Travelling is always fun and exciting, what more when you get to travel to places that you have been wanting to set your foot to since ages ago. This was exactly how I felt when I get the opportunity to go on a 2 weeks trip to Europe; London, Brussels and Paris to be exact. Travelling this time is a bit different from usual, as I am still breastfeeding my 10 months old baby boy, Ray.
Expressing breast milk on the go is not new to me. I had been on a 10 days trip to US in 2010, when I was still breastfeeding my twins. The experience then were shared in my page here : Travelling with Expressed Breast Milk. I did not expect any difference this time. Armed with an 8.5L 26.4 L Coleman ice storage box, 2 techni ice sheets, 2 packs industrial strength dried ice, a cool storage bag, breast milk storage bags and my Avent manual pump, I boarded the plane and off I went to London.
The Coleman ice box was checked in along with the industrial dried ice while I carried the cool storage bag, techni ice sheets, some milk storage bags and my pump with me. Since it was a 12 hours + flight, I calculated that I will need to pump at least twice during the journey. To avoid creating inconvenience to other fellow passengers, I pumped in the toilet when meals was served. Since everyone else was eating, no one bothered that I occupied the toilet for a long time. The second pumping was done at least 3 hours before the estimated arrival time. Everyone was still sleeping at that time and I get to use the toilet as long as I like. The 3 hours before arrival was chosen as meals was once again served 2 hours before arrival.
Once finished pumping, I stored the ebm in the milk storage bag and sealed it well. Upon passing it to the stewardess to be put in the freezer, I was told that they are not allowed to keep passengers' food. This is indeed a change of policy as I used to kept my ebm in the plane's freezer during my US trip 2 years ago. I was at a loss of what to do as the techni ice sheets will not last for the 12 hours flight, plus the time needed to get to the hotel upon arrival. A kind steward then offered to keep the ice sheets in the freezer (this is allowed since it is not food) and gave me a bag of ice to keep my ebm cooled in the cooler bag. This was the best available option. It kept my ebm cooled although I had to keep replenishing the ice every now and then.
Upon reaching the hotel in London, I immediately passed all the ebm as well as the dried ice and techni ice sheets to the hotel’s staff to be kept in their restaurant’s freezer, after labeling them with my name and my room’s number. For the entire three days I stayed in the hotel, I did the same, that was, passing the ebm to the hotel’s staff to be kept in the freezer along with the rest. When the time come for me to leave London for Brussels, I ‘redeemed’ all the ebm half an hour before the taxi that was supposed to bring us to the train station arrived. All the ebm and the ice were kept in the coleman and strapped with a luggage strap.
The journey from London to Brussels by the Eurostar took only 2.5 hours. Upon reaching the hotel in Brussels, I did the same as in London. This went on till I arrived in Paris 6 days later. Upon passing my ebm to the hotel’s staff in Paris, I was told that the hotel does not have a freezer. I was shocked as I already e-mailed the hotel weeks and a day before arrival that I will need to put something in the freezer and the hotel replied that they will gladly comply to my request. After some reasoning with the staff, finally they agreed to take the ebm off my hand and a freezer magically appeared (since they mentioned earlier that they do not have one). I have anticipated some problems in Paris as I do not speak French and this is rather an unusual request. Already thought about this and asked a friend who is currently residing in France to help me translate the phrase ‘human breast milk’ and ‘I am a breastfeeding mother. Can I put my ebm in your freezer?’ in French. This however, was not necessary as the hotel’s staff speak good English. However, I feel that having the phrase or sentence in local language will help in places where English is not commonly spoken.
After being on the go for 15 days, I was worried that the coleman will not be able to fit in all the ebm. Although hb and I agreed earlier that we will buy an extra ice storage box if need be, I felt that it was too expensive to do so and decided to discard some if necessary. On the day of departure, I requested the ebm and ice packs from the hotel’s staff half an hour before checking out. All the ebm needed some ‘clever’ arranging to fit into the Coleman. Sure enough, the Coleman couldn’t accommodate all and I had to take out one of the industrial strength dried ice so that all the ebm can go into the coleman. I then carried the ice pack in my cooler bag along with my pump for pumping in the plane. The Coleman was then strapped with the luggage strap and labeled with the phrase ‘Lait Maternel’ meaning human breast milk.
What we didn’t take into consideration was the weight of the ebm and we exceeded 8kg of the baggage allowance. The coleman with all the ebm weighed 18kg in total and we had to pay 500 Euro for the excess weight. That was RM2000! The lady at the check in counter advised that we hand carry some heavy stuff to meet the baggage allowance so that we will not have to pay so much. Hb and I ended up with very heavy hand luggage but at least we did not have to pay for exceeding the check in baggage allowance. The Coleman was treated as oversized luggage as it is fragile and needed to be handle with care.
During the flight, once again, I pumped twice during the entire journey. A kind and understanding stewardess directed me to a larger toilet for more comfort. She mentioned that I can use their praying area, which is covered by curtains for pumping if I want but also advised that the toilet will offer more privacy.
The flight from Paris to KL took almost 12 hours. All in, from the time we departed the hotel to the time we reached home, it was about 18 hours in total. After 18 hours, all the ebm was still rock frozen although I have removed one of the industrial strength ice packs earlier. I guess the frozen ebm also helped in sustaining the coolness in the Coleman.
To sum up everything :
Before the journey :
1) Estimate how much ebm there be and bring along an ice storage box of appropriate size and sufficient amount of milk storage bags (bottles).
2) Pack luggage with the weight of ebm in mind
3) Contact the hotel to ensure they have a freezer and is willing to have the ebm kept there
4) Pack a pump and ice sheets in a cooler bag to be carried on board for pumping during the flight
5) Prepare resquest to put ebm in hotel's freezer in local language
During the flight :
1) Express milk when everyone is eating or sleeping
2) Ask the steward / stewardess for some ice and put the ice sheet in the plane's fridge (if it is a long flight)
The journey home :
1) Line ice storage box with dried ice before putting in the frozen ebm.
2) Cover the top with towel.
3) Label the ice storage box with the phrase 'human breast milk' in English and local language
4) Strap the ice storage box (to prevent accidental opening)
No comments:
Post a Comment