International travel while breastfeeding

I'm heading to Paris and London in a week for work and am worried about managing pumping breast milk.

First, I am anxiously eying my freezer supply to make sure there is four days' worth of milk for the time I am away.   Then, I am uneasy about the flight there, during which I will most certainly have to pump in public.  Breastfeeding in public is one thing, but the almost bovine aspect of pumping is altogether another.  I will need to get over this unease, fast.  Next, once I arrive at my destination, I will either need a power adapter or a boat load of batteries to keep the pump running for four days.  I started looking into the power adapter option but it's so complicated that I think I'm better off buying a big pack of batteries and hauling them in my suitcase.  I'll also have to bring supplies to wash parts in the hotel.

But the biggest worry is what to do with all the pumped milk, probably 80-100 oz.  The most sensible and convenient option is to dump it.   But can a breast milk fanatic mom like me actually bring herself to do this?  I am imagining complex ways around dumping: I could buy a good cooler bag, milk storage bags, and lots of Ziploc bags, continually refresh the ice from the hotel ice machine, assuming my room has no refrigerator.  Then there is the matter of getting back through security with the milk.  (I should be thankful that it's not 2004, when the TSA barred more than 3 oz. of breast milk unless you were traveling with a baby.  Except if a mom is traveling with her baby, she wouldn't need to bring a pump and all the pumped milk!)  And what if after all this the ice doesn't hold up for the 12-hour trip?  I would probably just check the baggage and hope for the best.

What would you do?

Humbled by a milk supply struggle

In a previous post, I talked about how it is easy to see why milk supply can be such a concern for new moms.  But recently, I've gained new perspective and been humbled by a supply problem of my own.

After dropping to three pumps per day a few months ago, my supply dropped, and I started dipping into my  freezer stash.  I had envisioned that by age one, Sam would reduce his milk intake in favor of solids.  To the contrary, he's thirstier than ever.  Then a few weeks ago, I got hit with a nasty cold and suffered another drop.  I decided to up pumps to try to increase supply.  A week went by, then two, without an increase; meanwhile, we were topping off bottles with cow's milk left and right.  I started to feel like throwing in the towel and just letting him have 75/25 or 50/50 human/cow--and feeling pretty bad about it right after my post deriding cow's milk for babies.  You get to a point--and I remember this from the early days--where you start changing the story you tell yourself about how important breast milk is, and guilt rears its head, too.  One minute you've convinced yourself it's totally fine, and another you are reading a study showing a correlation between extended breastfeeding and intelligence.  It's so not fun, and gives me new respect for moms who persevere despite supply issues.

In the end, the milk ticked up, but only after three weeks of trying.

The problem with guidelines

"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mother and baby desire. The World Health Organization recommends continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond." -cdc.gov

And here we are, at 12 months.   Some people may be wondering when I'm going to quit exclusively pumping milk.  I think, first, that would be mixing up the maximum and minimum from the above statement.  Second, guidelines are based on the average baby.  (Mine is definitely not average, and neither is yours I am sure!)  Finally--it's gotten to be such a part of the routine that another few months won't hurt.

Like I did before starting solids, I am watching for signs that Sam is ready for something new.  When I see things like eating solid food as if he's actually hungry and not just playing, tasting, and practicing.  When he starts drinking out of a cup without choking.  When he says "no thanks" to the bottle a little more often. I'm not seeing any of this yet, so he'll keep getting breast milk for now.