Nursing your baby and planning to return to work? How do you manage this if you are a flight attendant or pilot?
This can be a very overwhelming task but it can be done with some planning one step at a time.
1st of all … you are doing a great job Mama! Keep it up we are all here to cheer you on!
Start pumping breast milk after some of your feedings while you are still at home. Starting around 6-8 weeks if you plan on returning at 12 weeks is not a bad idea. Also try feeding your baby some breast milk in a bottle before you return to work. If your baby is ok with the bottle before you return to work, whoever will be feeding him or her will have it easier. If your baby refuses the bottle, try different kinds and don’t give up. Keep in mind, if they get hungry enough they will eat. Both of my kids hated the bottle and my husband finally would get them to take it once they were hungry enough.
Pumping:
Buy a double electronic pump if possible. Check with your insurance, they may cover the cost of a pump.
I personally like the Medela Pump and Style double pump in the black sling bag or backpack (see image above).
http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/573/pump-in-style-advanced
There is a new pump on the market which is a revolution in pumping technology, the Willow Pump! It is a wearable pump and it is so discrete that people around you will not know that your are pumping.
https://www.willowpump.com/
This is what I found worked best when pumping on the road:
I would pump directly into the milk bags by tying two binder clips together with some yarn and attaching the side of the opening of 1 breast milk bag to each binder clip and hanging it over the shield while letting the bag hang under the connector and membrane. This way you eliminate cleaning out bottles afterwards and the milk bags store flat in your lunch box.
Electric pumps will pump either by plugging them into an outlet or using the battery pack (always carry extra batteries). When pumping on the battery pack it will take longer.
Hands-free pumping: At the hotel, use an old tight top (e.g. tube top) and cut wholes into the top at the location of your nipples. This creates a very cheap hands-free pumping bra. Put the shield on the inside of the top over your breasts and attach the connector on the outside of the top to the shield. This way you can pump while applying make-up or looking on your phone at the pictures of your baby!
Always carry extra bags and pads for your bra when on the road.
Sanitation on the road:
Medela has Quick Clean wipes that can be used after each pumping until you can wash the parts in your hotel sink with hot water and soap (shampoo works great or fill a travel container (<3 oz) with dish soap). Further, Medela has micro steam bags that you can use to sterilize parts; all you need is some water and a microwave. The parts air-dry pretty quick.
When you get home you can place the connector and shields in the dishwasher.
Keeping the milk:
You can keep it cool with ice pack or what I prefer are headache pouches (see picture below).
I would fill them at home partially ½ - ¾ way with water, squeeze the remaining air out, close it and freeze it in your freezer. It will take a while for it to defrost, but if it does you can dump the water and get ice from the flight attendant or restaurants inside the airport to fill it with. I would check the ice half way through the day but you will notice it when you add more milk pouches after pumping. The pressure changes do not impact your breast milk pouches or ice packs, just leave some air in them when sealing them. At hotels I would request a fridge for medical reasons and every time except once they delivered one to my room. The one other time I brought my milk downstairs to their fridge. The headache pouch I would place back into a freezer (hotel freezer). Another option for keeping the milk cool is a 64oz wide mouth Yeti bottle ($70). It is vacuum insulated. You can store it in the freezer at home to pre-cool it, add a little ice to it and then store the milk bags inside the Yeti bottle. On the road you can fill the Yeti with ice from the airplane, venting machines in hotels or drink fountains in restaurants. It keeps the milk at a constant 32 F for 48 hours or unopened up to 3 days. Replenishing the ice will make your milk stay cool for the entire duration of your 4 or 5 day trip and you don't even have to worry about having access to a fridge on your overnight. You can fit about 10 bags or roughly 40 oz of milk in bags in it and still have room for ice.
When you get home, depending on your freezer you can lay your bags flat to freeze and than stand them up side ways and put the newest milk to the back.
Here is another neat and simple trick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAK-sC424Kk
When pumping, don’t pump into the same bag from multiple pumpings, if possible. If you pump smaller amounts (2-4 oz) in a bag they can be a better fit for your baby’s feeding, rather than having a bag with 7 oz of milk.
Again, keep up the good work. It is not easy but it can be done and please ask if you have any further questions. There are many Mamas out there who have great insights that can help!
Herdis