TRAVELING WITH BABY AND PUMP

PART 1: TIPS

Traveling with a baby is not easy, and requires a LOT of planning. Hopefully, all of my planning makes your trip that much easier!

BEFORE YOU GO:

·      Plan for delays. 

·      Ship diapers and wipes to your destination so that you don’t have to pack them

·      Practice putting the stroller into the stroller travel bag! Ours was a tight fit. And make sure everything is registered/insured.

·      Make sure you know how to install the car seat in the airplane, and in a car at your destination

·      Tape a list to your door of the things you need to pack day-of, so you don’t forget anything

·      Your pump and pump bag do NOT count as a carry-on (Your pump is considered a medical device)

ARRIVAL AT THE AIRPORT:

·      Go early! Give yourself extra time

·      With Southwest, you have to go through the full service line to get baby’s boarding pass. You need a copy of baby’s birth certificate

·                   ·       We checked our suitcases so we had less to drag through the airport. One large suitcase is           
               easier to deal with than two separate, smaller suitcases

o  Backpack-style diaper bags are the easiest when traveling

·      **Check to see if there are any empty seats on the plane. If so, you can put the car seat in the empty seat at no extra charge!!**

·      The stroller and car seat can be checked at check-in, or gate-checked at no charge. 

·      Carrying baby through airport

o  Can push baby in the stroller car seat, and store things in the basket underneath

o  Alternatively, use a baby carrier and check the stroller and car seat right away

SECURITY:

·      You have to take baby out of the carrier through security

·      The stroller has to go through security – the UppaBaby Vista did not fit through the scanner, so TSA just walked it through 

·      Car seat has to go through security – turn it upside down on the belt.

·      Milk: 

o  3oz rule does not apply to milk 

o  Ask TSA to change their gloves before touching your milk

BOARDING:

·      Again, check to see if there are any empty seats on the plane. If so, you can put the car seat in that empty seat at no extra charge! (If not, you can gate-check your car seat)

·      Try to put a fresh diaper on baby before boarding

·      Have burp cloths easily accessible 

·      Have one person board first with all the luggage/etc, and to sanitize the area(don’t forget seatbelt, window, air vent). The other person can wait until later to board with baby

·      Try not to sit by other babies who may be sick or cry loudly (haha)

TAKE-OFF AND IN-FLIGHT:

·      If baby is in a carrier, you have to take off the shoulder straps, but can leave baby in the carrier

·      If you have bottles of milk, loosen the caps before the plane takes off. Otherwise, the pressure will make the bottles leak

·      Have a bottle or pacifier ready for take-off/landing. The change in air pressure can hurt baby’s ears, but sucking helps relieve the pressure. 

o  Give the baby the bottle specifically when the plane is taking off, not just when it starts moving because sometimes the baby will empty the milk before actual take-off

o  If baby is sleeping, you do not have to wake them 

·      Something about the altitude makes babies poop their pants – bring 2 changes of clothing for baby and 1 for yourself (wear something dark)

·      The changing table in the plane bathroom is tiny, as is the bathroom, so bring the Skip Hop Pronto Changing Station, or a small ziploc bag packed with just what you need for a diaper change so you don’t have to bring the whole diaper bag into the bathroom. 

TRAVELING WITH PUMP AND MILK:

·      Call hotel and ask for a fridge in the room

·      Use “Mamava” app to find places to pump in the airport

·      3oz limit does not apply to milk

·      Don’t freeze the actual milk – travel back with fresh milk. 

o  Milk can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

o  Milk in a cooler is good up to 24 hours. 

o  Frozen milk that thaws has to be used with 24 hours. 

·      Use a cooler bag to keep milk cool. If you need more ice, you can fill empty milk storage bags or ziploc bags with water and freeze them, or fill them with ice at the airport.

o  You can ask hotel to freeze ice packs

·      Ask TSA to change gloves before handling your milk

·      You can store the pump parts in a wet/dry or ziploc bag inside a fridge.  If using for more than one day, bring sanitizing wipes and/or soap.