By Dr. Alicia Hartung

You and your family have planned a much needed vacation, however you may have concerns about traveling and maintaining your infant’s feeding routine. You should attempt to keep the same schedule while on vacation as you do at home. This may be with exclusive breastfeeding, or possibly a combination of breastfeeding and expressing your milk for bottle feeds, particularly if your baby is already accustomed to breast and bottle.

An important thing to do while traveling on vacation is to maintain your supply. To do this you should continue to feed on demand and not restrict feeding times. Some people find it helpful to use a sling or soft carrier, which allows unrestricted feeding times and maintains skin-to-skin contact, which will help maintain your supply.

Traveling by car can be a huge feat, especially with multiple children. It never fails that the infant is sleeping, siblings are ready to stop and eat, or siblings are sleeping and infant wakes up wanting to breastfeed. I experienced this with my second child when we traveled to the beach, about an eight-hour trip. Not only did we have a full car, including a 3-year-old and a 3-week-old, but were traveling with another family who also had a toddler. In this case, I found the easiest thing to do was to take the breast pump. Most have car adapters or run on battery. Or you can use a manual hand pump. If I was unable to breastfeed,  I was able to maintain the same schedule and we were not forced to stop every half hour!!!! Granted your infant needs to eat, but if your baby is already taking a bottle, I found this was a great way to save time.

Regardless of when she was hungry, if we stopped, I breastfed. Otherwise I had a bottle of pumped milk ready to go. Keep in mind that breast milk is the easiest and safest source of food for your infant and all that your baby needs if they are less than 6 months old. Any milk that is pumped while traveling should be stored in clean containers and tightly sealed. You can use ice packs or dry ice to freeze the milk until you get to your destination. Freshly pumped milk is good if stored at room temperature for about 4 hours or may be stored in an insulated refrigerator bag for up to 24 hours, which hopefully gives you enough time to get to your destination.

Flying can be a huge feat with children and it depends on the length of the flight. It is recommended to breastfeed your infant on take off or landing to help prevent problems with ear pressure. Your electric breast pump can be carried on the plane. It is considered a personal item and will be stored close by. However, because air safety requirements change frequently check with your airline before leaving.

Traveling to other countries can present a challenge, so being prepared is key.  Be sure to check with the CDC regarding any travel guidelines, including medicine and vaccinations that you may need before travel. Remember, your breast milk is safest for baby, there is no need to worry about mixing with contaminated water or feeding formula that you are not familiar with, and you always have it available.

Once you finally arrive at your destination, keep up with your present feeding schedule. By allowing your baby to nurse without restrictions, this will help to protect your milk supply and ensure your baby is getting the calories and nutrition that they need.

Please call the Breastfeeding Center of Pittsburgh with any questions. You can also check this excellent TSA site for traveling with children.

So pack your bags and get ready to enjoy that much needed VACATION!!!!

Dr. Alicia Hartung, is an IBCLC and has been a Kids Plus physician since 2001.