Exclusively pumping at WDW

[Angela0917]

Has anybody done WDW with a baby while they are exclusively pumping? DD has a cleft palate and is unable to nurse so I've been exclusively pumping since she was a week old, she is almost 6 months now. I'm starting to freak out about everything, such as if I'll have a problem getting my pump and milk through security at the airport, what I'll do if I have a low milk day without my freezer stash, how I'll keep my milk cool enough all day at the park, how hard it's going to be to pump/store everything. Our flight will be getting to Orlando at 9:30am, do you think if we explained the situation to Disney they could make sure to have a room for us when we arrived so that I'll have a place to keep the pump so I don't have to take it to the park and can get the milk in refrigerator? I don't want to leave it at the desk because I don't want to take the chance of it getting mixed up. If anybody's done it i'd love to hear your experiences, or If anybody has any suggestions or tips, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

 

[Jennyj13]

NO worries! Disney is THE most accomodating for nursing and pumping mothers. I pump exclusively and did it for 4 days at Disneyland no problem. They have these places in each of their parks called Disney Baby Centers that have everything that you need. They have private places to pump (usually a chair behind a curtain with an outlet.)They have a fridge, they have microwaves, they have extra diapers, you name it. One of the ladies who worked in there, asked me on my second day if I was hauling my pump around in the stroller. I told her yes and she told me that I could store my pump at the First Aid office! So accomodating and amazing! Google "Baby Care Centers Disney World" and you will find all the info you need!

As far as getting on the plane, they will let you on with pumped milk, even if it's more than the alloted 3 oz. You should have no problem. Don't stress about it. They make it SO easy for mom's!

Good luck!

 

[brooke789]

I EPed for my twins for 18 months. I didn't visit WDW, but just wanted to add that what I'd do is right before you leave feed them from their freezer stash so that you take a few extra pumpings worth of milk.

Does your car have outlets? If so (or you could buy a car to regular plus converter) you could drive from your hotel to the park and pump in the car to and from and that would save you some time. We usually go camping for our vacations so I've pumped in the car a lot. Just use a nursing cover for privacy. Actually I'd just use a a nursing cover in the baby center too just in case you can't get one of the private areas.

 

[msmama]

I wasn't a pumper but I think there have been big long threads with info about this before. Try searching (and if the search doesn't work try googling). I know lots of moms have done it and I am sure there is lots of advice out there.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Tropics]

I was EPing when we were there in January. At the time I was having trouble with my milk supply after the stress of a car accident (which coincidentally was the reason for the accident... I was worrying about what to do about my low supply while we were in Florida for two weeks). I've been doing this for 13 months now (and hoping to stop as soon as we can figure out a good non-cows milk alternative for DD).

I have flown twice while pumping and never had a problem with airport security. They will let you through with pumped milk as well. I took ~5 bags of frozen milk out of my freezer stash to use just to get ahead. I then took 2-3 fresh bottles (each freezer bag and bottle being 5 oz). All of these were packed in a medela cooler bag with the freezer pack. That frozen milk survived an 8 hour journey to WDW (stopovers) and when left in the freezer pack and put in the fridge in our room at the Poly remained frozen for 3-4 days! We had no problem taking that much milk through security. On the way back through Tampa we didn't even have to take the bottles out of the cooler bag.

Bring a freezer pack. You might not be able to freeze it in your room but bell services have a big fridge/freezer and they gladly freeze it for you. We left stuff with bell services in their fridge/freezer on the day we checked out. No worries about your arrival.

As for pumping in the car... use your car travel time to your advantage! I've become quite good at strapping on my pump when we are going somewhere so that I don't need to take time out to pump.

If you are worried about your milk supply while you are away I would suggest that you get some fenugreek and blessed thistle before you leave.

Start taking it a week before you leave trying to get your body almost to the point of oversupply. Keep taking the herbs while you are there. I found that this worked well because I was not pumping at the same regular intervals while I was away so this helped make sure that my supply didn't drop too much (it really worked when I had food poisoning later on our trip, not at Disney, and didn't feel well enough to pump more than twice one day).

