Traveling can be stressful – needing to express milk when in a rush or at a busy, public place like airports can be frustrating and intimidating. For breastfeeding moms it can seem impossible to find the privacy or time to feed your infant while traveling – and many may be too intimidated to form a plan. The first thing you need is equipment you can trust that doesn’t take up your entire carry-on luggage. You also need to consider things like battery length and supplies needed to express milk. The last thing you want is a broken pump or a dead battery and that “Mount Rushmore breast” feeling.
Feeding infants with a bottle while they are safely secured in the car seat on planes is the ideal way to feed a baby. Removing a baby from that car seat to breast feed is taking a chance you may regret. Unexpected turbulence is just that – unexpected. Holding an infant during flight is not safe.
Medela will take care of your breast feeding needs with style and ease. Whether you prefer the manual pump or the electric, the advances Medela has made will calm your fears – breastfeeding moms are taken care of with ready-to-travel superb equipment!
Medela has a reputation in the lactation community of being reliable and a leader in professionalism and research.
A quality breastfeeding product from Medela, the Harmony manual breastpump is easy to use, easy to clean, and even utilizes a unique 2-Phase Expression. The 2-Phase Expression Technology allows you to use the top part of the handle to pump quickly, mimicking a baby’s quick suckling to stimulate let-down. Once let-down occurs, switch to the main handle for a slower pump and the expression phase.
The SoftFit Breastshields are sturdy and comfortable, and the swivel handle has an ergonomic shape that makes pumping a breeze. The Harmony pump is easily assembled and disassembled, and has fewer parts than some manual pumps, making cleaning quicker.
For those times when you’re on-the-go and need to pump, the Harmony is ideal. The 5 oz. bottles used with the Harmony can not only be used for collection but for storage and feeding as well. Add the Harmony to your carry-on list if you need a quiet, comfortable, quality manual breastpump.
Want to bring along your electric pump but not willing to lug the huge pump through an airport and onto the plane? With the size of many electric pumps requiring a suitcase just to carry them, moms will appreciate the latest and greatest electric pump on the market!
Welcome Medela Freestyle! Finally, a lightweight, mobile, fit-in-the-palm of your hand, quality breastpump. This pump has just the right features to make it convenient for those times when you’re breastfeeding on-the-go. For the traveling mother, one of the best features of this pump is its size. The pump weighs less than 1 lb. and fits in the palm of your hand.
Since pumping time is usually limited while traveling through the airport, moms will also appreciate the ability to choose either single or double pumping with the Medela Freestyle Pump.
Most breast-feeding travelers don’t have much time to pump. That’s why the Freestyle pump is so great – the pump is easy to assemble, and comes with accessories to allow for hands-free pumping. If you have a million things to get done, attach the hands-free accessories and multi-task!
I especially like the technology of this pump. A memory button allows moms-on-the-go to easily save and use a favorite pumping pattern. The pump utilizes a 2-Phase pumping program. The Stimulation Phase runs for 2 minutes, and can be cut short if let-down occurs sooner. After the Stimulation Phase, the Expression Phase begins. All the while, you are in control of the suction level with the ability to increase or decrease the pump’s vaccuum.
The Medela Freestyle pump comes with:
2 Breastshield bodies; 2 Membranes; 2 Back Caps
2 Replacement adapters; 2 Small (yellow) straps; 2 Large (gray) straps
Now that we have found the best pumps for travel, how do you clean on the go?
Medela once again provides a quality product for sterilizing your breastfeeding supplies and accessories. With the Quick Clean Micro-Steam Bags you can be confident that your supplies are being cleaned properly. Much more sanitary than hand-washing and more convenient and quicker than a dishwasher or boiling, these bags are a huge help to the breastfeeding mother.
When traveling, most hotels have microwaves in the rooms, and if there is no microwave in your room, simply ask at the front desk to use one. Add water to the bag with your supplies and microwave! In 3 minutes your supplies are sterile! And, the bags are reusable - up to 20 uses per bag. How great for the mom-on-the-go – effective and convenient sterilization!
What about storing your breastmilk on-the-go? The Medela Breastmilk Feeding and Storage Containers are great for traveling. These containers connect directly to the Medela pumps so you don’t have to worry about transferring your precious milk to a storage bag or bottle (think of the all the germs around you when traveling!). Attach the Feeding and Storage container to the breast pump (with the Freestyle Pump you could pump both sides at the same time), pump, store, and feed all with the same product!
These containers are compact – ideal for travel when space is usually limited. The measurements on the side of the containers will let you know exactly how much you’re pumping and how much you’re baby is eating.
Everything you’ll need for pumping on-the-go!
Congratulations to Medela! 
Your breast feeding supplies have been Jet With Kids Approved! as a valuable resource for traveling moms!
This product review has been done by the Jet With Kids Review Team (Co-Founders): Anya Clowers, RN and Rachel Snyder – breast-feeding, traveling mom.
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