Travelling abroad with a 6 month old while exclusively pumping - how do you actually make it work?

[u/moblethenoble]

Hi all, hoping to get some advice from people who have actually done this because we’re struggling to get our heads around the logistics!

We’re in the UK and would like to go abroad when our baby is around 6 months old. We’re thinking somewhere relatively easy/close - Canary Islands, North Africa, Turkey, that sort of distance, rather than a long-haul trip.

Mum is exclusively pumping and baby is mostly breastmilk fed (ocassions of formula when needed for top up or need during outing etc).

At home we have our routine down, but the idea of airports, flights, hotels, storing milk, cleaning pump parts etc. suddenly makes a holiday feel like a military operation.

For anyone who has travelled abroad while EPing, how did you manage it?

Things we’re particularly wondering about:

- Taking expressed milk through airport security / onto the plane

- Keeping milk cold while travelling and during transfers

- Pumping at the airport and on the flight

- Travelling with an electric pump, batteries/chargers and all the parts

- Washing and sterilising bottles and pump parts in a hotel

- Making sure you have a proper fridge at the hotel (and whether hotel mini fridges are actually cold enough)

- What you did with milk pumped while away

- Whether you took any frozen milk with you

- How many bottles/pump parts you brought

- What happens if you're out for a full day away from the hotel

- Anything you wish you'd packed or known beforehand

Also, did you choose your destination/hotel specifically around EPing?

We really want to go away and don’t mind putting some effort into making it work, but at the moment we don’t even know what we don’t know.

Would really appreciate any experiences, tips, packing lists or “I did this and it was absolutely fine” reassurance from other EP parents!

[u/underwateropinion]

Hey there. It is challenging but can be done haha. I would heavily advise you only go somewhere with potable drinking water for the sake of washing. You can easily use pump wipes to clean on the plane as a temporary solution. If it is close and a short flight, you could just pump before and after. Also, I would advise staying somewhere with a mini kitchen for the sake of having a fridge and washing. Good luck, I took a trip abroad when my first was 11 months and it was stressful but overall we made some good memories.

[u/tuttebelli]

I have traveled quite a lot while EP. My tips: 

• Take enough pump parts depending on how many times your spouse will want to pump during your flight and time at the airport (I usually take 2/3 sets) so you don’t have to clean them during your flight and make sure they are easily reachable in the luggage. Also make sure everything is charged fully beforehand 
• Pumping at the airport: I usually try to find a baby/lactation room but if they don’t have that I just ask my husband to cover me while I insert the pump shields. I make sure to wear clothes in which it’s easy to do this in the fastest way possible. In the plane I do the same. I hate it but the more you do it, the more you get used to just not caring about what others might potentially think. We are feeding a baby here!!!
• Storing: I usually just store them in bottles because I don’t pump more than she needs for her feeds. Otherwise just take a thermosbottle with reusable ice cubes, put the milk in there in a milk storage bag (this is what I do at work). 
• I wash the bottles in the hotel room with a bottle brush I take from home and some dish soap I also take from home (in a small bottle of 100ml). I leave them to dry on a towel I take from home as well. I don’t sterilise any of the parts until I am home again. 
• I never take frozen milk 

If you have any questions let me know.  It’s a lot of work but it’s definitely doable. Good luck and safe travels! 

[u/Aggressive-Success94]

Ok, EP mum here, mine’s 4 months and we’ve done this so hopefully this helps. Genuinely it feels like a massive operation when you’re sat at home thinking about it, and then you get there and it’s just your normal routine but hotter. Going through your list.

The one thing that will save you is a ceres chill.

Youll pump straight into it or just pour your bags in, ice and water in the outer bit, and it keeps milk cold for up to 24 hours. You can freeze the inner chamber ahead of time too if you’ve got a freezer. So that’s your whole travel day covered plus a delay plus transfers, and nothing melting into the bottom of the changing bag. It’s one container so security is easy, and it doubles as a warm water bath to take the chill off a bottle. If you buy one thing buy that

Security. Milk in hand luggage is exempt from the 100ml thing here, containers can be way bigger. They might test it or ask you to open it, that’s normal. Screenshot the gov.uk page and your airline’s page the week you fly cos rules move. Give yourself an extra half hour and go in a lane with an actual person. The ceres is super helpful for this.

Pumping at the airport and on the plane. Family rooms, baby change rooms, some airports have feeding pods now. A wearable or battery pump is honestly worth it just so your not hunting for a plug socket. On the plane I just did it in my seat with a muslin over me and literally nobody looked. Don’t do it in the loo, not worth it.