Another tip is to get the medela cleaning wipes. They make clean up much easier if you are pumping on the go. You need to let your parts air dry after using the wipes before the parts can be used again but you don't need to worry too much about having dirty parts this way. I was able to take advantage of this when I had to pump at the Charlotte airport (great airport for doing this as they have a small nursing bench in each bathroom) and again at Ohare in Chicago (worst airport for pumping as they had no private nursing spaces so I had to tuck myself into a corner of the waiting area to pump).

Travelling when EPing is not a problem with a small bit of advance planning.

Out of curiosity, are you using the special needs feeder/haberman feeder for your daughter? We had to use it because of serious tongue/mouth disorganization so DD couldn't use a regular bottle for a long time.

 

[Angela0917]

Thank you guys so much for your advice! We aren't driving or renting a car, so I'll mostly be pumping at the resort. I have a medela pump in style advance and we are planning to do midday breaks at the hotel everyday. DS is 3 and DD will be 6 months so even if we didn't have the pumping issues we'd still be taking breaks. So I was planning to pump in the morning, afternoon when we first get to hotel and again right before leaving, and then evening, maybe even twice in the evening depending what time we get back. I also have a small manual pump that I plan to keep in diaper bag incase I need to pump at park, but I'm hoping to get by without it. I was also thinking of getting a can of formula just in case, even though dd hasn't had since her first week. We've also started purees and cereal, and not that I'd ever use that as a substitute for milk, but if I get stuck I know I could give her that in a pinch. I'm sure everything will work out fine, but now that we're less than a month away I'm getting nervous!

Yes we do use special needs feeder haberman bottles. She has a feeding therapist that comes to work with her every week and she just started introducing sippy cups this week. Hoping she 'll be able to somewhat use them before the trip.

 

[epsmith921]

Exclusively pumped for a year with my daughter (never at disney, we left her home for that trip!) and found that on trips it would have been awesome if I would have had a nursing cover. Never bought one since I always had privacy for pumping. I also think your idea about bringing some formula is a good one. I found just having some with us helped me not feel stressed about supply. I just brought the little powder packs we'd gotten as free samples and we wound up only mixing up one bottle of it since teething was starting while we were away and her whole feeding schedule was just off.

I've found that almost anyone you tell "hey I'm nursing and I need to pump" basically just asks you what you need and helps you as much as they can.

 

[SweetMissy]

You're awesome for exclusively pump!! Once I went back to work I only had to pump once/shift so I can't imagine having to do it 24/7...would if I had to obviously but wow...good for you. There's a breastfeeding thread here, search for it. There's probably tons of good info there. Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

You are amazing!

Be SURE to keep yourself hydrated. That's going to be your number one issue, IMO.

I wonder if for this trip you can focus the most on feeding baby what you've just pumped, so that you're not as worried about keeping it cold? Carry a cooler bag (we like the Igloo MaxCold backpack, it's at Target) for a little extra, of course.

Bell Services has refrigerators and you can have your stash in something obviously yours and have them put that into the fridge. I haven't heard of people getting their stuff mixed up like you're worrying about, especially not fridge stuff. Have it in bags in a cooler with bright tags or something all over it so it's REALLY hard to misplace and very easy to recognize?

 

[khaoskat]

Checked on this a year ago, as we were going to fly and I was pumping...

You can take up to about a days worth of expressed milk with you (not frozen). They may have you test it (ie pour some into a disposable cup and test it for banned stuff not allowed on planes (ie explosives).

You can also take freezer packs (as long as they are frozen solid) on the plane to keep them cool. You might consider checking with your airlines, as I know they have a mini fridge system on board or cooler area. They may allow you to store your bag with milk in it up there.

Good luck. I have had to pump for a while as well to feed a child. It is not the easiest thing in the world. I would try to stick as much as possible to your normal pumping routine, even if it means using your hand pump in the parks...and check into the baby care place. Our local park allows you to store the milk or formula in the fridge in childcare, as well as leaving your pump bag there while you enjoy the park. They don't have individual rooms, but a quiet room for all mothers (nursing or not) to use to feed their baby.

