[JuniperMama]

Due to a health crisis in my family we are going to be flying home for Christmas. We've never flown with DS before but I know we're going to have TONS of stuff by the time we pack for him, plus our stuff, plus the Christmas presents.

I am trying to get back on a pumping schedule on home days but I would really rather not take the full PIS since we'll have so much other stuff to lug around. I was wondering if anyone has used the hand pump that Medela includes with the PIS and if so - what do you think of it? Is it easy to use? Is there another manual pump that's better? I've heard of Isis and Avent manual pumps but I don't know anything about them...

I was kind of wondering about going to manual pump on home days anyway - what do you think about this in general? Do you find that you get much with a manual pump? Is it easier or harder?

Thanks.

 

[Dylan'sMom]

I have used the manual part of my Medela PIS. Its a little tricky to put together sometimes, but fairly easy to use once assembled. I think once you get a rythm down its pretty easy.

I just took a trip with DS and took it along instead of the full pump just in case. Never actually used it on this trip, but it was a lot easier to pack then lugging the PIS around. Turned out that DS nursed a lot more than usual. Of course that could have been because we went to the high desert area of Santa Fe and we are used to the humid air here in Alabama.

Good luck in your travels & remember you do have 50 pounds per bag to work with. :LOL

Tip #1: If you take your carseat and there are open seats they will let you use it for free.

Tip#2: If you also take a stroller in the airport and check it at the airplane it does not count towards your checked baggage limit. (Glad we found that out!! - Extra baggage is $40 or more per bag) Your carseat doesn't count either if they have to check that.

Hope I was of some help.

Maria

 

[dawndup]

I always carried my PIS with me and have never tried the hand pump with the PIS! I have the Traveler so I can remove all of the parts of the pump and pack them compactly in my carryon bag.

sorry I'm not much help

 

[JuniperMama]

I'm so silly - that's a great idea! I completely forgot that I can just take everything out of the bag and pack the pieces and not deal with the whole bag. What a goofball I am sometimes. Thanks for the reminder!

Do you think it would be ok to check it in my suitcase or should I plan to try to carry it on? I'd rather not carry on any more than I absolutely have to but I don't want it to break god knows!

 

[schatz]

do you exclusively pump or only when not with your dc? Seems that if you exclusively pump, a hand pump for a week might adversely affect your supply.

Anyway, I've travelled many times for work (without my dd) starting when she was 9 months old. I have used the hand pump that comes with the PIS and HATED it. My arm hurt from trying to use it and I found that it didn't work very well for me. (caveat - I never had a huge supply and had to work for every ounce so that may have had an impact on my experience)

For my trips I got an Avent Isis and loved it (well, as much as anyone can love a pump :LOL). It worked very well, I had a good let-down with it and got out a good amount but it did take longer than the PIS. But, I didn't have to lug the PIS and could just pump in my seat on the plane (I was on an overseas flight). I got mine on ebay for half the price of retail but it was brand new.

Good luck!

eta: not sure about checking your pump. I just put my hand pump in my carry-on. I'm super leary of checking luggage in general so I would probably carry it on and check a different piece of luggage. Pretty pricey if you lose it or it gets irrepairably damaged.

 

[JuniperMama]

I am not an EPer - we nurse exclusively except when I am at work. I just wanted to get back into the habit I've gotten out of of doing one pumping per day on home days so that I can build back up my freezer stash.

Maybe I will try the Isis just to have another option than the PIS... I hear that some women use the PIS at work and a manual at home and do well with that...

I am so freaked out about pumping on home days because of the fear that I won't have enough the next time I go to nurse - I'm trying to work my way through it...

:

What to do, what to do... *sigh*

 

[schatz]

you could try pumping on one side while nursing on the other to get back in the swing. This should work especially well in the morning when supply tends to be greatest. I never had a big freezer stash - typically pumped just enough for the next work day - but when my first trip out of town was approaching and I would be away from my ebf baby for a week, I had to pump like crazy. So the first thing I did was start pumping while nursing for the morning feedings and it worked well.

Since you nurse your babe when at home, I would just take a hand pump with you for this trip and then concentrate on starting up the at-home-day pumping when you get back. Just my $.02.

 

[JuniperMama]

I have one side that produces FAR less than the other so I'm not sure how much good it will do me to pump while I feed since I offer that side first but then I always have to give the other side and if I've just pumped it we're going to have a problem. KWIM?