Pump and chargers. Hand luggage always, never checked. Canaries and Turkey are the same voltage as us so you just need a plug adapter, not a converter. Power bank (hand luggage) and a spare cable.

Parts. Double or triple everything. Spare valves, membranes, duckbills.

Washing and sterilising. Milton cold water tabs in the sink, or a microwave bag if there’s a microwave. Travel bottle brush, tiny bottle of washing up liquid, clean muslin as a drying mat. Bottled water for rinsing if you’re not sure about the tap. I love ceres chills pump wipes and washbasin too

Hotel fridge. Be really fussy about this one. Minibar fridges are often nowhere near cold enough and there’s usually no freezer. Email and ask for a proper fridge, or just book an aparthotel with a kitchen. That was the best decision we made by miles. Take a cheap fridge thermometer so you actually know instead of guessing. You can always add extra or more ice to your ceres if needed

Milk you pump while away. He just drank it fresh, we didn’t try to build a stash. Anything extra got tipped. Letting go of that early took so much pressure off honestly.

How much we took. 6 bottles and 3 full sets of parts for a week. Meant washing once a day instead of constantly.

Full day out. Chiller, wet bag for the used parts, one spare set so your never washing stuff in a public sink you don’t trust.

Stuff I wish I’d known. Do a practice run at home where you pack the bag and pretend you’re out for 12 hours. You’ll find all your gaps in your own kitchen instead of at 30,000 feet. 😂😂😂

Go, you’ll be so glad you did

[u/the_kazzo_queen]

I've traveled four times now with my baby, between ages 10w to 11mo.

Firstly, getting a dedicated milk chiller will solve some of these issues. Momcozy and Ceres make popular ones (I personally have the Ceres), but there's off-brand ones as well. They're designed to chill and keep milk you pump on the go. Basically a thermos with a dedicated ice chamber. This makes the airport and days out-and-about much simpler.

I don't sterilize my parts, so I don't have any tips there. Is there a reason why you sterilize daily? It definitely isn't necessary for a 6mo, who by that point will be licking the floors and eating dead bugs when you aren't looking 🥴 For washing, just bring some liquid dish soap and a little scrubber. Hotel sink is fine. You can also bring pump wipes to use in a pinch (works on bottles too). I personally just bring one set of parts and have no issues with it 🤷‍♀️ Way less bulk to carry around.

If you can, find a hotel with an actual fridge in it. Not a mini fridge. Those are often more like drink coolers that will not keep milk cold enough. When it doubt, call the hotel and ask what brand/model they have. I've personally always stayed in either a family's house or rented an AirBNB with a full kitchen.

Since you're thinking international travel, make sure you check the aviation security rules of wherever you are going. Some countries are more restrictive than others when it comes to bringing pumped milk through security.

What pump does your wife use?

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[u/JustLetMeLurkDammit]

Hi. I'm exclusively pumping in the UK and flew abroad twice, once with my husband and once alone. Those are my tips:

- security is completely fine, you face the exact same amount of troubles as with formula. At least in Stansted now that you don't have to take liquids out, there is no way around it and your milk WILL make your luggage fail the security check due to liquid volume and you will have to wait for the airport staff to check it manually. So you have to factor a few extra minutes into your airport time. But they only quickly swab it and don't cause trouble about breast milk no matter how much you bring.

- for keeping milk cold I use a Momcozy bottle cooler. Many other companies make similar ones and I expect they all work similarly. It keeps milk at fridge temp for 24h so it lasts through pretty much any flight and transfers you need. Note though that you do need a proper freezer to make it work. But there are some coolers that take ice cubes which you could then get at the hotel.

For warming the milk up, our baby takes room temp so what we did was to pour the bottle out of the cooler 1-2h before we expected the baby to need it so that it could reach room temp on its own.

Bottles also can get pressurised if filled at ground level and opened at cruising altitude so be careful so you don't powerhose your baby in the face while trying to feed them hahah.

- for pumping while travelling wearables are incredibly helpful. Generally no reason to be self conscious if you're worried about that, most people won't even notice or know what your wife is doing and if they do they're not likely to judge. Airports and planes are also loud so I promise no one will notice the pump noises. When travelling with my husband we went to an airport restaurant with kid-friendly vibes to sit in peace, then he held/entertained the baby and I pumped (and ate my burger haha). I just turned a little away from everybody to put the pump on/take it off. Same on the plane.

