Worried about how to manage pumping breast milk during the holidays? Here is a complete holiday pumping guide with everything you need to know about travel and pumping, when you need to pump and dump after holiday events, and how to deal with unsupportive family.
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Attending holiday events
Here are some things to think about so that you can pump without missing out on fun holiday parties and functions.
Pumping away from home
The holiday season is busy and can be filled with different parties to attend, shopping to do, etc. So how do you stick to your pumping schedule when you’re often out of the house?
Ideally, you want to be able to pump outside your home easily, and fit pumping around your life (not the other way around).
If you’ve never pumped on the go before, here are some tips:
- Put your pump parts together before you pack them (this helps ensure you don’t forget a part)
- Find a place to pump that you’re comfortable in (the car can work well, or an out of the way place with a nursing cover)
- Act confident and like you know what you’re doing (i.e., fake it til you make it)
Much more on pumping on the go here.
What to wear to make pumping easier
If you’re out shopping or running errands, you don’t want to have to take off your whole shirt or dress to pump. These colder weather nursing shirts are great options for easy access while staying covered.
And if you have a holiday event, amazon has some great nursing dresses that are perfect for pumping before, after, or during.
Do you need to pump and dump?
Want to have a glass of wine or a fun cocktail at a holiday party, but not sure what the “rules” are about alcohol and breastfeeding?
The American Academy of Pediatrics says:
Ingestion of alcoholic beverages should be minimized and limited to an occasional intake but no more than 0.5 g alcohol per kg body weight, which for a 60 kg mother is approximately 2 oz liquor, 8 oz wine, or 2 beers. Nursing should take place 2 hours or longer after the alcohol intake to minimize its concentration in the ingested milk.
(Note that 60 kg is about 132 pounds.)
So what does that mean? If you’re just having one or two drinks, you can wait several hours until the milk is out of your system and then pump as you normally would.
If you need to go to bed before the alcohol leaves your system, or if you’re having a lot of drinks, then I would suggest pumping to maintain your milk supply and then either dumping the milk or using it for breast milk jewelry or a milk bath.
Visiting family? How to travel and pump
If you’re traveling for the holidays and your trip will take more than a few hours, you’ll probably need pump en route.
Here’s a few things that can make this easier.
Consider an external battery
If your pump doesn’t have a rechargeable battery, you will need to pack a power source. If you’re driving, it might be easiest to use a car adapter.
If you’re flying, you may be able to use an external battery pack. In both cases, just make sure the voltage is correct for your breast pump.
Breast Pump Battery Packs
Pack your pump parts in sets
Pack each set of pump parts that you’ll use while traveling in its own bag – I used gallon-sized zip-top bags or a Pumparoo.
Put everything together before you put it in the bag, as this makes it less likely you’ll forget a valve or your breast shields. (Since you can’t attach the bottle caps ahead of time, make sure you don’t forget those, either!)
Bring a nursing cover if desired
If you feel like you’ll want to be covered while you pump, a nursing cover can work well. You may also be able to get away with a baggy shirt.
If you’re flying, I have lots of tips on flying with a breast pump here.
Bringing breast milk with you
You may want to bring some extra breast milk with you on your trip, especially if you are relying in part on your freezer stash, or if you like to have a bit of a buffer in case you don’t pump as much as you normally do.
So what’s the best way to bring your breast milk with you?
In most cases, the easiest way to travel with extra breast milk is to put fresh breast milk in a breast milk cooler.
Breast Milk Coolers
Breast milk can travel safely in a cooler for 24 hours; just make sure the ice pack is frozen solid when you leave and transfer right to a fridge when you get to your destination.
If you need to take frozen breast milk on a longer trip (maybe you’ve weaned and are feeding from your frozen stash), you may need to check your frozen milk. More info on how to do this here.
If you’ll need fridge space at your destination, you may want to ask about it ahead of time; if you’re staying in a hotel, you can request a mini-fridge in advance.
Setting up a mobile bottle washing station
Whether you’re staying as a guest in someone’s home or in a hotel, you’ll want to set up a mobile bottle station with a sink, bottle brush, and some drying space for your pump parts and bottles.
This Boon travel drying rack can be a good solution for packing the bottle brush and providing some drying space. If you’re exclusively pumping, you’ll likely need a bit more space, but putting down a paper towel or clean hand towel can work well.
If you’re staying at someone’s home, you might want to ask ahead of time for some counter space.
Dealing with unsupportive family
Sometimes it can seem like everyone has an opinion about how you feed your baby – no matter how you feed you baby. Whether you’re exclusively pumping, nursing, formula feeding, or doing a combination of any of the above, someone will think you’re doing it wrong.
So what do you do when that someone is a family member that you’re spending time with over the holidays?
This obviously depends a lot on the person and your relationship and whether or not you’d like to engage in a discussion on the topic.
If you don’t, one strategy that I’ve found to be useful is to blandly acknowledge the advice and then quickly change the subject.
So when Aunt Margaret tells you that you should really try nursing again and that exclusive pumping is way too much work, you could say, “I’ll consider that. Hey, can I get the recipe for this bean dip? It’s amazing!” Or, “I’ll remember that. Can you believe that it’s supposed to snow 6 inches tomorrow?”
Other Holiday Pumping Tips
Here are a few other things you can do to make your trip less stressful.
Be flexible
Do your best to stick to your pumping schedule, but it’s okay to be flexible.
Say you normally pump at 6pm and 9pm, but you want to go to a party from 7pm until 11pm. It’s fine to pump right before you leave, right after you get home, and leave your pump at home.
Just make sure to get your total pumping time in, and try not to go too much longer than you normally would in between sessions.
Consider a manual pump
If you’ll be out for a while and will need to pump at a holiday party, but you don’t want to haul your enormous pump bag with you and deal with finding an outlet, put a manual pump in a zip top plastic bag in your handbag.
Use it wherever you get a chance and wherever you can get some privacy. If you’d like to keep the milk you pump, put an ice pack in the bag with the pump and breast milk to keep it cold.
Isolation
One thing that many exclusive pumpers struggle with is feeling isolated while they pump – it can be hard to have to leave a get together where everyone is having fun to go off into a room and sit by yourself to pump.
If you’re comfortable doing it, try putting on a nursing cover and just staying where you are. Pumping doesn’t mean you have to leave, unless you want to.
This won’t last forever
Remember that this won’t last forever. Next holiday season, you’ll likely be free of the pump!
I hope this holiday pumping guide is helpful! Let us know if you have any other tips for pumping breast milk during the holidays in the comments.
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