Breastfeeding and Travelling | ExpatWoman.com
 

Breastfeeding and Travelling

103
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 17:04

I am flying home to the UK this weekend with my 2 month old who is exclusively breastfed. This is our first flight and I am a little nervous about the logistics of breastfeeding ! My hubby will be with us on the way out but we are coming back ourselves in 3 weeks time.

I am just thinking it may be difficult, firstly with the space restrictions (I got a bassinet seat but hubby couldn't get seated next to us or so he says :) ) and secondly, I have never seen anyone breastfeed when flying - will people look at me like I am weird?

As you can tell I am new to this game and a bit nervous! I do express and baby does take a bottle of expressed milk from time to time but thought this may be a nightmare at security so wasn't planning on bringing any bottles.

Anyone with advice / tips / words of wisdom, your thoughts greatly appreciated!

103
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 06 July 2011 - 09:07
Thanks everyone, appreciate all your comments, flying on Saturday morning so will update after that on how it went!
429
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 21:25
honestly, not many "single" travellers want to risk sitting next to a small baby... so i am sure they will be more than happy to change seats with your DH.
2782
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 20:08
I have always BF when flying with my LO, and have generally seen most other mums who are near me in the bassinet row doing the same. Have never had a weird look or comment. They often only "guarantee" the bassinet seat for you but try ringing the airline, making sure you are on the same booking reference and then once you board, insist to the flight attendants that you be seated together, I have had to do this and they happily moved some people around to make sure were. It baffles me that they don't guarantee it for the husband and then let single men with no kids request the bassinet row. There is plenty of space even with the bassinet folded down and at 2 months your baby will no doubt just sleep and eat the whole flight.
429
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EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 19:27
breastfed both my kids and the older one has been thru about 30 flights by the time he was 18months.. so dont worry abt it..
1861
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EW EXPERT
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 18:42
you shouldn't have any issues at all. The great thing is that you can feed whenever, so do so at take-off and decent and you won't have any issues with the pressure in bubs' ears... what's even better is that it'll just look as if you're cuddling your baby so people may stop and chat to you whilst waiting for the loo without even realising you're feeding (I used to do so without any kind of cover/poncho thing). Flights were one of the moments when I was sooooo happy to be breastfeeding as opposed to having to lug around. test and worry about a supply of formula!
Anonymous (not verified)
0
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 17:35
feed away, noone will even care, pray that the flight isn't full and ask the check in staff to leave the seat next to you empty. I'm as discreet as I can be with nosy "oooh what's happening over there" DD and now I figure if someone sees a millimetre of flesh that *shock*horror* might be part of my boob then bully for them... they're the weird ones for staring. nothing weird in feeding your baby in the most normal way. just think how much faff it would be to carry expressed milk, keep it cool/clean - when your b00bs do all that job for you and the security isn't going to ask you to prove that the milk in your b00bs is that and not some other noxious substance (as they might ask you to taste the milk in a bottle) this will be the easiest flight you'll do, baby will fit in bassinet and probably sleep with the drone of the engines, you can eat your meal and watch a film.
1234
Posts
EW OLDHAND
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 17:32
aaa, beauty of bf is that milk is always ready :) no mess with formulas, water, bottles :) don't worry about bf on the plane :) just make yourself and your baby comfortable :)
671
Posts
EW GURU
Latest post on 05 July 2011 - 17:13
I have breastfed many, many times on a plane, and never had any problems at all. If anyone looks at you funny, I would say they are the weird one not you :D. Plus which would they rather - a contented baby, or a hungry baby crying for food or to equalise their ear pressure? If you're on an aisle, you should be able to lift the arm rest to give your little one a bit of legroom on one side as you feed. To be honest, though, this age is far and away the best age to travel with - little ones tend to sleep a lot on the flight, and are not mobile and don't need "occupying" much either. Have a great flight! xx
 
 

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