Suzette's Parenting and Breastfeeding Blog | Breastfeeding and traveling

5 years ago, when Ian was still inside my tummy, I worried about how I could breastfeed him for long. My job requires me to travel extensively. On those days when travel budget was still good, I used to travel 2 or 3 times a month.

Depending on where I go, some trips would be just 1 night, but some last for a week. Traveling to US would be 8 days due to time spent on route.

There were 2 issues that worried me. First, how to stock up enough for Ian when I am away? Second, how to store and bring back my EBMs from overseas?

I tried to solve 1 thing at a time. Since second issue won’t happen for the first 2 months (would be in maternity leave), so I tried to look for answer for storage first.

How to Stock Up Enough Before Your Trip?
My very first advice from my colleague, was to store my EBM using containers bought from Tesco/Carrefour as below:

I bought 2 packs of 6 (total 12 bottles). But, they were not useful for 3 reasons. I can’t be buying hundreds of those containers, it would be too expensive, and my aim was to stock at least 2,000oz (for my 17 days trip to NZ). Second reason is, they are not practical for frozen breastmilk. When we thaw the milk, we need to mix it well by swirling. This container actually LEAKS from the cover! The 3rd reason is, I cannot sterilize the container! It melts, of course!

Now, they are used to store other stuff. Not at all gone wasted.

My second advice received was from MMB (My Mom’s Best) breastfeeding forum. Mothers in MMB recommended the use of Playtex bottle liner.

These bags are pre-sterilled, so no worries about sterilizing them. At first, I was advised to use IKEA’s sealing clips to seal the bags. As my stock piled up (I ended up with 2 and a half freezer full of frozen milk - terrorizing my MIL’s and my mom’s freezers!), I bought so many clips - TOO MANY! Now as I think back, should have used the rubber bands. Rubber bands are cheap, and even easier to use!

The bottom left and right of the pic below shows how the Playtex liners and IKEA sealing clips ended up look like, when filled with milk. This pic were taken when I was weaning Ian. Lots of milk were ‘expired’ and gone wasted because MIL didn’t follow the FIFO (First In First Out) instruction I told her.

Back to storage. Towards the end of breastfeeding Ian, I learnt to store EBM with Ice-cream Malaysia bag. Here is the ice-cream bags:

And here is how it is filled up (the content in this pic is NOT EBM):

These ice-cream bag is the most economical option. A bag of 100 pcs costs only RM2. Playtex liners would cost you RM50 for a pack of 125pcs. And you don’t need any sealing clips or rubber bands. After filling, leave an inch WITHOUT LIQUID (i.e. squeeze out the air), before you tie a knot. That’s it. If you forget to squeeze out the air, you risk creating a leak at the bottom. I used this a lot for my second child, Isabel.

But then, although it is economical, I have to warn you about the usage of ice-cream bags. It is important to note that, though these are food grade plastics, they are NOT STERILLIZED. I wouldn’t use this for infant before 6 months. If you decide to use this bag, don’t say I never warn you about it.

Another disadvantage of this bag is, it is VERY HARD to fill. You need a lot of practicing, unless you use a funnel. I didn’t use it coz not convenient when traveling. In the beginning I spilled a lot, but when I mastered it, I could do it with one eye closed. :p

Since this post is too long, I will cover the second part separately, i.e. how to bring home ebm when traveling?

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