60 QRCA VIEWS WINTER 2 014 www.qrca.org
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TRAVEL
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New Travel Adventures:
Saga of the
Nursing Mom
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s QRCs we are all familiar with the various travel
woes or, to be optimistic, adventures we can face –
delayed and cancelled flights, long security lines,
overbooked hotels, weather-related issues, and the
list goes on and on. Like the rest of you, I'm used to these
travel issues and take them in stride. There is not much I can
do about them and they are part of the job. I accepted them
long ago. However, becoming a first-time mom opened my eyes
to an entirely new set of adventures.
I barely traveled during my pregnancy, but since my
daughter was born I've had to travel quite a bit. I had decided
to nurse my daughter and was not going to let my need to
travel for work change that decision. I would not be bringing
my infant daughter with me for business, so the plan was to
pump milk beforehand to leave a supply at home, pump
while traveling, then bring the milk home with me.
While it requires more time, I have become very adept at
the additional arrangements I have to make when I travel.
All the hotel rooms need to have refrigerators. Amazingly,
I find this easier to do in Europe than in the United States.
I also must have access to a freezer so I can freeze the ice
packs to transport the milk to the next city or home. The
hotel staff often laughs when I bring the freezer packs down
in a Ziploc® bag labeled with my name, room number and
cell phone number; but I quickly realized the importance of
doing this.
