Bad title, important topic. No matter whether you nurse, pump, or formula feed your baby, figuring out how to do it in the air can be intimidating. Just writing this post is bringing back negative feelings from when my first child was an infant and I tried to figure out the logistics of feeding her on a twenty hour journey.
I nursed, pumped, and bottle fed baby #1, so I now have a good grasp of how to do each of these on planes (but would love advice from others– comment below!) I feel like the larger discussion around this topic, the better for all of us. Below is my break-down for how to feed your baby en route and at the airport, as well as the best way to acquire cow’s milk at the airport for your older baby/toddler:
En Route
Nursing
Duh, if your baby nurses well you are obviously going to want to nurse her per usual. I just completed a fourteen hour flight with my two month old and she easily nursed like normal throughout the flight. It’s hands down the easiest way to go if you can manage/are comfortable nursing in public. Just think of all those bottles you don’t have to pack and sanitize! If you don’t feel comfortable nursing in public this is tricky because airplane bathrooms are not conducive to nursing and there’s virtually nowhere else to go that’s private. If you want the most privacy, opt for a window seat. I’ve found that a soft baby carrier (Moby, Solly, Boba, K’tan, etc.) thrown over you can provide more privacy and I always travel with my baby in a carrier through the airport anyway. Remember, even people against breastfeeding in public (who are these monsters?!) should be glad you’re attempting to keep your baby quiet and calm along the journey.
Pumping
This is more complicated but totally doable on the plane, if need be. Know your rights. Pumps are considered a medical device and should not count against your carry on allowance. Some airlines require you to flag a medical device 48 hours before your trip– check with your specific airline. If you need to pump on the plane, I’d also check with your airline about the availability of a power outlet at your seat.
I imagine that pumping would be extremely difficult if you were not flying with a partner to hold the baby while you pump. My only suggestion would be to buy your baby a seat (and bring the car seat on board) so that you could manage the space to pump. Pumps can be cumbersome and I opted to use a manual pump on the plane so I didn’t have to worry about cords, the noise, etc. But do keep in mind that planes are loud once they’re up in the air so even the noisiest pumps probably wouldn’t be very noticeable. There are also pumps that are verrrrrry quiet. The Spectra is almost silent compared to the Medela Pump-in-Style which is relatively loud. If you’re going to need to pump several times over the course of a long haul flight, portable pump cleaners are a way to sanitize the pump parts between sessions. I have these ones, and they’ve worked well. You can also buy “Pump and Save” bags so that you don’t need to worry about packing and sanitizing extra bottles. Also keep in mind that flight attendants are there to help you, so you could always ask the attendant for help making this work (perhaps space in the galley could be curtained off).
*My advice is focused on traveling with kids but I also want to note that you don’t need to travel with a baby to travel with your pump or breast milk.
**If you’re traveling abroad, make sure your pump will work with the voltage at your destination or will work with a travel adapter. Or bring a battery operated pump.
Bottle Feeding
In order to bottle feed baby on a long flight, you’ll need to make sure to bring enough sanitized bottles and nipples to last the entire journey plus a few extras in case of delays. Same goes for breast milk or formula: pack more than necessary for your journey. There is really nothing worse than being hours from your destination knowing that you’re completely out of milk. TSA liquid regulations don’t apply to formula or breastmilk. In order to avoid a hectic situation in a long security line, I would recommend flagging down a TSA agent while you’re in line in order to declare your baby’s liquids and separate from the rest of your belongings. I would buy room temperature bottled water once I was through security if I needed it for formula. I pre-measured formula into my clean bottles so they were ready to go minus the water. If the bottle needs to be warmed you can ask the flight attendant for hot water during the flight.
You’re allowed to travel through security with a “reasonable amount” of breastmilk. TSA agents often will ask to open the milk to test it. If you don’t want them opening it, you can ask for “alternate screening procedures” which I think consists of a pat down and bag inspections but I’m not completely sure. I advise carrying the milk in a small lunch bag size bag (I have this one and it works just fine and fits nicely in a diaper bag) with ice packs or frozen grapes as coolers and also bringing empty sandwich bags to fill with ice at the airport or on the plane. In the name of packing lightly: breast milk storage bags make great ice packs. Also remember that frozen milk bags are, in effect, ice packs.
In order to cut down on the number of bottles I packed, I took one trip using Playtex bottles with liners. I only had to pack one bottle, nipples, and liners for each feed. This allowed me to forget about sanitizing bottles.
Navigating the Airport
Some airports have “Mother’s Rooms” where nursing moms can nurse or pump in private. I’ve seen very few nice ones, I’ve seen terrible ones, and more often than not I see that these don’t exist or they’re located too far to walk to before or between flights. The Friendly Airports for Mothers Act was passed in October 2018 and requires all medium-sized and large airports to provide lactation rooms in each terminal and they must be a non-bathroom space. So that’s a step in the right direction. In addition, these awesome pods are gaining support around the country and will hopefully pop up in more places: https://www.mamava.com/ (There’s even an app that allows you to locate a pod in airports around North America).
A Note Re: Cow’s Milk
My husband and I have been surprised by the number of airlines that don’t carry milk on board flights. If you have an older baby or toddler who drinks cow’s milk, it can be tricky to ensure you have milk for your flight. Many of the little marts in airports only carry skim milk (or don’t carry any milk at all), but we’ve had success asking coffee shops (Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, etc.) for cups of whole milk. We carry this type of thermos which keeps the milk cold for more than 12 hours and then we bring along our toddler’s favorite no-spill cups on the plane and pour the milk from the thermos into her cup as needed. We also have these silicone lid covers and straws that allow us to cover any cup (like the plastic ones on the plane) to make them spill proof.
How have you managed flights with your nursing or bottle fed baby or toddler? I’d love to hear more tips!
