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Breastfeeding: Expressing Milk in airplane

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hello all,

I am now doing full breastfeed for my daughter, however, my boss wants me to travel to oversea in US for a week right after my 2-months maternity. So, I am concern that within that week, the milk will decrease. Does anyone has any experience expressing the milk in airport or the plane, hows the facility like? Also welcome any experience in overcoming jet-lag and be prepare for that one week...

thanks

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hello all,

I am now doing full breastfeed for my daughter, however, my boss wants me to travel to oversea in US for a week right after my 2-months maternity. So, I am concern that within that week, the milk will decrease. Does anyone has any experience expressing the milk in airport or the plane, hows the facility like? Also welcome any experience in overcoming jet-lag and be prepare for that one week...

thanks

Hi,

Just wondering if you are thinking of keeping the milk or throwing it away? Cuz if you are keeping the milk, then you need to inform the airline company for icepack in order for you to keep the milk. However, there's another concern ...sterilising the pump...if you can sterilse it..then keeping it shouldn't be a issue.

For my case, I threw it away cuz there's no way that I can sterilise the pump. Each pump session last 30 mins. So if I were to pump in plane..then I gotto wait when the peak hours people go to toilet is over (i.e mealtime or sleeptime) .Just pump following your daughter feeding schedule and the milk wouldn't decrease so much...

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Hi Sherreen,

I was thinking to keep it. But my concern is that whether breastmilk is considered by airline as 'liquid' and subject to the 3 ounces limitation when I cross the custom check?

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Hi Sherreen,

I was thinking to keep it. But my concern is that whether breastmilk is considered by airline as 'liquid' and subject to the 3 ounces limitation when I cross the custom check?

Hmm...then you better call up the airline company if they can provide you the ice pack and cold box for you on board...so when you touch down...you can hand carry the item...of course after that you have to freeze the breast milk...get the hotel to help you...(i.e freezer from hotel restaurant). On your way back, pack the milk in cold box with ice pack and check in.

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syhow,

you are really "wai dai"! i am sorry i dont have any experience to share with you but would like to add :-

1) not sure if your pump is electric pump or not but remember to pack manual pump or extra batteries (if your pump can be battery operated) in case you are unable to have access to eletricity.

2) contact hotel/place you going to stay in advance & tell them you need to store milk.

3) bring ziplock bags to encase milk bottles in case you need to store milk in common fridge (eg : hotel's kitchen fridge). the reason is bcos those mini fridge in hotel rooms are not cold enough & since the kitchen's fridge are used to put all sorts of things, it's more hygienic to put your milk bottles inside zip lock bag.

4) like what sherreen said, call airline company in advance to tell them your special requirements. if you need to pump on board, i think you can ask the airliness stewardess to help divert "bathroom traffic" to another bathroom cos you wont want people to queue outside while you are pumping & asking are you done, hehe (note : if possible dont pump in bathroom ler, not hygienic but that's last resort la).

GAMBATE!!!

p/s once you are back, do share with us your experience so we can learn!

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Hi

I have yet to have any overseas travel while breastfeeding, but I do travel outstation often enough, sometimes few days to 1 week straight.

Even at work, I don't have the time and equipment to sterilise my pumps after each session. I will rinse thoroughly, then soak the pumps in hot water for a short while. When I am out and about, I will use these wipes. Bought them from The Curve at the First Few Years.

Bringing bf onto the plane was not much of an issue for bf mums, as far as I know. According to some friends who have been through it, the officers usually let u pass and not even check when you inform them it is BM. But it needs to be packed really nicely, or at least for backup purposes in case they need you to check in your expressed BM. And to save space, do consider using milk liners, not bottles. If you are unsure, perhaps try contacting the airline first? Perhaps you could even request for some privacy, meaning sitting behind next to empty seats, and you can safely pump under a nursing cover (if your pump aint that noisy). Or better yet, learn to hand express your milk while you are on the plane, save the hassle of occupying the toilet and risk getting on other ppl's nerves and add unnecessary stress to yourself. I usually pump in the car under my nursing cover, regardless of who is there with me in the car. My milk comes first :P

Let me share with u a funny incident. I was pumping in the front passenger seat when i felt a little uncomfortable so I took off the seat belt for just a quick while, so it was left hanging under my left arm. Unlucky me, we were halted by a road block and the police asked me why my seat belt was in that state. Driver straight away said, dia pump susu. The police looked at me, nod, and asked me to go. muahahah. Perhaps he was too stunned to say anything.

