Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply Travel questions

Ladies,

Well, time flies...our little one is three weeks old today. Pediatrician has given the green light to travel and all the paperwork is sorted out, so we are off to Germany on Thursday. All in all this is a trip of over 24 hrs door to door. (Plane from Manila to Dubai, layover in Dubai, plane Dubai to Duesseldorf and then a train journey to my home town on top of that...)

Any and all advice on travelling with a small baby is most welcome! I know quite a few of you have done it. Particularly on feeding her, of course.

Emma currently drinks around three lact-aid bags (4 oz each)per 24 hrs. I have two lact aids and the cooler that came with the PIS with 4 x 5 oz collection bottles.

Should I just prepare a bunch of formula before I leave, fill the lact-aids and bottles and then refill the lact-aids with formula from the bottles as I go along?

Or is it better to take boiled water in the bottles and prepare the formula on the road?

Would it be ok under the circumstances to re-fill the lact-aids once or twice at the most without cleaning or do I need to go through the whole cleaning thing? Not terribly convenient but I suppose I could take vinegar and distilled water in plastic bottles with me if necessary.

These are my main questions, but anything else you can think of on any aspect of jet-setting infants will be very much appreciated.

So excited to be going home...

Love,
Chris

Hi Chris,

I am preparing for a five day trip myself, leaving this Wednesday, though we are only driving five hours ... I empathize with you.

As for formula prep, do you have access to spurge and buy individual premixed formula bottles? Perhaps the doctor or hospital can give them to you as this is what the formula companies typically give them. These do not have to be refrigerated or mixed or warmed ... much easier for your long trek. I would not premix all the bottles as your ice pack won't stay cold for the whole trip seeing it is so long. Taking the boiled water along is a good idea as a second option. Perhaps you could premix two or three bottles and pre-refrigerate them before placing them in the cooler, then freeze the last bottle of water to mix toward the end of your trip ... this will help keep the pack cooler longer too. You can always detaw the icy water for your last bottle under warm tap water.

I would recommend you clean the mouth pieces as you go - first because Emma is so little and the bacteria from her mouth mixed with the formula is what can make her sick, and second - because the formula clogs the tubes if not cleaned quickly after. Maybe you could find a bottle that you can soak the mouth piece in until you can get to a sink to clean it properly. If you plan any other trips, I would buy more mouth pieces ... Jimmy sells a four-pack for a pretty good price ... I think $19 US.

I am sure you will do fine ... just use your mother's instinct and best judgement.

Best wishes for safe travel, Mom!
Christina