Breatfeeding, pumping and travelling

My friend has been successfully expressing milk while she is travelling abroad. below is her experience. She also shared her experience in suzette's blog, which has encouraged her a lot. Hope this will encourage more mothers to breastfeed even need to travel more.

"I managed to bring back frozen milk from my last trip to Lyon, France. Transit Amsterdam. Total travel time after checking out from hotel ( after packing the frozen milk in the cool box) till Malaysia: 19 hours.

What i learnt:
KLM air line latest policy: one luggage per person. ie we must check in our ice box in our luggage bag

How to obtain dry ice?
I had difficulty obtaining dry ice from Novotel, Lyon, France. Actually bought techni ice ice pack from babyland, SS2 ( RM25, cheaper than other shops) , freeze it in the freezer at -18 celcius for 5 days, and used it as dry ice. My husband was creative enough to get paper bags from small cafes so we didn’t have to wrap the ebm one by one with oversized newspapers. Once we took the frozen ebm out from the freezer we just put each packet of ebm in those paper bags.

How to fill up space in the ice box as towel was bit bulky. my ice box was smaller then your’s.
We scrunched newspapers to fill up the spaces in the ice box, these were also useful as insulators.

Where to find place to pump?
Initially while i was touring around the old town of Lyon, i tried to pump in toilets, hospital toilet, hotel toilet.. after that i gave up finding toilets. I just brought a scarf, wrapped it around me, and pumped at the benches along the park. That was more feasible.

How was the security in Lyon, France?
They didn’t allow me to bring in ice packs and my chilled milk that i had expressed at the air port. I had already checked in my luggage. So had to throw that away ;( i tried to explain that i’m a breastfeeding mom. They said only if my baby was with me, then only i could carry milk. Otherwise i need a doctor’s letter.)

Airlines and local securities are totally TWO different things.
I emailed airport securities at KLIA, AMSTERDAM, LYON and also my airline: KLM.

Reply from KLM CRM MANAGER: Breastmilk is not a restricted item and may be taken onboard. You may carry a total of 2.5 KG in dry ice packs. If you are expressing at the airport/onboard you can arrange a request with our KLM reservations to have a note made in your booking : SRFRAG IN CABIN – we can then confirm that you are taking the pump/milk with you. Do take note of course that the actual security check at airports is not controlled (or owned) by the airlines – so if the officers at the security check have any doubts they have a right to question and make a final decision. (which i DID have problems with the security in Lyon. STRICTLY NO LIQUIDS UNLESS YOU HAVE A BABY WITH YOU OR DOCTOR’S LETTER.

Reply from KLIA Corporate Communications Office:
Please be advised that the exemptions for baby milk/food as hand carry is as below:
•Baby milk/food must be accompanied by infant of age 7 or below.
•Proof of authenticity and justification for exempted liquids for medical or special and dietary needs
If the traveller is travelling without her baby, she must provide a letter to prove that she has a baby and certified by medical practitioner that the liquid is her breast milk.

 i feel so happy after this success !! glad that u could do it for Cherilynn. tough though!! but thanks for all the support from u and my husband and friends
michelle

My spectra breastpump need service after 3 1/2 years!

So busy with my house reno and so busy at work, and of course busy taking care of the 2 kids, making me hardly got time to blog.
I have been using spectra 2 to double pump. I must say, apart from bulky ( 2 kg weight!) and require to plug in, it is a good and durable pump. I only need to send it for service after it has been used for 3 and half years. The reason for service is the switch is broken, and that's likely I have put too many staffs in the bag ( it a shoe bag actually), and the book has pressed against the switch so hard, causing the plastic covering the switch broken.
I send to Histopoint at Subang Jaya. The switch only cost RM5, and the service cost RM60. Since its an electrical item and has been in use for that long, so I agree to pay for the service, which claim to clean up incase any milk gets in.
Now its as good as new.

So I highly recommend Spectra for any working mom.

HX update :7 months old

After one month, HX has gained another 300g. Her weight now is 6.95kg. ya she is reaching HE weight at 1 year old. However, both HE and HX fell sick again. ya..again! running nose and cough.
and that's the reason HX is weighed, due to a visit at Dr Koe's clinic, just to make sure her lung is clear, after cough and running nose for a week.
Now she is into the second week, the symptoms get better and worse. like today the running nose seems to be clearing up, then the next day, she got 2 columns running down once she sneeze. HE also cough on and off.
I really feel tired of rubbing her nose. HX has just recovered last month, then this flu attack again. sigh...hope it goes off soon...soon...s..o..o..n

By the way, HX also starts to climb couch with her hands. She can reach higher level, i.e I have to start lifting stuff to higher level and more childproofing. tiring...tiring...

HX update-6 months old

Too overwhelmed by the locked car incidence and have forgotten to update HX progress.
At last follow up at Klinik Kesihatan, her weight is 6.6kg, length is 66cm ( increased by 4cm after last month).
She also grows a tooth, ya only a tooth from bottom. I am not sure if this is normal, as usually it should be 2 at the same time. Somehow HX tend to have one side different from another, be it hair, eye, dimple. Hope its just that.

