A Complete Guide to Traveling With Breast Milk

Traveling with breast milk can make any Mama anxious, especially if you’re a new parent. You worked so hard for your liquid gold and certainly don’t want to waste any milk.

Maybe you’ll traveling with your baby and are an exclusive pumper, or you might be a “just enougher” and need every ounce you pack. You might be traveling with donor milk, or be packing milk for another caregiver for some time away from your baby. Finally, maybe you’ll be away from your baby and you want to bring the breast milk you pump along the way back home.

Whatever your situation, I’ll cover every detail and hopefully ease some of your anxiety and stress. The good news is, you have lots of options and ways to safely travel with your breast milk. 

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Gear recommendations 

In a hurry? Here’s my go to gear for traveling with breast milk

• Breast milk storage bags
• Artic Ice Alaskan Ice Packs
• Plastic bottles
• Ice pack for breast milk bottles
• Gallon Ziploc Bags
• Medela soft cooler
• Soft cooler for breast milk in bags
• Coleman Outlander
• TOURIT Cooler Bag
• RTIC Soft Cooler
• Titan Deep Freeze Cooler
• Portable bottle warmer
• Cooler thermometer
• Bluetooth cooler thermometer 

How much breast milk you’ll be traveling with

First things first, it’s a good idea to figure out how much milk you’ll be traveling with. How you go about packing your breast milk and what gear I recommend will depend on how much milk you plan on having and how long you need it to stay cold for. Obviously short trips will be easier with less to think about than longer trips. 

Traveling with frozen breast milk

Whether your breast milk will be fresh or frozen will also matter. Traveling with frozen breast milk, I think, takes a little more consideration than if you’re traveling with fresh breast milk. This is because if your frozen breast milk completely thaws out, the recommendation is to use it within 24 hours.

Please remember! -If your breast milk still has ice crystals in it, or is slushy you can refreeze it! You’re going to hear me mention this multiple times because I think a lot of Mamas are unaware of this! 

How long is breast milk good for in a cooler?

Fresh breast milk will stay good for 5-8 days if kept at or under 39 degrees F (4 degrees Celsius). However, if you look up recommendations specific to cooler use, the recommendations are: Breast milk is good for 24 hours in a cooler whether fresh or frozen.

Keep in mind, if you pack a cooler with plenty of ice and refresh the ice, your cooler will most likely stay at or under the 39 degrees F (4 degrees Celsius). 

For me, when I traveled for more than 24 hours without my baby and was unable to have access to a fridge, I still saved my pumped milk and brought it back to feed my baby. I made sure to keep it on ice and refreshed the ice every day or more if it was melting faster. I felt comfortable keeping my milk for longer than the 24 hours in the cooler and still feeding it to my baby.

It’s important to mention that my baby was not a newborn at this point and was a healthy, full term baby. Had that not been the case, I may have made different choices. Everyone’s circumstance is different. You have to decide for yourself what you are comfortable with.

If your milk smells or tastes off, please discard it. If you decide you don’t want to feed your baby milk that has been in a cooler longer than 24 hours, like the general recommendation, you can still keep your liquid gold chilled and bring it home to freeze for later use in breast milk baths, soaps, or lotions. As long as it doesn’t smell off, you can still use it for these type of things! 

Storage Guidelines

Storage guidelines will vary from source to source. Here you will find a comprehensive table on storage guidelines for breast milk that I like to use. This will help guide you on time-frames for your breast milk.

 If you have further questions about this, I recommend talking to a lactation consultant. They really are the experts!

As a side note- They do make Bluetooth Thermometers  that you can place in your cooler to monitor the temperature. If this will give you peace of mind, I completely recommend getting one. I didn’t discover them until just recently, but I would have loved something like this!

You could also use a regular cooler thermometer and when you open the cooler, you can see how cold your cooler is staying. The Bluetooth thermometer just provides the added convenience of not having to open your cooler.

Breast milk storage bags vs. bottles

There are pros and cons to using breast milk bags and bottles when traveling. With bags, you’ll be able to fit more milk in a cooler. They’re a huge space saver but they’re less durable. I’ve had a frozen bag leak a couple of times when thawing from a hole in the bag.

Plastic bottles are a more durable option. Since many moms pump directly into bottles, you might use plastic bottles more if you’re transporting fresh milk. Bottles are more durable and cause less leaking. You won’t be able to pack as much in the cooler if you use bottles. I recommend double checking the seal of the bottles before putting them in the cooler.

How to pack breast milk for a day out

When storing your milk, you want to divide it up into 2-4 ounce quantities. There are several reasons behind storing it in smaller quantities.

• First, it helps reduce waste. My babies, in general, only drank about that much per bottle. That way I didn’t warm up more than they needed.
• Second, if you overfill a bag or bottle, you risk it expanding when frozen and breaking the seal.
• Third, there’s less of a chance of the bag or bottle leaking when traveling if it isn’t overfilled.
• Finally, if it does leak 🙁 you are only wasting 2-4 ounces instead of 6 if you were to fill it to the top. 

