Working as a Flight Attendant and Breastfeeding...can It Work?

L., don't quit. Find a way to make it work. I hope other moms write in with their advice but mine would be to contact Le Leche League in your area for advice from a group leader who may know other moms who have also experienced similar situations. Good luck .

Hi L.,

My boys are 9yrs and 15yrs now but I breast feed both of them and never used formula at all even though I worked and traveled too. I would pump a lot when I was feeding and then freeze it in the little bottle bags. Put the date on the bag with a permanent marker before filling it, tie it and put in freezer. When time to feed just warm up breast milk in the bag by putting it in hot water. It worked great. You should keep pumping even while you are away and just throw the milk away but that will keep your milk supply from drying up. Good luck!

Hi L., I think it's great that you are so committed to breast feeding. I am not a flight attendant but nursed both my kids for a yr. Fortunately, I was able to work from home but my sister who worked for a Royal Caribbean also nursed her son for 2 yrs. Although she worked at the port and not on a ship she would express and save. But I heard a famous newswoman (can't remember her name but she's on the Today show I think.) was always traveling for her job and she fedexed her milk to her home from wherever she was. I don't know if that's possible for you but she would place it in with those artificial ice packs and it would be okay. I know that breast milk stays fresher longer than formula at room temperature and there are a bunch of guidelines you can find online w/ more info. If you keep drinking plenty of water and expressing there is no reason that your milk supply will lessen. Hope this helps.

Hi L.,
I am also a Flight Attendant, I mostly worked 3 day trips, but occasionally did 3 day trips. I nursed both my daughters till they were a little over 2 years old. I was very determined to make it work, I remember sometimes I would look at my schedule and just have a panic attack, thinking I would not be able to pump with a 4 leg day and no break in between flight, but, let me tell you it always worked out, I always found the time. When the cleaners came on to clean I would jump into the bathroom and start pumping! Sometimes they would pound on the door to clean, so eventually I learned to ask them to clean the bathroom first, because I would be a while! I usually used a cart cover to cover the dirty sink, and put my pumping equipment on that. OH, and when it smelt, (That was the worst), I would use a coffee bag for a freshener. I would use bags to store my milk, and keep the milk with ice packs in my bag. On layovers I always requested a fridge with a freezer! Sometimes I wasn't able to get one, so I would have the hotel freeze my ice packs and I would keep the milk with me in an ice bucket......I never dumped my liquid gold!!!!!!!!!! I did of course have a stock pile of milk before I returned to work, so you will need to do the same before going on a trip! Oh and I carried 3 bags with me at work, a roller-board, a tote, and of course the Breastpump. At security, it was quite annoying, but what can you do! Some locations said the pump and all the wiring looked like a bomb and for that reason they had to throughly check it, so they did touch all the equipment! But I had everything in zip-locks! Well, if you have any specific questions, fell free to e-mail me at ____@____.com, I can also give you my phone number if you would like.
Best of luck to you L., you really can do this if you set your mind to it, and are prepared! Oh yea and always bring spare batteries!

J.

I'm a flight attendant also, and I went back to work when my baby was 7 1/2 months old. I was very nervous about being able to continue to nurse her once I started flying again, but I am determined to breastfeed for at least one year! She is almost 10 months old now, and I've been able to continue nursing her, although it can be challenging. It's so important to save as much milk as you can during the first months at home, I saved a ton of milk in a deep freezer. I try to only work one or two day trips, as I can save the milk from those trips. On 3 day trips, I pump and dump the first day. And I just make time to pump, it always works out, although it can be hard at times. It will not ruin your milk supply, just keep pumping and drink lots of water. You can do it! The benefits are so worth it! Good luck.

One more thing, that was't mentioned by anyone else. I found that pumping with a picture of my son in front of me greatly increased my supply. Good luck!!

Hi L.,

I wasn't a flight attendant but did a lot of travel in my prior job and went back to work when my son was 6 months old. For short trips (2 days or less), I was able to pump and store milk and brought it home for consumption. For anything longer than 2 days, I pumped and dumped and then only kept about the last 24 hours worth. I did my first trip longer than 2 days when my son was 8 months and after that supplemented with formula. We quit breastfeeding not long after that...

Good luck!

I think if you're determined, you might be able to make it work. I don't have lots of pumping experience as I pretty much just nursed my daughter straight from the tap for 2 years. I'd suggest visiting www.kellymom.com and searching for info on pumping. I'd also post in their forums because you will probably get a ton of good info and experiences shared with you. That's the best website for breastfeeding support. I'd also start pumping now to get your body used to it and build up a good freezer stash.

I think you're awesome for nursing as long as you have and trying to keep your daughter supplied with breastmilk. Good luck!

L.,
I'm not a flight attendant, but have experience with bfing and pumping for two children...
Start an extra pumping once a day into your schedule now... for example, if your DD goes to bed for the night at 8, stay up until 11 and pump... your body will make enough to handle the demand. (Or wake up early... whatever works for you, just work in an extra "feeding" which will be pumping into your schedule.) When I went back to work, I had about 30 bags of 6 oz each in our freezer... I pumped at lunch time every day and still bf mornings, after work and bedtime to keep my supply up.
When your daughter reaches 8 months she will need fewer oz of breastmilk each day because she will be eating food as well. Don't forget to take that into account.
Both the stockpiling and the decreased need will help you stretch your resources to make it until she's 11-12 months (You can phase cow's milk in slowly around the month before your DD's first birthday.) I did end up giving my son 1 bottle of formula a day to also stretch my milk supply after returning to work. (This just helped take the stress of pumping and making sure I always "had enough" on hand... I hated seeing my "stash" deplete too quickly!)
HTH,
Enjoy your last few months at home with DD. I'm a school teacher with an 8 month old DS. I returned to work for 2.5 months when he was 4 months old... at least I got another 2 months at home with him (and his 2 3/4 year old sister this summer.) I'm back to work again in two weeks!

T.
Mom to Katie and Matthew