Breast Milk and travel question

[09Mom]

Hello! I am in Germany for work for 6 days. Got hear Sunday and we fly back on Friday. I pumped like crazy to to have enough milk for DD at home and she'll probably deplete my entire frozen supply, I have pumped a lot in Germany but am wondering if it is safe to bring the milk back. The hotel is letting me store my milk in their "freezer" but it doesn't seem that cold to me. I was hoping that it would be totally frozen and I could bring it back frozen and use it when I got home since I'm sure it would have partially thawed. How cold does the milk really need to be? Should I at the very least dump the milk from Sunday?

[Bryan mom]

If it's frozen and thaws on your flight home, the milk should be okay, including the Sunday milk. Freezing the milk prolongs the life of the milk. Try to keep it as cold as possible on the flight back, such as having ice packs, or ice cubes. Even ask the flight attendant if she has dry ice (even my recent domestic flight had dry ice) when you get to your seat on the plane.

Just make sure you see where the hotel staff puts it in the freezer. I was in Europe and placed my milk in the hotel freezer and due to the change of staff, they had difficulty finding the milk. Thankfully, it was found at the last minute when I was ready to head off to the airport.

I've also had good information from www.kellymom.com

[Snow mom]

What I've found is that you'll know if the breast milk has gone bad. If it's really bad it will smell like spoiled milk. If I have any doubts I dip my finger in the milk and taste it before feeding it to DD. Normally it has very little taste (if anything a bit sweet.) If it has any hint of a sour taste I dump it. Most of the guidelines for milk storage are conservative. I'd keep it cold or frozen the best you can and then be cautious about checking the milk before you use it.

[09Mom]

Thank you for the posts. A German co-worker had dinner with us and explained I wanted it in the freezer, not refirgerator so they moved it. The hotel has been absolutely great about making sure everyone knew where it was. I am a bit concerend though because when I went to add milk this morning some of the milk was still not frozen and looked a little funny - very watery looking. I took some of it out as I don't think I'll have room for all my pumped milk anyway, but I don't want to lose more. What I don't understand is once I put the watery milk back in a different fridge it looks like regular milk again.

[mmsmom]

I don't want to confuse things but I find it is usually better to just refrigerate the milk because if it is frozen and thaws then it has to be used with in 24 hours and can not be re-frozen. I'm assuming after 6 days you have way more milk than can be used in 24 hours. If you know you can keep it frozen, then it's no problem. Refrigerated milk is good for 8 days & can then be frozen. So when I travel I keep it refrigerated, then pack it in a cooler with ice packs for the trip home and then freeze it when I get home.

[09Mom]

I thought it was 5 days? Is it 8 days? Will just an ice pack make it for my 16 hour day of planes, trains and automobiles before getting home? Thank you for input! First business trip w/o DD.

[09Mom]

Headed back to the states tomorrow! Anyone know if I pack the milk with an ice pack how long it can go as it naturally warms up? I am expecting a 16 hour commute.

[mmsmom]

Use a cooler, pack it tightly with the milk & as many ice packs as it will fit. Carry it with you on the plane, etc. so it's not in a hot cargo hold (plus you don't want it to get lost). I think it will stay cold enough, you can always refill with fresh ice at one of your stops if the ice packs seem to be melting. It's helpful if you can put the cooler in the freezer or fridge overnight so it is cold as well. I've seen different information about how long it can be stored, but La Leche League says refrigerator for 8 days.