Help! Going to travel without baby...

J

Jode

Member
Hi Mummies,

I'm going for a work trip soon (1 week trip), and my bb is still on exclusive bm. She will be 8mths old during that time.
I am thinking whether to stop bf-ing her before I leave, or to express while on the trip. of cos my preference will be the 2nd choice. But I have several concerns:
  1. How to express on flight? I will likely spend more than 10 hours on flight and not sure if I have to pump and dump, or? Where can I express? I cannot be hoarding the toilet, right??
  2. During the trip, I will be in whole day meetings. Not sure if will be able to find time to express. If I were to express once in the morning, and once in the evening after I get back to the hotel (which will be about 12 hours apart), will it be feasible? As of now, I will express at about 5-6 hourly.
  3. I heard from some mummies that their supply actually got affected badly after they come back from their trip. How can I avoid that?
  4. Not sure if I have missed out on anything? Dunno what to expect...

If the better choice is to stop bf-ing, then what should I do to stop the supply?

Any mummies have similar experience to share?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!!!
TIA!!!
 
L

lyra

Member
Not good to abruptly stop bf as u will get engorgement and other problems like blocked ducts. U can slowly wean baby off but u will miss Breastfeeding baby again and U won't b able to get back the supply. Actually, you can express on your seat under a Breastfeeding cover right? After that, keep the milk and then wipe the pumps. Or you can keep the milk first then throw them away when you go to washroom.

If your work day is 12 hrs, maybe you pump once at lunch and once when u reach hotel?

My friend reduced her pumping when she is busy with her parent's wake and funeral for one week. Milk supply is still ok after that when she went back to total bf.
 
J

Jode

Member
felicity said:
http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/36738/1229201.html?1330762145
i just saw this and am so amazed at all the things a mother does to make sure the baby gets the best from her, and gotta go through so much effort and hassle just to bring their milk back! then i saw ur thread so thought to share :)

happy international women's day! :D
Click to expand...
Hi Felicity

Many many many thanks for sharing this link!!!
Its really helpful.. and yeah.. these mummies are awesome..!! Really impressed by their efforts..
Thank you so much again!
 
elaine01

elaine01

Member
Hi jode, was about to recommend a few girlfriends who need to travel frequently due to work but still work out something for their kids.

Very relieved u didn't stop due to the work trip. Gambatte! :)
 
J

Jode

Member
hello all, just a follow up from where i left off previously.
so, i managed to express bm during my work trip and bring all of them back to sg safe and sound. i must say i am rather proud of myself. heheh =)
here are some details to share for a 1 week trip to europe...
Things to prepare:
- cooler bags (buy from carrefour) (i bought 2)
- Gel packs (these are wonderful - bought from Dryice. these replaces the need to source and buy dry ice) (i bought 6 big ones)
- milk storage bags
- sterilising tablets
- 2 big plastic containers (buy from daiso) (one for sterilising the pump parts and one to hold all the milk bags in the hotel freezer)
- ziplock bags (big ones) (can buy from SKP)

on the way there:
- express bm in the toilet on board the plane. avoid times before and after take-off and meal times. i took half hour in the toilet and did not face any problems
- once done, i transfer bm into the milk storage bags and passed to the flight attendant to use their fridge for storage. BUT on my flight back, the flight attendant was not as friendly and refused to allow me to make use of their fridge. so i asked for some ice in the ziplock bag and i placed the milk storage bag into the ziplock together with the ice. kept my milk cold until i got home. so this works too.

upon arrival at hotel
- packed all the gel packs into the carrefour cooler bags and went to the cafe that you would have breakfast at every morning.
- made friends with the staff and manager there and explained to them that i have baby whom i am still breastfeeding and would like to make use of their freezer.
- got them to store the cooler bags with gel packs in their deep freezer
- 1st morning when i went down for breakfast, i handed them my bm placed in one of the plastic containers. remember to label with your room number
- subsequent mornings, ask the staff to bring out the whole container and you can pack those bm that you have expressed the day before up to that morning
- once the container is full, transfer all to a ziplock bag, label with room number and put back into the freezer.

on day of check out:
- get everything from the freezer. the gel packs should be frozen hard.
- pack the ebm such that it is in the middle of the cooler bag and the gel packs are surrounding it.

i packed both the cooler bags into a seperate duffel bag and checked it in.

one important point to note. the eventual baggage is VERY heavy. my total baggage was grossly over-weight (total weight was about 45kg!!!) when i was going home. luckily, i was travelling with a few colleagues, so we shifted some of our stuff so that we avoid the over weight charges.

hope this info is able to help any other mummy who needs to travel without bb, and wants to bring her ebm home.
i used to think that its impossible. now that i have done it, i would say, its reasonably easy. hah!

can always PM me if more info is needed. =)
 
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