[mintycat]

My husband and I will go away in December for a 3 day trip away from my LO who will be about 7 months then. She is exclusively BF right now and she takes 2 bottles of EBM everyday. I am actually reluctant to be away from her because I don't want to offer formula but the trip is important.

Anyway, I am pumping and have about 40 oz in the freezer now, so I *hope* I have enough for her then. How much should I be stockpiling? My older LO was taking about 26-30 oz a day at 7 months plus simple solids like rice cereal and vegetable/ fruit puree.

Also I think I will have to bring my pump then, but I don't want to pump every 4 hours on a trip. Any advise? I checked the itinerary and the flight leaves at 8 am but I don't get there til 2 pm (but I have a 2 hour layover in between). So do I pump at the airport or on the plane or what? Will I be uncomfortably engorged in 7 months still?

I will probably bring milk bags for storing and put them in the hotel fridge but how about in transit? Can I bring those on the plane?

Sorry so many questions but I really want to think about all these before I decide whether to go on this trip.

[MayC]

I had a shawl and I pumped on the plane. The plane's quite nosiy so you won't be disturbing anyone. Make sure you get a two seater seat so you have that privacy. I threw my milk away. The idea was to keep up my milk supply. I was too worried about my milk going bad after feeding baby and I knew I had enough in the freezer until I got home anyway. When you're with your daughter again, you can feed her directly or pump it fresh for her. You've mentioned that she'll be 7 months. She would have started solids by then so may not need as much milk as what she's drinking now. You'll be fine ;-)

[Portia]

I've pumped at the airport and on the plane (in my seat under a shawl like MayC) and also in the airplane toilet, but I threw the milk away as it was difficult to do hygenically. If you are able to pump at the airport (I used the handicap loo), it's much easier than on the plane. I pumped four times a day when I was away from my baby in order to keep up my milk supply, but he was only four months old then. By the time my baby was seven months old, I could have probably got away with pumping only three times a day (morning, evening and right before bed).

[lengli]

My experience is that i pump at the airport toilet and also the airplane toilet. Its not that comfortable as my earlier trip was to Washington and there are no nursing toilets there. Like the other mummies, i threw the milk away. If you do intend to store your milk, u can actually ask the air stewardess to store it for you in the freezer. But be prepared for the security checks at the airport. They are q. stringent in checking all liquids and you might have to explain at every check point. So do take the time needed to clear security into considerations when you check in at airports.