If you’re looking for breast milk storage bags, these are the ones I like and used over 3 babies. The plastic is more durable than other bags I’ve used and they have a double zip lock closure. I used these breast milk bags for an international trip and transported 4 days of milk back home. After dividing up my milk into 2-4 ounces per bag, I put those bags in gallon size Ziploc freezer bags (double bag it) before finally putting them in the cooler. 

Read more on how to use breast milk storage bags.

How to travel with breast milk by car 

If you are planning a longer road trip, plan some extra time to stop and get ice along the way. If you are pumping and traveling long distances, I would take some additional steps of packing two coolers (if you have the room). One smaller one to put your most recent pumped milk into and one larger one for the bulk of your milk. This way you’re opening the big cooler less and exposing your ice and milk to the room temperature less.

Milk warmer

Need to warm milk on the go? I talked about keeping your breast milk cold while traveling, but what if you need to warm it up to feed your baby?! This bottle warmer is perfect for travel!

Hotel considerations

If you’re going to be staying in a hotel, you can call ahead and see if they can arrange a room with a mini fridge. Sometimes there’s an extra fee.

Breast milk travel coolers

The size of your cooler will depend on how much milk you want to travel with and how long you’re traveling. My go to is a soft cooler that’s mid-sized (I have it linked below). This way I can pack it with plenty of ice. 

Soft coolers vs. hard coolers

In general, I always used a soft cooler. It was easier for me to travel with, and I never had any issues with milk bags leaking or getting damaged. 

A hard cooler will provide more protection. If you’re concerned about things banging into the cooler when traveling, a hard cooler might be the better option. Hard coolers will also be more efficient and keep things cooler longer. Here is a helpful link about the difference of soft and hard coolers if you want more information to help you decide.

Best all around breast milk coolers

RTIC Soft Cooler

• Keeps cold for 24-48 hours
• Heavy duty, high quality soft cooler
• Great reviews and would be prefect for traveling on a longer trip
• More bulky
• More expensive

Titan Deep Freeze Cooler

*This is the cooler I would buy if I needed a new cooler for traveling with my breast milk!

• It’s available in 4 different sizes, so you can choose which size you need base on your breast milk
• It keeps ice for up to 48 hours
• It has a hard body that’s lined with an outer soft body
• Can be bulky and not as easy to pack in a car if space is a concern
• The reviews looks great and other moms have recommended this cooler 
• It’s a reasonable price point compared to some coolers on the market

Best coolers for small amounts of breast milk and short trips

Medela soft cooler

• This is my top pick if you’re traveling for a short trip with smaller amounts in bottles
• This cooler will fit 4 small bottles and was specifically made as a breast milk cooler 
• Comes with an ice pack that fits to the curves of the bottles (which I really liked)

Soft cooler for breast milk in bags

• This cooler allows you to lay your breast milk bags in the cooler and against the ice pack nicely
• For a small amount of breast milk and shorter trips

Best coolers for medium amounts of breast milk and day trips

Coleman Outlander (My Mexico Trip Cooler)

• This is the cooler that I took on an international flight and it’s my favorite insulated cooler bag
• I wanted a small to mid-sized cooler to bring about 4 days worth of milk home
• I was able to fit 4 days worth of milk and about two bags of ice in this cooler
• My ice had barely melted after over 12 hours of traveling home, including a 3 hour car ride in Mexico 
• It fit well in my carry-on bag or carry-on sized suitcase along with some clothes packed around it and survived being a checked bag

Best cooler for larger amounts of breast milk

Perfect for longer trips of 8-24 hours or more

TOURIT Cooler Bag

• Allows for a larger capacity
• Two sizes available
• A good choice if you are traveling with larger amounts of breast milk
• Large yet collapsible

How to keep your cooler cold for breast milk

You have a couple of options for keeping your breast milk cold. Where you’re traveling, for how long, or if you’re flying, will determine what you use.  Your choices include ice packs, ice and dry ice.

Ice packs for breast milk

Freezer packs are one option, but usually my last option if I’m looking for traveling longer than a couple of hours or a half day. If you are flying, you may not have a lot of options for ice packs. I will go into ice packs for flying in a complete guide for flying with breast milk. See more information at the bottom of this article. 

Best ice packs for breast milk

In this video, they tested several ice pack brands and found this Artic Ice Alaskan series to be the best ice pack. The gel packs didn’t perform as well as the others. I like that you can buy it in different sizes based on the size of cooler you’re using. 

I find that ice packs don’t keep things cold for as long as ice does. In fact, in the video I mentioned above, it shows that ice does perform the best over ice packs. If I’m using ice packs for a day out, I’ll pack 2-3 ice packs in my cooler. 

Ice packs for small coolers 

I like this ice pack for breast milk in bottles because the ice pack fits to the curve of the bottles to keep it cold. 

Ice

I use ice most of the time when using my cooler and as mentioned above using ice is the better than ice packs. As for packing my cooler with ice, if I’m going out for a longer trip (more than 12 hours), I pack two gallon size Ziploc bags with ice and double bag them to prevent leaking. I don’t buy cheap plastic bags for this. I buy heavy duty freezer bags. You can also use a quart-sized bag for ice. But I would recommend using multiple bags if using the smaller size.