Also, she started crawling since 5 months old, now she know how to sit up.

Baby locked in a car alone!

This morning I brought HX for vaccination. After that we went to Tesco to get her some Heinz rice cereal. Its just a quick shopping. As we went back to car park, I started the car engine, throw my bag in, push down the car lock ( as having phobia people may snatch car while I am buckling up HX), after I'd done buckling HX, out of habit I closed the door. At the very second, I realized that HX was left in a locked car alone!, with my handphone, car key all in a locked car! and I forgot to on aircond too!

I was panic and called for help from two old folks having lunch in the next car ( dun know why, but that's not the issue). They were very helpful and the husband went to seek mechanic help from a nearby mechanic shop. We waited and waited. I was really anxious. In the mean time, HX seemed very happy inside, she smiled and smiled. No matter how panic I was, I tried to keep HX entertained by knocking on the door and playing peek-a-boo with her. Then came a few other residents nearby. I managed to borrow a handphone to call hubby to come back quickly to get spare key, although it would take him around minimum 20 mins to arrive! Then a lady was suggesting locksmith, but she said no need since the spare will come in 20mins, must as well save the RM80 service fees. But I couldn't care more about the money, I was very concerned that HX would start crying, and it was stuffy inside without air-cond at all! I hoped to get her out immediately!

Another lady came and suggested why not try the locksmith inside tesco itself. She was very helpful to help me to run up to call for one. The locksmith finally came, he checked and called his boss, also RM80 service fees. Deal! As he went back to get his tools, what I was worried came, HX started crying. I tried Peek-a-boo a few times, it giggle her for first few times and failed later. Then she was distracted by another gentleman who was brought by the old folk earlier, stop crying for a while and started again. Its so scary for me to see her crying but couldn't her at all! 

Finally the locksmith returned, he did something to the lock, and in 2 mins, the car was unlocked and could be opened (without siren at all). I was so thankful, quickly took out RM80 ( I was so glad that I didn't use cash to pay just now as I only got RM90 in my purse). What's more important was HX, I couldn't imagine if she was kept inside any longer. 

I learn the lesson the hard way. I will always keep the car key with me until finishing buckling up my kids and sit in the driver seat. This thing should never happen again. 

HX fall off bed

This morning HE wake up early this morning and quickly she wants to lie beside HX. As usual, hubby and I will get out of bed to prepare ourselves for work, leaving them on the bed. Most of the time HE is still asleep while HX has already wake up but playing in the cot.
However as I am washing my face, I notice that HX is gone to another side of main bed while HE is beside her in the middle of the bed. I am not alert enough to relocate HX, instead I proceed rinsing my face. Just in a second, HE :"wou..." I notice something wrong, and found HX has gone off the bed and ended on the floor. I am shocked! Quickly I picked up HX and angrily accusing HE for pulling HX to the open end of the bed and I also slap her at the arm. The next scene is both HE and HX are crying.
After a while HX has stopped crying, but there is red bump on the right side of her head. Then I console back HE. She still deny that she has pulled HX. She claimed that HX has gone there herself.
Now thinking back, it is not impossible that HX rolls herself there. I shouldn't blame HE rightaway, making her a blacksheep. Nowadays I scold HE a lot, I am afraid it will become the pattern of communicating which is unhealthy. I should be careful and control myself. My temper has gone out recently which I donno why. Because I am too tired of juggling 2 kids, work and renovation thingy? Tonight I got to adore HE more to compensate.
Hope that HX do not have any problem due to the fall.

Respiratory tract infection-3 infected, one still free

Ya, myself, HX and HE were all down with fever and cough and running nose, one after another, first me, then HX, then HE. I am not so worry about HE since she is already 3 and all this while she has been quite strong to withstand any cough or cold, normally she would have cough for 2-3 days then no more, without fever at all. However, this time also she end up with fever for nearly 2 days.
HX, on the other hand, make me worry more, since she is only 5 months old. I start to regret that I didn't make hygienic precaution like wearing masks or using alcohol handrubs. I thought HX should be protected by getting the antibody through breastfeeding. But it seem this virus is reall strong one (otherwise HE won't have fever). HX has a bad blocked nose wih occasional cough. She has fever only for one day, then no more for the next 2 days. However the fever returns again yesterday and couldn't settled by tepid sponging until she is fed paracetamol syrup. I am quite worry as I am concerned about supreimposing bacterial infection. If today there is anymore fever, I need to bring her to see doctor again especially to check her lung. Her blocked nose is so bad that she has to open her mouth to breath. When she is breastfed, she has to unlatch several times to catch some breath. Poor little baby. HX also becomes quite cranky and keeping requesting (by making pitiful sound) to be carried.
As in this time when I am typing, I thank God that HX fever has settled, today she has no fever, but blocked nose and cough are still bad, HE also has some mild running nose and occasional cough. Overall, it seems getting better though. I hope all this is getting over soon, as I am so exhausted, being sick and taking care of the sicked children. Thank God for hubby, the only healthy standing, has helped to take good care of us