump. Also by assembling the pump parts, I knew that I had a complete set. 

If you do not pre-assemble the parts, It is very easy to forget to pack a set of duckbills and then your pump will not have any suction and it won’t work.

For the most part, when I was working in an office, I would need to bring 3 sets of clean pump parts for the time while I was away from home. 

You can look at your pumping schedule and think about how many times you’ll need to pump and how many sets of parts you might need while you are away.

Cooler and Milk Bags

You will also need to pack a cooler, which can be a lunch cooler or one designed to fit milk bottles.

Your cooler will need some ice packs. It is also useful to bring a few ziplock bags or reusable silicone bags. If your ice packs start to get warm, then these empty bags can be filled with ice from a restaurant or a hotel ice machine so your milk stays cold.

Breast milk is ok to be stored in a cooler with ice for up to 24 hours. One common mistake is that you might be so tired from your day that you don’t get everything unpacked once you are home.

Don’t forget to put your pumped milk in the refrigerator at night after you get home so you can be sure it gets to a safe temperature to feed your baby.

If you end up having access to a secure refrigerator you can store your milk inside the cooler in the refrigerator.

If you don’t have access to a fridge, you should be ok with the milk in a cooler with ice. Be sure to keep the cooler with you, inside or somewhere where the temperature is regulated.

You wouldn’t want to leave the milk in a hot car because it may not be able to stay cold enough to be safe to drink.

In my pumping bag, I like to bring lots of milk storage bags so I knew I had extra bags in case I accidentally dropped one or it ripped for some reason.

I would also pack a Sharpie so I would write the amount of milk and date on the milk storage bags. 

Extras You May Need

In addition to the essentials, you may need a few extras. When I am out of the house, I make sure to have these other items with me.

• A clean tub to wash pump parts
• Small bottle of dish soap for cleaning
• Extra sets of pump parts
• Extra milk bags
• Sharpie to label milk bags
• Extra gallon size ziplock bags
• Manual pump

Ziplock bags can be used to store clean or dirty pump parts. They can also be used as ice packs by filling them with ice.

Advice from Real Moms

Here are some tips and tricks from 10 other moms who all have experience keeping milk cold while they are away from their baby all day.

Mom 1: Use A Lunch Box

I work out of the home twice a week and leave at 7:30am and get home by 5pm. I use a lunch box with ice packs and store milk in either bottles or a mason jar.

Mom 2: Bring Extra Milk Bags

Soft side cooler and ice packs will work just fine. Bring more storage containers / bags than you think you will need just in case.

Mom 3: I Use A Blender Bottle For Storage

I would use a cooler with plenty of ice packs to keep milk cold. If you have access to ice there, you could make sure everything stays cold by replenishing the ice if needed.

You can use any clean container to hold your milk. I will sometimes use a blender bottle, but really anything you can clean well with a tight cap.

Mom 4: I Use A Milk Cooler

Dr browns also makes an ice pack cooler. You put the whole bag in the freezer. I have one for longer travel.

Mom 5: Don’t Forget Cleaning Items

Bring a cooler. FILL it with ice. The less air space in the bag, the colder it will stay. We had ice last 3 whole days when traveling using this method, it was crazy.

You can store the milk in bags or bottles, or even a mason jar or glass container. Anything that you can seal and  that is washed really well will work. 

I’d also recommend going to the store and grabbing either pump wipes or a small bottle of soap from the travel section just in case you need to wash your stuff while you’re out.

You should be able to get away with the “fridge method” using the bag of ice.

Mom 6: This Cold Storage Was A Lifesaver

It is a little pricey but a Ceres Chill is definitely worth the money. Also FSA/HSA eligible and can order on Amazon. I was rarely away from my baby but I used the pitcher method so this was a lifesaver anytime I was out and about (which was often). Good luck momma!

Mom 7: Save Cooler Space With Milk Bags

Bring lots of ice packs! Especially if you’re out for that long. Milk bags save room if you don’t have a big cooler.

Gallon size bag can be used to put your pump parts in to use the “fridge method” to store parts in between pumps.

Pump wipes work great but even when I use them, I still don’t consider them clean so I still store the pump parts in the cooler.

Mom 8: Any Cooler Will Work

I used a small red cooler from Walmart, add some ice and ice packs. I pumped and placed into milk bags on ice. Worked fine for me. Since you have multiple breaks to pump don’t forget to take stuff to wash your pump parts with.

Mom 9: This Bottle is a Game Changer

This storage container is a game changer. It is expensive but totally worth it. I use it to store my pumped milk all day at work. It is basically an insulated “water bottle” with two chambers, one for ice and one for your milk. The ice keeps it super cold. It can store up to 24 ounces.

Mom 10: I Use An Ice Pack

I use a 2 lb yeti ice pack for work and it keeps it cold all day.

Next, Check Out

How to Warm Breast Milk on the Go (6 EASY TIPS)

Pumping Milk For Daycare (The Best Method)

Resources

https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/recommendations/handling_breastmilk.htm

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