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Leaving your baby for the first time can be a nerve-wracking and stressful experience. Even if you’re looking forward to the reason for why you’re leaving (and it’s totally okay if you are!). There is a lot of planning that needs to be set up, and schedules that need to be arranged, explained, and written down. And let’s not forget about navigating breastfeeding, freezer stock, and protecting your supply while you’re away from your baby. Traveling while breastfeeding can seem like a lot of moving parts, what-if-I-forgets, and will-they-remember-tos.

How do you travel away from baby as a breastfeeding mom? We’ve broken it down for you here through ample research, the sources for which can be found at the bottom of this article.

Also read: Leftover Breast Milk: 6 Ways To Use Up That Liquid Gold

​Disclaimer: I am not a certified lactation consultant. As always, this is general advice and guidance. If you have any questions, speak with your child’s pediatrician or a certified lactation consultant.

To maintain your milk supply and ensure that you can still breastfeed your baby after traveling, some pieces need to be set before you leave.

If you are exclusively breastfeeding, there’s the chance that your baby has had limited exposure to bottles. That’s okay, you haven’t done anything wrong! But just know that you will need to practice with them before you leave.

If your baby really refuses to take a bottle and they’re over three months old, you can try to practice drinking with an open cup. By six months, your baby can have a sippy/open/straw cup. Practice with one or multiple of these methods a few weeks leading up to you leaving.

It might be easiest for you if these practice sessions are done without you. Ideally, have baby practice with their bottle or cup with the person taking care of them while you’re gone. Whether that’s your partner, their grandparent(s), or another trusted person.

​Having baby practice with a bottle means that you are also practicing with a breast pump. Which leads us to our next step.

If you’ve never, ever hooked yourself up to a breast pump, it is a wild feeling. There’s a reason for all of the dairy cow jokes.

​Pumping will be important, especially if you are gone for more than one feeding’s worth of time. This is not only to protect the milk supply itself but also to protect you from mastitis, engorgement, and overall general discomfort. Chances are that you and your baby have a pretty set routine and the girls know it. They expect to be relieved from their milk-holding duties and will pitch quite a fit if you push them beyond their limits.

If you pump occasionally to build a stash, try to do it in the morning when your prolactin levels (the hormone responsible for making breast milk) are highest. That’s because you can also pump in between feedings, for example, about 30 minutes after or 60 minutes before.

​Remember that breast milk works on a supply-and-demand basis. So the more you demand (nursing and pumping) the more you should start to make. It will take a few days for your supply to regulate and catch up so start this about 2 to 3 weeks before you have to leave or are going back to work.

You can do 20-25 minutes per session or until 2 minutes after you stop producing milk. Remember that even if nothing is coming out, by having the stimulation of the breast pump, you’re telling your body that more milk is in demand. In most cases, it should respond accordingly.

By now you should have a pump in mind if you don’t physically have one already. But if you don’t, here are some factors and features to keep in mind:

What I would recommend for this specific situation is to look for a breast pump that is double, so you milk both sides at one, portable, and maybe even hands-free wearable. This will take some research and when in doubt you can always discuss your situation with the baby’s pediatrician to see what they recommend.

Also look into other accessories like a pumping bra to make this as comfortable of an experience as it can be.

​That first reunited nursing session will be euphoric.

Recap: Here is a quick list of items you’ll need to arrange ahead of time for traveling while breastfeeding (remember you might not need everything on this list)

From the CDC, here is the safe-practice guide for freshly expressed milk:

Okay, Dakota, that’s all great but what do I do with the milk that I pump while I’m gone? Does it all go to waste? Can I send it home? Can I travel with milk? Will TSA make me throw it out? Don’t worry. We’re just getting to the good part.

Straight from the CDC:

If you know your accommodations ahead of time, see if you can call ahead and ask if there will be a mini-fridge in your room. If not, they might be able to provide one to you for free. Some places consider breast milk a “medical liquid”. This is perfect if it’s an overnight trip or 2-3 days max. Remember, milk is still good chilled in the fridge for four days. After that it needs to be used or frozen.

If you need to freeze milk, when you call, ask if there would be a freezer you could use. If they say yes, make sure you label all of your milk and store it in a single-use container like Tupperware (with its own label, you can’t over-label here). And just DON’T FORGET IT when you leave!

Make sure you practice good hygiene with your pump and it’s parts. Keep that little milkie extractor clean and wash it after each use.

​If time is tight, maybe your at a conference or engaged in some other way and can’t do a full cleaning, they do make pump wipes. Use those to get you by and then make sure to do a full cleaning when you can.

Okay so now we’re at the part that requires some time-math and strategy. As if this whole guide isn’t all about strategy.

​You have a couple of options:

Remember, this is exempt from counting as your personal item and your traditional carry-on for planes. So long as it’s “reasonable quantities” according to the TSA website.

For this, you will want to break out that breast milk cooler you bought before you left. Some, if not most, come with an ice pack. If you happen to have a lot of milk, some coolers can hold six 8oz bottles. This is about 60oz of milk total (if full to the top).

Make this the last thing you pack before you leave that way it has optimal chill time. You will most likely need to take this out at security so be sure to tell your TSA agent that you have breast milk and a pump. They will typically x-ray it. This doesn’t harm the milk but if you really don’t want them to, they will set you and the milk off to the side for it to be tested by other methods. Obviously this takes time so be sure to buffer in any extra time you can at the airport.

​Every time the cooler is opened the temperature rises. If you have a long flight, a delay, or anything else that gets in the way, you can always hop over to a restaurant after clearing security and ask them for some ice to top the cooler with. This should get you by until you make it home. You can also ask a flight attendant on your plane!

The same rules apply as above:

Pack the cooler full of ice and as last as possible before leaving; don’t open the cooler if you can help it (I know you’ll want to check on it but it’s better this way; put it away as soon as you get home.

​TSA guidelines say that you can take frozen milk, gel packs, and cooler packs on the plane as a carry-on. However: they need to be frozen completely, 100% solid at security. If there is even a question of slush or they’re partially melted not only are they subject to extra screening but they are held to the 3oz liquid rule.

Same guidelines: lots of ice; tape up the cooler if you can; label the front, side, and top that this is frozen human milk and it not to be opened.

​When you check your bag, just clarify with the agent that this is a bag of frozen breastmilk and ask if it’s possible that it doesn’t get opened or left to sit in the sun somewhere when loading the plane. Obviously, there isn’t much they can guarantee but the more people that know you’re transporting liquid gold, the better.

This service is honestly amazing. To think how many families this has helped with moving, traveling, surrogacy. You name it.

For our purposes, Milk Stork (or another breastmilk shipping company) offers different packages depending on your needs.

Simply place your order for how much milk you need to send (you can do freshly pumped or frozen) and then let Milk Stork handle the rest. You don’t have to worry about traveling through security or customs. Your milk will be home when you get there.

​This is a great option if you end up being away for an extended period of time.

Know that it is more than okay if you are looking forward to your trip, whether it’s for work or pleasure. Everyone needs a break. It’ll be good for both you and baby. You get to remember who you were before motherhood took you over. And baby gets some quality one-on-one time with another caregiver or family member. Especially if it’s a grandparent or relative. Think of how much bonding and memory-making there will be.

With some strategic planning and coordination that mothers are known for, this can be a successful trip for everyone involved.

With love,
​Dakota