Anyway, here's a blog of a frequent traveller cum (ex) nursing mum with her share of travel stories while breastfeeding. I was reading up because I almost went on an overseas trip and fretted over similiar issues like you, but the trip didn't materialise. Also, here's a local link for tips on travelling while bf. There used to be a very informative forum under mymomsbest, but looks like it's closed.

Do have a read. You know, when you are desperate, you will just do about anything. Like me, I was in a hotel once when the fridge died on me and I called up room service to help me find a fridge to store my milk. I even got them to freeze my ice packs since I would be travelling again the next day. The staff was helpful enough, but yeah, they do give funny looks. Anyway, don't be bothered about other ppl's expressions. Most importantly, we are able to preserve our liquid gold.

Hope this helps.

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thanks for the sharing bumblebee. i will be soon travelling and the info in the web is so informative!! :lol: i will start with domestic travel first and shall update u guys if i come across any problems with the local airports for domestic flights.

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i just came back from penang and johor. KLIA people didnt even bother with me taking 600ml mineral water on board, whatsmore about my cooler bag with 4 nursing bottles filled with 5 oz milks each. so... no problem taking liquid on board with domestic airports.

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Thanks Janicelly and bumblebee. Information is very helpful, I will start preparing for the travel, there is still a month to go.

Cheerio, the liquid rule is more relax for domestic flight but strictly follow in Netherlands and US. I think they will let me take BM in if I have my baby with me, but if I dont have a baby with me, I dont know whether they allow me to pass. Anyway, let me update this post once I have gone through the hassle. :smile:

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Thought i'd share my recent experience bringing back expressed BM from Bali.

Went for a short break in Bali last week. First time away from my girl and overseas for this long. But since i was till lactating, I decided to continue my BM expression. We stayed in different hotels during our time in Bali, so before we left, I already requested for some freezer space in each hotel. So everyday after my day out, i stored my BM in liners, then, in the clear sealable plastic bags (those used for taking liquid items as hand carry) and finally, into a big tupperware for storage in the hotel's freezer. We were very lucky to have a proper kitchen and fridge at our last hotel, so I had a private freezer to freeze my BM and ice packs.

On our last day, I placed my tupperwares full of BM in layers between icepacks to trap the cold air in my cooler bag. I packed all the liners in the sealable bags just as required by the airport authorities. At the checkin point, the staff said I could hand carry the BM rather than check in. In fact, I did make a call to the customs in Indonesia before my trip, and they said expressed BM should be fine as hand carry. So it was all good till we reached the security before boarding. The security opened up and took out the containers and did not allow me to bring it on board, stating that it was not allowed despite the nature of the liquid. The airport crew was called to go over to assist and they said it should not be a problem as the liquid was not dangerous. The security even demanded for the presence of my baby. They said if I could show them my baby, they can let the liquid pass. To which, I answered, if I had my baby with me, I did not even had to express my BM. And yes, I purposely appeared fussy when they tried to inspect the milk, to show I was worried of contamination (which i did to a certain degree, but I had many layers of protection), so they did not really dare open up all of the containers :tongue: as the line behind us was growing longer and hubby was there trying to jot down all their names, i think the security got a little scared and called their PIC. The guy came, took a quick look, and said to let me pass as it looked like milk to him and he did not think it was dangerous :smile:

So, yup, yours truly made quite a big hoo haa at the airport which garnered alot of stares but managed to get my expressed BM back home. We checked out at 12pm and we reached home at around 11pm. When i transferred my BM into our freezer, it was still frozen :)

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hi i just came back from singapore and taiwan and had no problem with me hand-carry breast milk into the plane. the awareness of breast feeding and pumping is higher in these countries as compared to malaysia. i see breastfeeding room in their MRT station, well equipped breastfeeding room easily available in changi and taoyuan airport but i can only find nursing room in KLIA and its not breastfeeding room per se. its meant for diaper changing with toilet for kids. :( there is even a malay immigration officer took out all my 'tools' and asked me how the pumping work and why i need bottle without baby. :( in taiwan and singapore, i just told them its breast milk and they knod their head and let me go.

depanding on how long is the trip but i always minimize the number of days i need to be away from my baby. if its less than 3 days i just store them in hotel room's refrigerator and i get the housekeeping to freeze my dry ice until the last min when i have to go to airport.

for long haul flight i pump in the toilet and dumb, cos i am not comfortable with the hygeine. once the flight took off i will go to toilet cos that's the time when toilet will be at its cleaniest state and least disturbance as people dont really go to toilet right after plane takes off.

