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I am just going to copy and paste a story I had typed up earlier.

After several trips including flights, I feel I had a pretty good routine down and I wanted to share with others that may be required to travel.

What to pack -

For my pump (Medela Freestyle) I used my medela pump bag because I didn't have to worry about a mess with any leaks. In the bag I would pack the pump, pump parts in a zip lock bag, an extra set of parts if I really had room and was worried, Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags, and the small medela cooler with four bottles to pump into.

To store the ice, I carried a small hard sided cooler. I tried to use a smaller soft sided cooler once and since it needed to hold ice that melted through the flight, it leaked everywhere. It also helped to have the milk stored seperately for going through security.

Even though these added as extra pieces of carry ons, I never had an issue since they are considered medical equipment.

Storing the milk while at your destination -

If possible, request a room with a mini-fridge or ask for one to be brought to your room. Store the pumped milk here either in the freezer portion, or just the regular fridge portion with it set to the coldest setting. If this isn't possible, most hotels do have ice machines and an ice bucket can keep it cold as long as the ice is refreshed. When I was away from the hotel during the day (in meeting, etc), I would just carry a small bag of ice or an ice pack. It was enough to keep the milk cool until returning to the room.

For shorter trips, pumping and keeping in the bottles was fine, but if you are accumulating a large amount of milk, its wise to bring breastmilk storage bags and use them. They will take up less room and pack easier.

Packing up the pumped milk for travel-

Once my trip had concluded, I would pack up the milk to fly home with me. This is where my hard-sided cooler came in.

Again, most hotels offer ice, so using a basic plastic bag or a gallon zip lock bag, fill up a good amount of ice. I would place the pumped milk in the bag with the ice. I tried to surround the milk with ice on all sides. Sealing the bag as best as possible, I would place into the cooler and fill any empty space with extra ice. Its hard to keep air cold, so filling in any extra space with ice or even plastic bags helps a lot.

Security -

I always chose to carry my milk with me rather then in my checked luggage. I have heard too many stories of lost or delayed luggage and I couldn't afford to loose or have to toss this milk if that happend.

I never had any issues with security but like always, each seemed to have a slightly different process. Breastmilk is considered a medical liquid according to the TSA (http://www.tsa.gov/traveling-formula-breast-milk-and-juice). Even if your baby isn't with you, you can carry it through. You are also allowed to carry the ice or ice packs to keep them cool and do not have to adhere to the 3 ounce rules that apply to other liquids.

When you scan your bags, be up front and tell the security agents you have liquids with you. You don't even have to say "breastmilk" if you don't want to, you can refer to it just as a "medical liquid" if you want. Sometimes they wouldn't even ask to open the cooler, other times, they wanted to pull the milk out of the ice. No matter what, they cannot ask you to drink the milk.

Once you are through security you can ask the food vendors for ice if you want to pack fresh ice before getting on the plane.

@Alivoo01: Everything that @T.H.O.U. said, except i used a soft cooler with a foam ice pack to bring my breastmilk back in bags, and used newspaper to fill the empty space in the cooler. My milk stayed frozen for 12 hours (2 bags were liquidy but still had ice crystals in them, so OK to refreeze).

Oh, and if your hotel room doesn't have a fridge, ask the front desk if you can get one. They will usually waive the extra fee if you tell them it's for medical reasons.

@dagret: Agreed - my hotel had a $20 fee per night for a fridge but it was waived because it was being used to cool breastmilk. I was pleasantly surprised how accommodating everyone was!

@Foodnerd81: they let the hard packs through no problem both en route to my destination (regional airport) and returning (SFO)
- my milk stayed frozen enough on a 5 hr flight. Kellymom says as long as there are ice crystals, you can refreeze.

I have had no problem bringing an ice pack on domestic US flights, but they gave me a very hard time at Heathrow and almost didn't let me carry on the ice pack (if you're flying within the US you should be fine).

@dagret: thanks. I believe it can be an extra carry on but I'm planning to check the pump anyway. However the pump puts my suitcase a couple pounds overweight so I may have to take it out. Babies need so much stuff!