Have to Express Breastmilk for 7 Days While Away to Europe

Is there a local hospital or lactation center you could call for advice??
I don't have any answers for you. Try to stay on his schedule to keep your supply up.

If you could store enough here at home to get him through the week plus a little extra for emergency, then you might want to consider just pumping and dumping while you are over there, since when you come back you will be avaible to him.
No chance you could take him?
I whole heartedly think breast is best but i also want to "give you permission" if you need it that its really ok if you can't, you've given him a great head start already.
Wishing you a smooth trip

edit someone recdommended a hand pump for your luggage, great idea, I just wanted to mention that i ended up just expressing by hand,(basically massaging and sort of squeezing down) because i couldn't get the hang of the manuel pump. which ever way practice first at home. take care.

For breastmilk to keep, it has to be frozen. Not sure how you can return with it and still keep it frozen. Perhaps a cooler as checked baggage? (I can't imagine if the airlines would have made a rule about size restrictions on frozen breastmilk containers or not. Wow! Never thought of that one.) I hope you don't have to pump and dump. That's always depressing. Have you been building up your storage supply at home? Do you have a good pump to bring with you so you don't become engorged and/or start to dry up? You'll probably have to call the airlines. Good luck. Hope your trip is successful.

there was an article about this somewhere... but i cant remember where!

what you need to do is contact a local or nearby la leche league. they will have a TON of information for you.

im so proud of you for wanting to continue breastfeeding. i would wish you could delay this trip but i know that sometimes that isnt possible. so just make sure you pump and massage your breasts while you pump. make sure you have a cooler, and a fridge/freezer wherever you pump. its not impossible. i dont know about airline restrictions. but pack the pump with the milk if possible. if you run into trouble ask them if they want to drink some to prove its just breastmilk. lol. that should create enough discomfort that they will get off ya LOL

I wouldn't try to store it. Just pump and dump to keep your supply.
I had a Medela Pump that worked fine on the included battery pack, if you have that option, make sure to take extras.
Good luck!

Call the airlines. I had no problem brining my milk for my son, but he was with me at the time. You will likely need some dry ice for the return trip home. But also keep in mind as long as you keep expressing the milk it should keep the supply up. keep pumping until all the milk stops coming out for about an extra - minutes. This will help keep your supply up as well. You might have to dump some of the milk before the return, agian that should be okay. Your son will come back to you like you never missed a beat. Good luck

I cannot help but be curious as to why you would leave an exclusively breastfed baby for 7 days? When you say exclusively breastfed, do you mean you feed him exclusively breastmilk, but you feed it from a bottle? If not, your baby will likely have a very difficult time transitioning from breast to bottle when you leave and he will most definately be traumatized by the separation and very likely will be weaned by the time you return.

If you have been working fulltime and feeding him expressed milk then he will probably tolerate the separation alot better and your question is more related to how to maintain your milk supply while you are away. Assuming the latter, you have probably already been pumping, so continue to do the usual and I would agree with the other responder who said to "pump and dump". It just seems too complicated to keep the milk frozen and safe. I worked as a nurse with my last two babies and I "pumped and dumped" at work because no matter how clean I tried to be, I was left pumping in a bathroom and I just didn't feel comfortable about the cleanliness of this hospital bathroom. Your baby can supplement with formula while you are away and you should be able to maintain your milk supply.

If you have not been pumping but exclusively breast feeding you may find pumping unnatural. I was never too successful at it and mainly pumped to relieve pressure in my breasts or to avoid an embarassing "letdown" if I started to think about my baby or heard another baby cry. Bring a picture of your baby and give yourself a quiet and private place to pump without pressure so you can fully relax. This should help you "let down".

Best Wishes.

J. L.

Take an electric pump with you in your luggage as well as a hand pump in your carry-on. There are some great hand pumps that are very compact. You could sneak away to the restroom a few times and express milk.

I would not suggest trying to store the milk while you are gone. If it is possible to pump extra before you leave that is ideal (freeze it), otherwise you can try mixing 1/2 breastmilk with 1/2 formula to stretch it.

If you do decide to store it while you are in Europe, it needs to be frozen and you can pack it in ice for the trip home . . not sure how it would work, but you could try.