Suggestions on How to Ship Pumped Milk While Traveling

Hi -

I did ship my milk home on several business trips when I was breastfeeding.

I got supplies from Uline ahead of time and brought them with me so that I would not have to find anything while on my business trip. (http://www.uline.com/). I bought insulated shipping boxes and cold packs (you can see them here: (http://www.uline.com/Catalog_View.asp?rfx_page=39&IND.... I bought the cold packs because when frozen solid (I used the freezer at the hotel), they will keep your milk cold for the shipment, and it was easier than dealing with dry ice.

I pumped my milk and put it in breastmilk freezer bags. I kept those in the refrigerator. Only the ice packs were frozen. I used FedEx to ship it home - priority overnight so that it'd get there in the morning. I had to go to a special FedEx location anyway becuase i was shipping a liquid and the Kinko's location wouldn't accept it. My husband told me that my milk would arrive very cold and everything worked out great.

I hope this helps!
C.

Hi T.,
I had so much milk when I was breastfeeding I ended up donating it. The hospital I donated it to was a few states away from me and required shipping. They sent me a kit to do this, and I think it will describe what you need to do. They used plastic 4-oz bottles, which I froze in a regular freezer. I'm guessing you can request a fridge or freezer from your hotel. When I was ready to send, I put them in a styrofoam cooler and added 2 lbs of dry ice. Then I UPS'd it overnight to them. You can buy 5lb chunks (that's about the size of a medium phone book - not big at all) of dry ice at stores like Meyer. You'll probably want to check for a location before you leave so you're not trying to work in an out-of-town office and run around to find dry ice. Also, please note that UPS changed their policy on shipping containers with dry ice. They still do it, but only from certain shipping centers. You'll also want to call ahead and find the right one before you travel. Styrofoam coolers you'll likely be able to find the same place you find the dry ice, but it never hurts to call ahead. The cooler just goes in a normal, cardboard box. UPS probably has ones you can use at their shipping centers.
Good luck!
Mary-Claire

I know you have to use dry ice and ship in a cooler. I think I read somewhere once that Fed Ex is one of the only carriers that will ship it/ship it reliably. I am going to do some searching on the internet for you try to remember where I saw that. But you know they are extra careful about what is in the mail these days. My Mom used to get donor milk long ago shipped to her for my brother because he was lactose intolerant and she didn't make enough milk for him due to a hormone issue and they didn't have all the soy formula options they do today.

http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/...

this one is good
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/...

http://forums.llli.org/showthread.php?t=3770&page=2

http://www.amitymama.com/vb/foster-caring-adopting-mamas/...

That sounds like so much work. I am nursing as well but have been able to get tons in the freezer. Do you have a stash at all? I used to pump out after every feeding to start stockpiling so as she got older I could cut out a feeding so I didn't have to pump at work anymore and she was still getting breastmilk. GREAT intentions, hope something works out.

You would have to ship it frozen and packed in dry ice to keep it that way. getting small quantities of dry ice is all but impossible and it also requires special handling during shipping