Pumping on long distance flights

[GMUMMY3000]

Hi! I’m going on a long trip with my 4 month old and I was wondering how anyone CLEANS their pumps on flights to reuse them? My airline will not have a microwave and to sterilise a pump you need to boil it for 10 mins so the hot water they give you isn’t making it sterile. Help!

Oh....I thought this was going to be about flatulence.

How long is the flight?

Can you take a tub and buy some Milton sterilising liquid in the airport after security?

Why can’t you feed your baby directly and not bother with expressing?

If you can’t clean it and have to express then pump and dump

Sterilising tablets and ask for water on the flight?

Maybe her baby has a cleft palate? I don't think anyone pumps just for fun if they could feed directly

You don’t need to sterilise it in between uses. After you’ve pumped each time, put the parts in a clean food bag and ask the cabin crew to put it in the fridge (along with the milk you pump) Then when you reach your destination and presumably can get access to a microwave, sterilise it in a microwave sterilization bag (I like the Dr Browns ones) I did this when travelling long haul without my 5 month old and it was fine.

however you are chilling the milk, you chill the pump parts. By 4 months we weren’t sterilizing after every pumping, just every 24 hours. I would just put the parts in the refrigerator between pumpings.

You don’t need to sterilise at all. In neo natal with the most vulnerable/prem babies they advise just to wash pump in soapy water and rinse. You could give it a little wash in the toilet although I’d probably not bother as think may be worse in those plane toilets. I’d just re-use then wash properly at destination

You can buy spare parts for the pumps…all the bits that need sterilisation you can seperately. So you’d pump, save the milk. Take off the tubing, bag it up with the breast Sheila’s you used and then break about already sterilised spare tubing and breast shields. I’m sure you have tons of sterilised bottles. Attach the spares to the pump…and off you go.

As someone who had to pump for 11 months I am astonished by this comment. There are many reasons why babies can't feed directly. Do you think people pump for fun? That there is some thrill to be had from being tied to a machine 8 times a day, plus the endless washing, sterilising & additional sleep deprivation?

Same here - we just sterilised them pump parts once per day & refrigerated them in between uses.

I pumped twice or maybe 3 times to travel to HK, pretty sure I had 2 sets of some of the parts and didn’t sterilise at that point anyway (breastmilk being antibacterial), just washed in hot water with soap. Definitely doable (though pita obviously)

Me too @UnbearableLoss 🤣🤣

Agree with the advice to just pump and dump. It's only a one off and sounds like you make a good amount of milk if you need to pump and are able to feed LO

Just googled this, thank you! Sounds like the most solid plan so far. I can bring an empty flask to sterilise in.