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?

Backpedaling

The exclusively-pumping world refers to "dropping pumps" as the slow process of reducing the number of times we pump per day.  Interestingly, many moms experience an increase in supply as they drop pumps.  However, there is a point at which supply decreases.  I pumped four times a day for quite a few months, getting about 40 ounces consistently each day.  Recently, I started pumping three times a day from time to time, when my schedule didn't allow four.  Then I went three times for a week straight, and suddenly, my supply dropped to under 30 ounces per day. 

This is just about exactly what Sam eats, and we have a freezer full of milk too.  So he has plenty to eat now.  But I've been daydreaming about pumping past the one-year mark--and what if my supply continues to dwindle?  I also had my heart set on donating more milk--those preemies need milk more than I need my 20 minutes back!

So, I am backpedaling, pumping four times a day again in hopes of getting my supply back.  There's definitely no guarantee though, and I am feeling slightly guilty about getting lazy and overconfident and allowing this to happen.
I will try, but if I'm down to 30 for good, I will accept it and carry on. 

BFF: My pump & me.

A few stars aligned for us to be able to bottle-feed breast milk. First, before Sam was born, I received a very generous gift of a Medela Pump in Style double electric breast pump from my step mom who said simply, “You’ll want a nice one.”  Second, Max was home during Sam’s first weeks and helped me immeasurably by taking care of the baby while I pumped and encouraging me to keep going.  Third, at work, there is a private place to pump, a dedicated refrigerator, and a culture that accepts breastfeeding.  Finally, I found an online community where I discovered I did not invent exclusively pumping.

At first, I pumped 7 or 8 times a day for about 20 minutes each. By 5 weeks, I was in much less pain and the engorgement had eased, so I dropped to 6 pumps a day, 10 minutes each. Now at 5 months, I am down to 4 pumps, without getting up in the middle of night to pump. It takes me about an hour a day to get 35-40 oz. of milk, a bit more than Sam eats.

The benefits of exclusively pumping are that Sam gets human milk, best for his health; it might be healthier for me too; I quickly returned to pre-pregnancy weight; other people can feed Sam; we can observe how much he eats; it’s free (or only the cost of the extra calories I eat); I get to bond with my baby while feeding without being in terrible pain; and I got to donate breast milk to another baby.  The detriments are that we wash a lot of plastic parts for the pump and bottles every day; I have to drag the pump and parts around and tuck myself away at certain parts of the day; some benefits of breast milk may be lost when it is stored and fed at another time; I have to buy bottles and milk storage bags; and we have to bring milk and bottles with us when we’re away from home. 

There are moments when it seems totally ludicrous to be attached to the pump.  For example, in the middle of one night when I was up pumping and Max was up at the same time feeding Sam, it all seemed especially kooky.  I was sad at those moments that I couldn't breastfeed. 

I tried nursing again when Sam was about three months old.  The pain returned and after a few feedings, and things just didn’t feel right. I called off the experiment.  We had our system, and it worked for us.