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Thought i'd share my recent experience bringing back expressed BM from Bali.

Went for a short break in Bali last week. First time away from my girl and overseas for this long. But since i was till lactating, I decided to continue my BM expression. We stayed in different hotels during our time in Bali, so before we left, I already requested for some freezer space in each hotel. So everyday after my day out, i stored my BM in liners, then, in the clear sealable plastic bags (those used for taking liquid items as hand carry) and finally, into a big tupperware for storage in the hotel's freezer. We were very lucky to have a proper kitchen and fridge at our last hotel, so I had a private freezer to freeze my BM and ice packs.

On our last day, I placed my tupperwares full of BM in layers between icepacks to trap the cold air in my cooler bag. I packed all the liners in the sealable bags just as required by the airport authorities. At the checkin point, the staff said I could hand carry the BM rather than check in. In fact, I did make a call to the customs in Indonesia before my trip, and they said expressed BM should be fine as hand carry. So it was all good till we reached the security before boarding. The security opened up and took out the containers and did not allow me to bring it on board, stating that it was not allowed despite the nature of the liquid. The airport crew was called to go over to assist and they said it should not be a problem as the liquid was not dangerous. The security even demanded for the presence of my baby. They said if I could show them my baby, they can let the liquid pass. To which, I answered, if I had my baby with me, I did not even had to express my BM. And yes, I purposely appeared fussy when they tried to inspect the milk, to show I was worried of contamination (which i did to a certain degree, but I had many layers of protection), so they did not really dare open up all of the containers :tongue: as the line behind us was growing longer and hubby was there trying to jot down all their names, i think the security got a little scared and called their PIC. The guy came, took a quick look, and said to let me pass as it looked like milk to him and he did not think it was dangerous :smile:

So, yup, yours truly made quite a big hoo haa at the airport which garnered alot of stares but managed to get my expressed BM back home. We checked out at 12pm and we reached home at around 11pm. When i transferred my BM into our freezer, it was still frozen :)

Hi Bee,

can explain more how you place the BM in layers between icepacks? U r using Medela icepacks rite? do u get extra icepack along as well?

u stored all BM in liners only? or u oso stored in bottles as well and put inside your cooler bag?

am going to travel soon, is a short trip for 4 days but i want to store up my BM during the travel and bring it back (don't want to waste any drip of my BM :>)

plan to check-in the BM instead of hand carry, but just worry my baggage will be simply throw by the staff during transit....:(

so how can i make sure my BM will be nicely stored and check-in safely?

really hope i can get some advices here....thanks

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Hi Bee,

can explain more how you place the BM in layers between icepacks? U r using Medela icepacks rite? do u get extra icepack along as well?

u stored all BM in liners only? or u oso stored in bottles as well and put inside your cooler bag?

am going to travel soon, is a short trip for 4 days but i want to store up my BM during the travel and bring it back (don't want to waste any drip of my BM :>)

plan to check-in the BM instead of hand carry, but just worry my baggage will be simply throw by the staff during transit....:(

so how can i make sure my BM will be nicely stored and check-in safely?

really hope i can get some advices here....thanks

Hi Charliz

i took along:

1. longish lighweight big cooler bag

2. medela cooler bag

3. medela ice pack

4. coleman ice packs

5. techni ice sheets

6. tupperwares which are the same height as a full 4 oz BM liners

7. Bottles for daily pumping use and storage.

8. reseable plastic bags

for my daily outings, together all the time with my pump in my travel backpack/sling:

1. medela cooler bag

2. medela ice packs

3. Bottles

for storage to bring home, i transfered my stocks into liners at the end of the day and froze them standing in the tupperware for hygienic reasons. I did this until the day i am scheduled to leave, then I arranged them in the sealer bags and placed them back into the tupperwares and arranged the tupperwares right at the bottom of the cooler bag next to one coleman ice pack, then place a layer of the tehcni ice on top of the tupperware, then repeated another layering of container with ice pack at the side and top. the idea was to trap the cold air that sink to the bottom. I used rubber bands rather than the sealer clips coz i was afraid of leakage, so the resealable bags act as another layer of protection as well. try to make it as compact as possible.

