Hi all…I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but what can I say? It’s been hectic. So hectic that I needed a little getaway to clear my mind and reset.
I went to Punta Cana with my girls and had an amazing time, got to reconnect with myself and got some sleep..but I didn’t make the decision to go lightly. Yes I’m still nursing and pumping, so that was a huge factor..I’m also co-sleeping so I was really anxious about Meatball waking up scared without mami. After mulling it over, my babysitter aka my mami convinced me to go and took care of meatball for the weekend. After the decision was made, I had to go into planning mode…what does a nursing mom take with her on vacation? Where does she pump? How does she store the milk?
Luckily for the first leg of my trip was short so I didn’t have to pump, I made sure I nursed meatball right before I left for the airport. Once I got to my destination, I set up shop with my Medela Pump In Style Advanced and pumped. I froze my milk, but sadly that milk and almost all of my stash ended up a casualty of airport security. Note…you CANNOT transport liquids even if it’s your own breast milk so I had to toss my stash. I was super pissed but I also didn’t want to get kicked out of the airport (yikes!)
Back to my pumping…I had to do it often and though I did have a nice hotel room to do it in…the real tricky part came when I found myself on a plane with very engorged breasts. So what did I do? Simple..I had no choice but to pump, so I asked the flight attendant if I could pump in the plane bathroom and she said yes. I have to say it wasn’t a prime pumping spot, but it was more than adequate. The bathrooms on Jet Blue are quite clean and as spacious as I’ve seen (for a plane toilet). I was able to pump out 8 ounces, clean up and go back to my seat in 10 minutes. When I was done the flight attendant asked me if I needed to refrigerate my milk or if I needed anything else. They even offered to move my seat to an aisle for easier access to the bathroom. The attention from the crew was AWESOME. They were very nice and accommodating, and because of that I am making sure to fly Jet Blue whenever I can!
So was traveling as a pumping mom annoying…yes…but was it unmanageable? NO. So far I can say I’ve pumped on a train, plane and automobile! Ha ha! Proud member of the Mile High Pumping Mami Club!