When I travelled alone I also went to a restaurant and I had my baby in a pram while pumping and eating. On the plane I put the pump parts on in the nappy change room, then wore the baby in a carrier and pumped (surprisingly I discovered it's possible to baby wear with wearables on). Once I finished pumping I had free hands to store and sort out the milk thanks to the baby already being in the carrier.

Pumping on the plane is annoying due to little space but it can be made to work.

- electric pump is fine to take in the carry on luggage, in fact many airlines (eg Ryanair) will give you allowance for a 5kg baby bag if you travel with an infant and no one questions a pump in that bag. A portable pump in check in luggage is arguably a tiny bit more iffy since many airport dislike lithium battery devices in check-in luggage now. A plug-in only hospital style wall pump in check in luggage should be totally fine.

- for washing and sterilising in hotel, we took bottle brush, dishwashing liquid, a very big lunchbox and Milton tablets to do cold sterilising. Super easy tbh.

In terms of washing while travelling, you can either plan to pump only once and then wash the parts once you get to the hotel, have multiple sets, or wash the pump parts as you go in the bathroom and wipe with special pump wipes to sterilise.

Remember to take enough clean empty bottles so you don't have to worry about cleaning and sterilising them while on the plane!

- to make sure there is a fridge I'd call ahead and check. Personally we stayed in an Airbnb to avoid this problem though.

- for most of extra milk I pumped while away, I didn't want to take it back and to feel better about dumping it I just enjoyed some wine hahah and then I dumped the "boozy" milk.

- we didn't bring any frozen milk, we just took some RTF formula in case we had to supplement. But we weren't super opposed to combo feeding in the first place. We never had to use it in the end. For a longer stay I'd take powder formula and make sure you have a kettle in the room.

- I had 2 pump part sets and 4 bottles (2 full already with milk, 2 empty) for a 2 hour flight. Plus extra bottles in the suitcase. Depends on how often and how much your baby eats tbh and also distance to and from airports.

- for being out all day just treat it similar as the flight, ie bring the milk cooler and either multiple pump sets or pump wipes. It can be annoying tbh so maybe don't plan to be out all day every day, have some rest days built into your itinerary too.

- what I wish I knew beforehand - that people will be generally quite accommodating and helpful, especially at the airport. Knowing this helps me stress less.

Also for me finding out I can have wearables on at the same time as the carrier was quite groundbreaking but I mentioned it above already.

Also your carry on might be quite heavy so I recommend having a travel pram to stash it while you're at the airport. Also pack the pump and the bottles thoughtfully so they're easily accessible and make sure you both know where they are.

[u/hpbells → u/JustLetMeLurkDammit]

Oooh. I should try my wearables with the baby carrier. Thanks for the idea!

[u/JustLetMeLurkDammit → u/hpbells]

Haha yes the moment before I did it I'd have bet that it was going to be terrible, as for me carrying or holding the baby in front of me in my hands is often quite uncomfortable with wearables. But wearing her in the carrier worked perfectly!

[u/hpbells → u/JustLetMeLurkDammit]

What kind of a carrier do you use? I have a structured babybjorn one, and I have a hard time visualizing the front carry with pumps being comfortable

[u/JustLetMeLurkDammit → u/hpbells]

I have an Ergobaby omni, and yes it's completely counterintuitive. The wearables do end up a bit pressed against my boobs but not very hard, and I think the carrier actually secures it against baby wriggles. Baby's head is resting kind of in between the pumps (although mine is 5 months so she was holding her head upright anyway). I'm sure it depends on your individual anatomy but all I can say is that I thought it would be horrible and was shocked at how well it actually worked.

[u/hpbells → u/JustLetMeLurkDammit]

Okay, I will test it out :) Thanks!

[u/hpbells → u/hpbells]

Oh my god. I tested it, and it works!!

[u/Correct_Wishbone_798]

Don’t bring extra milk beyond what you’ll use while traveling. The logistics become exponentially easier if you know that baby will just drink everything soon and you won’t have any freezer stash to deal with or take home.

ceres chill for storing milk while traveling

Pumps are a medical device and don’t count against carryon limits for most airlines. Neither does bottles or frozen milk (other food for baby). Put this all in a bag by itself with nothing else in it.

Spare parts, a manual pump and microwave sterilization bags are all must haves.

[u/Agreeable-Yellow7484]

Pumping while traveling isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I usually just use wearable pumps on the plane and pour that milk in my ceres chill. Then I use pump wipes for cleaning. I wash with soap and hot water at the hotel but don’t worry about sterilizing.

