Going to a wedding - what to do about pumping?

Gina1221

DH and I will be going to a wedding soon and have to stay overnight cause it's far from our home.  I BF DS and am wondering what I will do about pumping.  According to the itinerary we will be gone from our hotel room for a long time from the ceremony to the end of the reception so I'm sure I'm going to need to pump at some point.  So...do I bring my pump with me to a wedding?  Where the heck will I pump?  And what do I do with the milk after?  I don't even know yet if the hotel has any rooms with a refridgerator..I'm assuming they do and hoping we can get one.  Oh, and the reception is not at the hotel so I can't pump in my room.  Any advice?

kit443

I would bring the pump and pump in the bathroom. Not ideal, but you got to do what you got to do.

MrsAmers

EBM is safe at room temperature for 8-10 hours, so as long as you will be back to your hotel room in that span you don't need to do anything special with the milk.  If you tell the hotel you need a refrigerator for medical reasons, they should be able to provide one at no or minimal charge.

If it were me, I would bring my pump in the car and probably pump between the ceremony and the reception.  You could pump in the car with a cover or pump in a restroom (not ideal, but I've done it a bunch - I hang my pump on the back of the door and stand behind it.)  I would either bring my pump into the reception or just leave it in the car and go get it if I need it.  Personally, I would try to skip the pumping session during the reception and just pump twice in the evening after you get back to the hotel.  That would make it easier to have wine with dinner, too.  :-)

MrsTeague

I totally pumped at a wedding in the bathroom before. Funniest thing was it had about 3 stalls so there were people in there probably wondering what the hell that noise was. I stood up and hooked the pump on the purse hook. I have a hands free pumping bra so I used that. I brought the cooler with that fits in the pump bag. I just did a quick pump to relieve myself (about 10 minutes max).

Gina1221

Thanks for the advice ladies!

I think they are providing busses, so we won't have our car there...otherwise that would be great.  I'm going to bring my pump just in case, but try to go without if I can.  And I had no idea that EBM was good for that long, so that's good to know.  Also, I was just thinking that if I have to pump at the reception, maybe the reception  hall would let me use their bridal suite... 

Cityplanner

I've pumped in a stall at the wedding.  Fortunately, I was able to find an out of the way bathroom.   I was drinking that night, so I pumped (for comfort and to keep fitting into my dress) and dumped.   

If you feel weird about it and know the bride, you may want to ask if you can pump in the bride's room.  Every reception place I've been at has had a place for the bride and bridesmaids to leave their stuff.  For the most part it goes unused.  

mrsmcdonald

For events, I would bring a hand pump (I can carry it in my purse), pump in the bathroom although it's gross, and dump the milk. Hand pumps aren't that effective for me, so I just pump enough to keep the discomfort down.

I would also bring my regular PISA and use that in the hotel.

jannv11

I was in this situation back in November and I fed DS before leaving home in afternoon and had to pump at midnight before going to bed.  I took a small cooler with ice.  DH used it as a beer cooler before the wedding   I was lucky because wedding ceremony was at 5pm and reception @ 6:30.  Good luck!!

trackchik6

I went to a wedding and pumped there.  At first I pumped in the bathroom, but then I found out that there was a changing room for the bridesmaids that they weren't really using so everyone told me to just pump in there.

FWIW - I only keep milk at room temp for a max of 4 hrs.  

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

My PISA comes with a cooler that keeps milk good for 12 hours so that is where I kept my milk during the wedding.  Also, if you don't have the Medela cooler you could try to get an insulated bag and you can bring ziplock bags with you and see if you can ask the caterers at the wedding to give you ice and keep the milk cool that way.   

mavilabride

I've pumped in bathrooms and in my car.

Will you be needing that milk? If not then you can always just pump to relieve pain and dump.  It's not going to damage your supply if you don't keep up the same kind of schedule for one day.

Shlei

If all else fails you can pump and bring a mini cooler or one of those insulated lunch boxes and put those freezer things in it. Pump where you can.