I think if u wanna check in, the liners will work be better. if u're using those Mom's Little Ones' bottles, then it might not be a good idea to check them in coz they might leak if toppled and melted.

Those coleman cooler boxes work very well too for travel, can keep things cool for longer periods but can be bulky for overseas travel though.

Hope this helps.

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CL,

from my personal experience, better hand carry the BM instead of check in. in my previous trip, i check in the frozen & chilled BM. frozen BM is melted by the time i reached home. except for those frozen BM that's place in the middle though. as for the chilled BM, some of the liner is tear. probably due to the impact of the luggage being thrown.

the way i packed the BM is almost the same as bumblebee too..

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I'm going for one day trip to Kuantan. Can i know whr to buy the medela ice pack and coleman ice pack..

CL,

from my personal experience, better hand carry the BM instead of check in. in my previous trip, i check in the frozen & chilled BM. frozen BM is melted by the time i reached home. except for those frozen BM that's place in the middle though. as for the chilled BM, some of the liner is tear. probably due to the impact of the luggage being thrown.

the way i packed the BM is almost the same as bumblebee too..

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Hi Bee,

can explain more how you place the BM in layers between icepacks? U r using Medela icepacks rite? do u get extra icepack along as well?

u stored all BM in liners only? or u oso stored in bottles as well and put inside your cooler bag?

am going to travel soon, is a short trip for 4 days but i want to store up my BM during the travel and bring it back (don't want to waste any drip of my BM :>)

plan to check-in the BM instead of hand carry, but just worry my baggage will be simply throw by the staff during transit....:(

so how can i make sure my BM will be nicely stored and check-in safely?

really hope i can get some advices here....thanks

Hi Charliz

i took along:

1. longish lighweight big cooler bag

2. medela cooler bag

3. medela ice pack

4. coleman ice packs

5. techni ice sheets

6. tupperwares which are the same height as a full 4 oz BM liners

7. Bottles for daily pumping use and storage.

8. reseable plastic bags

for my daily outings, together all the time with my pump in my travel backpack/sling:

1. medela cooler bag

2. medela ice packs

3. Bottles

for storage to bring home, i transfered my stocks into liners at the end of the day and froze them standing in the tupperware for hygienic reasons. I did this until the day i am scheduled to leave, then I arranged them in the sealer bags and placed them back into the tupperwares and arranged the tupperwares right at the bottom of the cooler bag next to one coleman ice pack, then place a layer of the tehcni ice on top of the tupperware, then repeated another layering of container with ice pack at the side and top. the idea was to trap the cold air that sink to the bottom. I used rubber bands rather than the sealer clips coz i was afraid of leakage, so the resealable bags act as another layer of protection as well. try to make it as compact as possible.

I think if u wanna check in, the liners will work be better. if u're using those Mom's Little Ones' bottles, then it might not be a good idea to check them in coz they might leak if toppled and melted.

Those coleman cooler boxes work very well too for travel, can keep things cool for longer periods but can be bulky for overseas travel though.

Hope this helps.

Hi Bee,

Thanks for the info.

I don't have any coleman cooler boxes & techni icepack with me.

I only have Medela Coler Bag with Medela Icepack, Pigeon Cooler bag with Pigeon icepack

then i plan to bring liners & medela storage bottle + Avent Manual Pump + tupperware + rubberbands

i think no time for me to buy the cooler box adi, can i get those Potong icecream cooler box as alternative choice?

btw, u got the sealer bags from airport? or u bring ur own?

i will be flying this Friday adi....

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CL,

from my personal experience, better hand carry the BM instead of check in. in my previous trip, i check in the frozen & chilled BM. frozen BM is melted by the time i reached home. except for those frozen BM that's place in the middle though. as for the chilled BM, some of the liner is tear. probably due to the impact of the luggage being thrown.

the way i packed the BM is almost the same as bumblebee too..

