Breast milk, like any other food, can become spoiled if it is not handled and stored correctly. Consider some of the following suggestions on how to travel with breast milk in a diaper bag to keep it fresh and avoid spills.
Breast milk is the best item you can give your baby, and it is safe to transport in a diaper bag. There are proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins in breast milk. It also contains leukocytes, which are living cells that help fight infection. You won’t find these in baby formula. Keep reading!!
How To Travel With Breast Milk In a Diaper Bag
When going through an airport, there are different rules for breast milk than for other liquids. According to the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), “you can bring formula, breast milk, and juice in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters are permitted in carry-on luggage. Everything you need to keep your baby’s formula, breast milk, or juice cold can be brought on board in your carry-on, including ice packs, freezer packs, frozen gel packs, and other cooling accessories.
Tips to keep milk remains fresh from spoiling on the road:
If your trip will take less than four hours, you can bring your breast milk along at room temperature and not worry about keeping it cold. When stored at room temperature, breast milk can remain out on the shelf for up to four hours before it must be refrigerated. However, you should take precautions to ensure that the milk is not exposed to direct sunlight and that the temperature of the room is not higher than 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Keeping milk in an insulated cooler with ice packs will keep it cold for up to 24 hours.
- Do not fill breast milk storage bags or bottles more than three-quarters of the way. This must be done to allow for expansion.
- Don’t forget to write the pumping date on the bottle of breast milk. In this way, it’d be easier to begin using older milk.
If you are going to be traveling with frozen milk, you should either let it thaw in a container of warm water or put it in the fridge for 24 hours.
How To Travel With Breast Milk In A Diaper Bag
When going on a trip, you should not be concerned about the safety of transporting breast milk in a diaper bag. Get things rolling by:
Preparation
It is not sufficient to simply place breast milk along with the other items in a diaper bag and believe that you are prepared for any situation. No! When it comes to ensuring success in anything, proper preparation is absolutely necessary. Therefore, prior to handling the milk, you should begin by thoroughly washing your hands and the containers in which the milk is stored with warm soapy water and then rinsing both sets of items thoroughly. You would prefer that your breast milk not be contaminated and ruin your trip.
It is recommended that you use a rigid plastic bottle that has a screw cap for your storage container rather than regular plastic storage bags or bags made specifically for formula bottle storage. The last two are more likely to leak milk into your diaper bag and soak everything else in it. And milk from a plastic bottle without a screw base can easily leak into the bag.
Labeling
After you have finished filling the containers with milk, label them in a clear and concise manner. Labeling eliminates confusion regarding which bottle should be used first and which one should not be used at a given point in time.
Storing
It’s important to note that fresh breast milk won’t stay fresh in diaper bags forever, and the length of time it can be kept depends on the temperature of the bag. At 66 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, breast milk can last for 10 hours. When the temperature goes up to 79 degrees, the time goes down to 4 to 6 hours. Breast milk can stay fresh for 24 hours if it is stored at 60 degrees or lower.
So, then, what can you do to keep your breast milk from spoiling if you have to travel overnight? Some ideas are as follows:
Put the milk storage bottles inside an insulated lunch bag, and then place an ice pack on top of the bag. The next step is to put your insulated lunch bag, which contains the milk and ice packs, inside your diaper bag. Overnight, the milk will stay cool.
Another option is to put the milk storage bottles in a Ziploc bag and then fill the bag with ice. The next step is to place the Ziploc bag, which has been wrapped in towels, inside the diaper bag. The milk will stay cool.
Some Other Regulations
Be sure to strictly adhere to the guidelines provided by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) when transporting breast milk in diaper bags on an airplane. The guidelines for transporting breast milk are the same as those for transporting liquid medications, as outlined by the Transportation Security Administration. So, make sure you’re not a beginner and that you know what to do.
When you are packing your breast milk, make sure to put it close to the top of the diaper bag. In this manner, it would be simple to display it for the purpose of screening by security officers.
It is vitally important to report that you have breast milk available for inspection. There is a possibility that security officers will need to check any container that is more than 3 ounces for explosives. Ensure that you don’t pack more breast milk than you’ll need to get where you’re going, so you don’t waste any.
Bottom Line
Breastfeeding children can make travel challenging. However, this is not an extremely difficult task. You only need to make a decision about where you will keep the milk. Then you should do your research to find out how to store the milk in such a way that it maintains its high quality and remains fresh for as long as possible. To avoid any inconveniences, keep in mind to familiarise yourself with the airline’s policies regarding bringing breast milk on board and abide by them.
We hope that this article will be helpful to you which is based on how to travel with breast milk in a diaper bag, you should follow the guidelines given in this article to maintain the temperature of the milk.