At the end of the day or as needed, I change out the ice. This is obviously if I have ice readily available, like in a hotel or buying it at a gas station. If I didn’t have ice available often, I would pick a bigger cooler and add more ice. If you’re traveling allows, you can wrap a blanket around the cooler to help insulate the cooler to keep it colder longer.

Dry Ice

Dry ice for your breast milk is another option. In my years of traveling, I never did use dry ice.  I have, however, done A LOT of research on it.  It’s something to consider if you don’t have access to ice every 12-24 hours to refresh your regular ice, or if you’re shipping your breast milk (which I’ll get into in another post). 

Some people use dry ice if they’re wanting to travel with frozen breast milk AND want to keep it frozen. From what I’ve found, dry ice will keep things frozen for up to 48 hours. The downside of dry ice is that it can be hard to find and requires special precautions when handling it. Please note, you don’t want the dry ice to come into contact with your breast milk bags. It can damage the bags. I found this website really informative if you’re considering using dry ice. 

Step by step guide to using dry ice with breast milk

The amount of dry ice you need will depend on how much milk you have. In general, for a medium cooler, you will need about 8-10 pounds of dry ice.

How to pack a cooler of breast milk with dry ice

• Wear gloves when handling the dry ice.
• Split the dry ice into two portions. Half will go into the bottom of the cooler. Wear protective gloves when handling the dry ice. 
• Place newspaper or cardboard on top. 
• Put your frozen breast milk bags into large gallon size Ziploc bags. I make  “bricks” of frozen breast milk bags that look like this. I usually double bag the bricks in zip lock bags for extra cushion and protection. 

• Place breast milk “bricks” on top of the newspaper. 
•  If your breast milk doesn’t fill the entire cooler, crumple up newspaper and stuff in any extra space. 
• Lay down another layer of newspaper.
• Break up the other half of the dry ice and layer it on top of the newspaper layer. 
• This is important- If you use tape to seal the zipper, or cooler lid,  you will want to leave some of it not taped to allow the dry ice to vent. 

Safety consideration with dry ice

Here’s a great resource regarding safety and handling dry ice.

How to find dry ice 

From what I’ve read, many grocery stores sell dry ice. You can call your local grocery stores ahead of time to see if they carry dry ice. The cost can vary from $1-$3 per pound. Here is a brand of dry ice that is commonly sold. They have a store locator to help you find their brand of dry ice near you. 

Thermometers for breast milk

If you would like peace of mind, you can buy a cheap thermometer to help monitor the temperature of your cooler. When you open your cooler, you can look at it to make sure your milk is staying cool. This really is the best way to make sure your milk is staying at an optimal temperature. 

Bluetooth thermometer

If I were to travel again for a longer period of time with breast milk, I would purchase a Bluetooth thermometer. They’re actually more inexpensive than I thought they would be. You can place the sensor in the cooler and monitor it on your phone. Cool right?! -See what I did there?

Tips for keeping breast milk cold for as long as possible

Tip!– Tape with duct tape along the zipper or top of the cooler. This is more if you’re not going to need to access your cooler frequently. 

Tip!– Pre cool your cooler! If you have the space, place your cooler in the freeze for a few hours to pre-cool it. 

Tip!– Look for coolers with a leak proof zipper. If there are any leaks, you’ll be able to contain the liquids and avoid a huge milky mess. 

Tip!– Bring your cooler indoors. It’s a bad idea to leave the cooler in a hot car or out in the sun. When at all possible, take it inside if this is an option. 

Tip!– Open your cooler as little as possible. Try not to open it when you’re en route. It can be tempting to check on your milk, but opening the cooler frequently will cause the ice to melt faster and risk the possibility of the milk coming above 39 degrees F.

Tip!– Buy a Bluetooth thermometer  to give you peace of mind. 

Tip!– If your frozen breast milk still has ice crystals in it (or is slushy) you can refreeze it!  

Flying with breast milk

If you are looking for more specifics about Flying with breast milk, I cover that topic in much more detail in a related post. I cover flying within the United States as well as my international trip to Mexico. TSA regulations and security screenings, carry-on baggage, how to pump without lactation spaces (no not in the bathroom) and much, much more.

Pumping while traveling

With 6 years of breastfeeding and pumping experience, I did my share of pumping while traveling. In an related post, I cover traveling and pumping. I’ll be including my travel breast pump (and back up pump) recommendations, how to clean pump parts on the go, my go to travel pump bag, battery pack, nursing cover to name a few. I’ll provide a comprehensive packing list that will leave nothing left out. Whether you are traveling by car, boat or air travel, I’ll go into detail about what I’ve learned as an experienced mom. Make sure to subscribe to my email list. 

Shipping breast milk 

Although I plan to discuss shipping breast milk in more detail later, if you are looking for a service to transport your milk, Milk Stork is a very well known company that will do all the work for you. 

Happy Travels Mama!​

One last thing, if you have any questions about traveling with breast milk please reach out and ask! I’m happy to help as best I can!