Rose, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

My baby girl Fen came 22 days early via emergency cesarean towards the end of June. My husband had a two-week business trip six weeks later. He didn’t want to leave us at home, so we came along. We stayed in four hotels, and took Fen to the Cincinnati Zoo to feed a giraffe and see Fiona the hippo. Fen and I also explored a couple of cities in Ohio while my husband worked.

Fen never latched, so I pumped every three hours or so, which was difficult while traveling. Keeping everything clean was a challenge, and I did have some mishaps along the way. I had to pump in a bathroom; a male housekeeping employee at a hotel in Kentucky walked in on me while I was topless, and I had to do lots of pumping in the car between cities.

It was a great adventure, and I’d definitely do it all again.

Editor’s Note: Whether you’re traveling with a newborn or a toddler, expressing milk or searching for a quiet place to nurse your distracted little one, challenges arise when you’re away from home. What tips do you have for traveling with children? Share your ideas and experiences at [email protected] for possible use in a future blog post.

Take a look at the New Beginnings archives to see what other parents have found helpful during their travels:

• Travel On and Breastfeed: lllusa.org/travel-on-and-breastfeed/
• Traveling with a Breastfed Baby: lllusa.org/traveling-with-a-breastfed-baby/
• Traveling with a Breastfed Toddler: lllusa.org/traveling-with-a-breastfed-toddler/

For information about expressing your milk as well as proper storage and handling of human milk, see the following links:

• Expressing Your Milk: www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/pumping-milk/
• Storing Your Milk: www.llli.org/breastfeeding-info/storingmilk/