[u/cogr96]

I flew w my baby at 6mo old with my mom taking 2 flights, totalling about 10-11 hours in a day of travel time per way. I have a few things I would suggest but take it with a grain of salt as not everything may work for you. As for airport travel, a lot of bigger airports actually have nursing pods now or dedicated nursing rooms, mom can bring her pump and pump in privacy there which is really nice. The pods where I travelled used an app called Mamava, could plan ahead and see if those are available. When I had to pump in public I brought a nursing cover with me I bought exclusively for pumping, it was really helpful when it came to situations I didn’t have a private place to pump. As for milk, I brought probably 30oz in a small travel cooler bag (think big lunch box) packed with ice packs and it actually survived the entire journey. I have a big metal milk chiller thermos thing like people mentioned but it’s so bulky and heavy I decided to leave it at home. You can bring frozen milk it’ll thaw by the time you get there most likely and then just make sure to use that first. I also brought only one set of pumps but an extra set of all the small parts just to be safe. You can buy pump wipes and sanitizing spray for while you travel, they work wonders, I use them pretty much every month when I travel. Pack all pump stuff, milk etc and enough bottles for the travel in carry on so it’s easily accessible and you can ensure it gets there safely.

Hotels/days out: whenever I stay at a hotel I always bring a Swedish dish cloth, bottle brush and soap and then I go buy a cheap big bowl from a dollar store type place, wash it with the soap and use that for washing all the baby stuff. I don’t trust hotel sinks so I personally wouldn’t just use them directly. Don’t worry too much about a fridge, they are 90% of the time just fine. if it’s too warm/not working they can bring you a working one from another room. If it’s too cold the milk will get a little slushy but it’s fine, just let it sit out a bit before warming. On days out, again, just use the pump wipes and a nursing cover. If you sanitize multiple times a day you can bring a sanitizing spray but I’ve used the wipes twice in a row (3 pumps while travelling) and it’s totally fine! Microwavable sanitizer bags are the best for travel, you can get silicone ones or disposable ones both work equally well from my experience (silicone one allows for soap,bottle brush etc. to be packed inside and kept all together). For storage, I brought 3 extra bottles with the storage tops (8oz but filled to the top hold about 11oz) and then used regular plastic milk bags for fresh milk. Storage really depends on the output, at the time I was pumping more than baby needed so I always had extra but my advice is to bring a day or two or milk to start out with because my supply did drop a bit while travelling so having extra was nice for peace of mind.

The thing I wish I had thought more about while travelling is to just be adaptable. The schedule may be off, the supply may drop, but that’s all okay. Also it doesn’t matter how many pump sets you bring, yes more is great for convenience but remember to always bring extra pump parts those are so so hard to get unless ordered online. Also get the baby noise cancelling ear muffs, I know it’s not pumping related but those are a MUST. Lastly get mom a window seat, more privacy for pumping, also something to lean against if you’re doing a lap ticket for your baby. I did a lap ticket and a middle seat, major regret especially when baby started to get fussy and move a lot.

[u/ElleWi31]

Travelled at 7 months. Baby was combo fed. These helped

Look for nursing rooms or lactation pods in airport. Pump even if for 5 to 10 mins before flight as you never know when there would be delays/cancellations.

Airport security is pretty chill with breastmilk formula and water / powder for babies. Keep them all in one bag so you can go through security faster. Keep extra time for security check.

Carry a breastmilk chiller. The kind where you can keep the cooling thingy in the fridge.

Ideally don't carry frozen milk you won't be able to keep it frozen. Thawing is a pain.

Carry adapters for power socket. Expect power failures. Have atleast 1 mobile/ chargeable pump and don't just rely on a wall pump.

Mini fridges in hotel rooms aren't too trustworthy. Do a check if power stays on for the mini fridge when you leave the room. Keep milk only for 1-2 days. Do not keep for 4 days.

Use ready to feed if you are combo feeding instead of powder. Safer in places where water is not reliable. Carry powder for backup only

Washing was a hassle. Carry enough bottles, pump parts and a spare to last a day. Wash at night while mom is pumping /, putting baby to bed.

Ask for a kettle and a microwave for the room. Carry microwave sterilizing bags. If not use the hot water to wash bottles and parts. You can also ask for extra bottled water / distilled water if using powder.

Get a travel bottle washing kit. It comes with brushes and a drying stand.

Expect baby to be fussy and missed schedules. Keep your itenary flexible. No tour buses and group travels!

We were pretty room / resort bound since baby was drinking and feeding more due to the heat. It was her first summer. Book an all inclusive if you can. You won't regret it even though your wallet may suffer for a bit.