Traveling with Breastmilk: All the Tips and Tricks

I had a friend text me the other day asking for all of my insight on traveling with breastmilk. So I was obviously inspired to give you some quick information this week. And not to say I’m a pro (and rules always do change, so be sure to check!), but after having traveled plenty of times while nursing a human, I am here to give you all the advice on how to do so stress(ish) free.

Packing Things Up

When packing up your milk, using frozen ice packs, dry ice, or homemade ice packs (freeze water in some breastmilk bags), is totally fine when it comes to carry ons and checked bags. Bring a large enough, insulated cooler to store the amount of milk you would need to get you through the trip or vice verse (how much you plan to bring home after being away).

Getting Through TSA

Getting through TSA is honestly the easy part. Some quick bullet points about the security part of travel:

• Anything frozen- breastmilk, freezer packs, ice, etc. anything to keep the milk frozen/cold, is allowed through security. (Frozen breastmilk breezes right through!)
• When bringing freshly pumped milk or thawed milk, it does NOT have to follow the 3.4oz guideline. However, if it is above 3.4oz, your milk could be pulled for screening.
• The screening process is simple. You handle your milk. They do not touch any of it. They simple wave a test strip above the bag/bottle of milk for 5 seconds. Nothing is inserted in the milk and nothing is tampered with.
  • I have only had this happen to me ONE time in the many times I have flown with breastmilk.

Traveling without Your Baby: The Plane

Biggest Tip: Your breast-pump is technically considered a medical device and almost all airlines do not count it towards your carry-on limits. So load that thing up in a bag that has a little extra room for some other items if need be! You basically get an extra carry-on.

Invest in a hands free pump! These are game changer to ensuring that you can continue to pump on schedule and from anywhere. When traveling recently, I pumped a total of four times on the plane to keep up with my baby’s schedule at home. I had a smaller size cooler bag to store the milk in during the duration of the flights and later transferred everything into a larger insulated bag to bring back home.

Storing Your Milk at a Hotel

Most hotel rooms only equip you with a refrigerator, which won’t help much if you’re staying anywhere for more than a day. However, hotels will store your breastmilk for you in a freezer on their end. Call prior to arrival to ensure that they have a freezer you will be able to use. Upon check-in let them know and they will store it for you.

When traveling with milk, I split my milk up into gallon size storage bags with the amount of ounces I need each day. That way, each morning, it was much easier to collect what I needed for the day from the lobby.

There you have it, super quick tips and tricks for any Mama’s that may be traveling for the first time with breastmilk. It truly sounds more intimidating than it is.