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I EPed and went on a couple of 3 night trips wen LO was little.

For the flying trip, I brought an empty cooler (bigger than the one that came with my Medela but not anything too massive). I also brought some ice packs. The way there they questioned me (since it was an empty cooler/ice packs), but when I told them I would be bringing breast milk back they let me take it as a carry on.

While at the hotel, I made sure I had a fridge. Most hotels will wave any fridge fees if you tell them it is being used to store breast milk.

I made sure I had lots of batteries and I pumped wherever was convenient. I usually pumped 4x a day at home but while I was away I only got 3 pumps in. My supply took a slight hit but recovered once I got home.

On the way back I had a lot of milk and brought it on board with no issues at all. They asked where my baby was but didn't seem fazed when I told them she was home.

Before I left I had printed out Canada's rules for flying with breast milk without an infant so I knew I was allowed, and had the backup ton prove it if they gave me a hard time, which fortunately they didn't.

@yellowbird: no, but the night before I called down to front desk and asked them to freeze them for me. I picked them up the next morning before I checked out and headed to the airport

@yellowbird: The cooler I used was the size of a tote bag. Similar to this: http://www.target.com/p/cooler-embark-10liter-ebony/-/A-16343711#prodSlot=medium_1_39&term=soft+sided+cooler

I had several business trips ranging from a couple days to a full week during DD's first year. A couple involved travel by train and a couple by plane. It was totally fine both ways.

Pumping on a train or plane isn't super fun but can be done. I tried to avoid it as much as possible, so I pumped as close to when I had to leave for the airport as possible, even if it wasn't strictly according to my normal schedule. That usually meant I had to pump at most once while actually traveling.

Storage-wise, most hotels have fridges they will bring to your room, even if the room doesn't usually have one. You'll need to tell them it's for medical supplies (BM is included in this definition). If you're going to be away for more than a couple days, though, I'd really recommend trying to stay at a hotel that has kitchenettes in the rooms (like a Residence Inn or similar) because they have freezers. My milk didn't keep more than about 3 days in the fridge so if I wasn't able to freeze it on longer trips, I had to dump the older stuff. When I was able to freeze it, the milk started to thaw a bit by the time I got home, but as long as it's still mostly frozen you can re-freeze without fear. I used the bags that were more thawed the next day, if possible. I think I ended up getting rid of a bag or two that I couldn't use quickly enough, but the vast majority of the milk made it home in good shape.

TSA shouldn't give you any trouble about traveling with the milk, just tell the screener it's there when you're putting your bags on the screening belt. They may ask you to open the cooler so they can look at it, but that's it. https://www.tsa.gov/traveling-formula-breast-milk-and-juice

I know it seems daunting, but it's really not as bad as it seems. I remember stressing most about storing and transporting the milk, but the harder part was trying to find time to pump when I was off my normal schedule, in a different place with people who didn't necessarily understand why I needed breaks, etc. It was fine in the end, though, and DD was always SUPER happy to resume nursing when I got home!

I traveled away from LO for 5 days when she was 9 months. I stretched out my pumping sessions so that I could enjoy my trip, so I didn't pump while traveling. I did pump a little with a hand pump on the return flight and just dumped it. I was using a hospital grade pump at home so I rented one at my destination and brought my parts. We were staying at an airbnb so I kept the milk in her freezer and then packed it in a soft cooler in my suitcase and it was still frozen solid when I got home from a 4 hour flight.

I am going away for a 2 day (one overnight) trip in September with my husband for our anniversary (NYC). Since the logistics of pumping and keeping everything clean and cool would be a nightmare in NYC (we love walking everywhere and spending as much time out of our room as possible, and don't want to lug around a huge cooler) I decided I would pump and dump for the 2 days. I knew that if i was conatantly worried about germs and temperature I would not enjoy the trip and drive myself insane. I have been working my BUTT off to increase my supply and now I have been able to stash 4-7 ounces a day in the freezer. Having a bigger stash makes me feel a lot better about pumping and dumping. I always tell DH it's my "savings account" for our big trip I plan to wear a small backpack and keep my manual pump with me. since i'm dumping i dont need to worry about keeping it that clean or cool. I will use my double electric 1-2 times in the morning, probably once in the afternoon, and 1-2 times at night to prevent my supply from dropping too much. (LO will be 6 months and still EBF). I usually pump 6-7 times at home.

@nicollette1189: Have you had a problem carrying non frozen breastmilk through TSA? I have only traveled with non-frozen breastmilk (more than a dozen times) and I've never had any problems.

Sometimes travel logistics don't make it easy to freeze milk and I want anyone to read this thread to know that you don't have to freeze your milk to get through TSA without problems.