Many of the higher end breast pump come with a tote bag to carry all of your breast pump parts and accessories in easily. Some of the breast pumps also come with an easy to carry cooler bag and ice pack that allows you to keep your expressed breast milk at the proper temperature. If breast milk isn’t stored properly, then you risk your milk spoiling before you can give it to your baby or freeze it.
Disclosure: This post is for informational purposes only. I am not a certified lactation consult and the opinions in the post are based upon my own experiences with expressing breast milk with a breast pump.
Storing Milk While At Work
If you are lucky and have access to a refrigerator while on the go, this would make storing your expressed breast milk very easy. Personally, I stored my expressed breast milk inside my cooler bag so that co-workers wouldn’t have to see my milk. Placing your milk inside a cooler bag or lunch box will help keep your breast milk safe and secure while it is stored in a semi-public refrigerator.
Transporting Breast Milk Home From Work
When I was pumping on the go, I would consolidate my milk into one storage container if possible so that I would have plenty of room in my storage cooler for subsequent pumping sessions throughout the day. By the end of my work day, I would have several bottles full of milk. I didn’t have an ice pack but I had access to an ice machine so I would fill up my cooler bag with ice so that my milk would stay cold until I got it home. Without access to an ice machine, I would have had to use an ice pack to keep my breast milk cold for the journey home.
Storing Milk While Out and About
Out and about you may not have the luxury of having a refrigerator, storing your breast milk using a cooler bag with an ice insert would be necessary. It is important that breast milk is stored correctly so that it doesn’t spoil. Pack your ice pack into your cooler bag and store your expressed breast milk. Once you return home, transfer your expressed milk into storage bags, baby’s bottles, or in the refrigerator.
Breast Milk Storage Options
Transporting Milk While Traveling
If you have to travel for business while pumping, you will need to check with the airline to determine if they will allow you to transport your breast milk on the airplane. Some airlines have allow passengers to carry breast milk aboard the plane without any issues, but it depends on the airline you are traveling with. Ensure that you have enough ice packs in your cooler bag to keep your milk cold while traveling.
Overnight Your Breast Milk
If the airline doesn’t allow you to transport breast milk back on an airplane, you can often times overnight the package to your home. However, you will need to ensure that someone is home to receive your package so that your milk doesn’t sit outside all day long and spoil. If you can find dry ice, you can use it inside your package but it may freeze your milk.
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