Hello from 28,000 feet! I am currently en route to Las Vegas for a work conference, where I’ll hopefully fit in some bleisure. I woke up at 3:30 this morning so I could manage my morning routine, as well as finish packing my AWAY bag with my final must-bring: my Spectra breast pump.
I learned last year that road tripping while pregnant is no joke, and between our recent trip to San Francisco and this one, I’ve learned there are a lot of nuances to traveling with a breast pump as well. These are my recommendations:
• Put your pump in your personal item. In the event you unexpectedly need to check your carry-on, you’ll want to make sure you have your pump with you. Just in case. While I sandwiched my electric pump into my suitcase this time, I have my hand pump, a Medela Symphony, in my backpack.
• Consider bringing a hand pump. You don’t know what your outlet situation will be, and you can snag these for ~$25 on Amazon. Plus, they’re a little more inconspicuous than a bulky electric pump. I used my Symphony to pump on a recent drive to and from Rainbow River – I wasn’t the one driving though!
• Make your layover a long one. While a direct flight is preferred, a long layover can be helpful in giving you time to pump en route – especially if you have to get creative with your pumping location. In both ATL and LAS, I have ended up pumping in the wheelchair accessible bathroom because they didn’t have nursing rooms in my terminal. I was very glad not to be in a rush.
LAS 
ATL
• Know your milk storage plan. While flying, and traveling away from home in general, I’ve found the easiest thing for me to do is pump and dump. While I hate to see milk literally go down the drain, it means I don’t have to deal with keeping it cold or frozen until I can get back home. That being said, you have options for storing it! You’ll just want to plan ahead so you’re ready to go.
• Be prepared for security to flag you. On my way home from SFO, my backpack was pulled to the side for additional screening. The TSA agent asked me if I had any electronics in my bag, and I said yes – a breast pump. She confirmed that’s what it looked like, and then swabbed it, just in case. It definitely added time to my normally speedy trip through security, thanks to my TSA Pre-check, so make sure you have time allotted for it.I plan to be done pumping when I head to Ireland next March, but I’m glad that for the couple trips I’ve taken this year, I’ve been able to make it work.