 

[Angela0917]

Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to take some in a carryon and then have a pack of frozen milk in my suitcase. If it starts to thaw I will just use that first. I'm just hoping we don't have to wait long for our room so I can get everything situated. Good call on the nursing cover, I didn't think to bring one!

 

[sassie_kat]

I'm sure you know this since you're EP, if your frozen milk starts to thaw you can still use it/even re-freeze it if there are ice crystals (still frozen parts) in the bags.

How closely does your planned pumping times mimic what you do at home? If you're pumping more at home you might see a supply drop while on vacation. I only pumped for comfort while we were there 2 years ago b/c my daughter was so distracted that she often left me feeling very full even after a couple of feedings but I wasn't able to pump much out because I was stressed/out of my comfort zone. You may get more use out of the manual pump than you're anticipating - the baby care centers are awesome but not always convenient when you need them.

Best of luck! I think you're a Super Momma!!! (Are you bringing your cape with you?)

 

[Angela0917]

Thanks!! Right now I usually pump around 5am when I wake up, mid morning, mid afternoon, dinner time, and before bed. That usually gives me more than enough for the day, so if I have days where I'm busy and miss a pump or two I'm still fine, even if it causes my supply to drop. So what I'm planning to do at disney would be when I wake up, prob around the same time because we have early breakfast reservations almost everyday, after lunch, and evening with the electric. If we get back early, which I really don't see us staying out late with 2 little ones, I can do 2 pumps in evening, or if the afternoon break ends up being long I can squeeze in 2 pumps in then. Other than that I'll just use hand pump in park when needed. I'm probably stressing myself out more than necessary, lol!

I took DS when he was still nursing and it was a super easy trip! I booked this trip before DD was born not knowing that she wasn't going to be able to nurse, and actually I never thought I was going to last this long pumping! Had I known I prob would have waited until she was at least a year. But I still think its going to be a great trip, just requires more planning!

 

[annette20071]

The baby care centers and/or first aid area will have a place to pump and they will typically store the milk and pump for you so you don't have to lug it around. Have a great trip!

 

[100AcreWood]

I exclusively pumped for my first two children. I know how much work is involved so just wanted to say you're awesome for doing that .

I'll ditto the other comments about the baby care centers being awesome. It's like an oasis from the rest of the "world." Crazy quiet in there!

 

[ctpooh]

I exclusively pumped with both my children now 2 and 3. I also did it at Disney two consecutive trips. I would stop and pump every 3 hours and never had a problem. I will be honest though, we went in August so it was VERY HOT, so the frozen milk I always left frozen in a little cooler back in the AC'd room and while I was pumping my husband would be feeding the baby the milk I had previously pumped. I would carry it around with ice that the different soda places would give me in a cup. The Baby care centers were awesome and even had soap to clean the pump after each use so it was ready to use the next time. One thing that was very handy for me was I also had the medula pump and bought the conversion kit so you could pump directly into the bottles so they would be set to go.

 

[ChallengeFlag]

I just want to add, based on my experience yesterday at Epcot, that I was not allowed to leave my (large) Medela pump at the Baby Care Center. The sinks were labeled Hand Washing Only, so I had to wash my parts in the restroom sink. I had to carry my pump and milk with me.
It was easier to just carry the pump rather than put it in a locker at the front of the park since the Center is near the Mexico pavilion. That was my choice.
Maybe it depends on who is working in the center as to whether or not anyone will be allowed to leave their equipment there.

 

[BSanchez27]

Just wanted to say Kudos to you mama! I know how hard pumping is!

 

[DISNEYWITHCHILDREN]

I apologize I have not read through all the comments. But just wanted to say the Baby Care areas are fabulous. And the one in MK has a private nursing/pumping room. My daughter exclusively bfed (she would not take a bottle). I have no issues nursing in public, but when we'd be there all day I needed to take her somewhere without distractions. It was amazing to have an ac room with a rocking chair to nurse her!

 

[DISNEYWITHCHILDREN]

Oh, and I wanted to add-you are a rock star mom! Exclusively pumping has to have challenges!