MH,

How long is your journey/ flight?

i do plan to check in frozen BM cos i dun want the hassle of declaring the BM and get fuss by the airport staff lo...

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Hi Bee,

Thanks for the info.

I don't have any coleman cooler boxes & techni icepack with me.

I only have Medela Coler Bag with Medela Icepack, Pigeon Cooler bag with Pigeon icepack

then i plan to bring liners & medela storage bottle + Avent Manual Pump + tupperware + rubberbands

i think no time for me to buy the cooler box adi, can i get those Potong icecream cooler box as alternative choice?

btw, u got the sealer bags from airport? or u bring ur own?

i will be flying this Friday adi....

any ice packs will do, as long as they can last the journey. coleman ice packs are cheaper than medela's. i got mine for Rm9.90 from giant.

What icecream potong cooler box? u mean those that is being used on the motorbikes by ice cream vendors? i'm not sure leh... won't they be dented easily or scratch ur bags? but u can try...

i bought those sealer bags. no time to go and get from the airport plus don't think they'd give us that many. i used quite alot... i used the small sized ones, measuring roughly 5 x 7 inches? i used them for storing my pump parts, my bottles, my liners, etc... and i'd discard them at the end of the day since i'm out whole day.

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Hi,

I have experienced for hand-carry bmilk into plane and pumped on board too. No hassle at all for handcarry in but not sure bcos of i hv my elder one w me altho my ebm is for my younger one. I got checked-in my bmilk too.

For pumping on board, i informed the stewardess b4 hand, so that they r awared that Im gonna use the toilet for sometime. they asked me to use the front one as that one will hv lesser ppl using it. but u might face one problem, which is when there is a turbulence, all passengers hv to get back to their seats even if u r in the toilet. altho it happened during my pumping time, i just ignored n didnt go back. Luckily the stewardess didnt chase me out.

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CL,

from my personal experience, better hand carry the BM instead of check in. in my previous trip, i check in the frozen & chilled BM. frozen BM is melted by the time i reached home. except for those frozen BM that's place in the middle though. as for the chilled BM, some of the liner is tear. probably due to the impact of the luggage being thrown.

the way i packed the BM is almost the same as bumblebee too..

MH,

How long is your journey/ flight?

i do plan to check in frozen BM cos i dun want the hassle of declaring the BM and get fuss by the airport staff lo...

CL,

It's from Langkawi to KL. My flight is mid day flight so probably bcoz it's very hot and sunny at that time my BM is melted. So heartache when I have to throw away most of those melted BM. Since that for places that i can travel by land I'll drive instead of flight... and when i must take flight then I'll hand carry the BM instead of check in...

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Hi all,

I just called AA to check out hand carry luggage with breast milk and Krabi custom. I'm going to Krabi next week. They mentioned it can be stored in separate bag but must be below 100ml each. I would like to check with you all who have experience, is it must be very accurate 100ml? Can I store a little bit more like 4oz? Cause every two hours I will produce 4 oz milk. (sound like moo moo.. ) So waste if each bag only store 4oz. Most of the brands selling outside is 7oz per bag. I still have some You Have a Baby Breast Milk Storage Bag (8oz) but need to tie with rubber band. Will it leak out during the journey back? Should I use sealable bag better? Which brand do you recommend?

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sheep,

i used Joy Angel milk storage bags, it's good!! so far no bad comment abt it..

i bought like 15 packs, each pack have 25bags cost rm8.90... now almost finish and there are no more clearance sales anymore.. sad~

looks like i have to buy other bags to store my milk, coz JA quite pricey when they are no sales

those sealer bag can get in jusco or carrefour, i got jusco one in cheap price.. rm3.90, have 15 or 10 or 20 sealer bag inside..

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I use Joy Angel and You Have a Baby Breast Milk Storage Bag these two brands before, personally feel the Joy Angel plastic quality is better. Joy Angel is sealable whereas You Have a Baby need to tie with your own rubber band or clipper depends on your preference. Price wise, of course Joy Angel is much more expensive, you pay what u get. You may find it in any baby shop or online store.

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