Tell me about shipping breastmilk

umdbride

It looks like I'm going to have to travel for work and I'll have enough freezer stash to get DS through a day and half or so, but I'll be gone 3 days. 

I read that I can freeze it and then ship it using dry ice, but that I have to buy the dry ice somewhere other than the place I ship from.  I'm going to be swamped and I won't have a car so I think it's going to be really difficult to go the dry ice route. 

I was thinking I could probably just load up a small styrofoam cooler with ice packs and ship the frozen milk.  It might thaw by the time it gets there, but it would still be cold and DS would use it within a day. 

Any thoughts, tips, suggestions?

There's also the option of DH giving him some formula but we should probably start introducing it now just in case he has any issues with it I guess....

preissless1

After my big week-long busy trip, I am glad I just pumped/dumped.  Trying to find time to locate a Fed-Ex, packing the milk and paying for the shipping (which I am pretty sure is really steep) seemed like way too much of a hassle on top of stressful business events. 

I would introduce forumla now.  Maybe just once a day to get him used to the taste and to see if there is any reaction.  If you will have enough milk stored for a day and a half, DH could do formula every other feeding/bottle, and that way DS doesn't have straight formula for a full day and a half.

umdbride

Thanks for the advice!  If you don't mind me asking, how did everything go when you came back?

FWIW, I think I could get work to pay for the shipping...

preissless1

DS latched back on like I had never left, and that was after a week!  My supply had dipped some, but between solids and me, I haven't had to supplement all that much.  Maybe one full bottle a day of formula.  I'm just glad he showed interest in nursing when I returned!

If work would pay, and if there was an easily accessible FedEx/UPS that wouldn't throw a wrench in your days, then I would give it a shot. 

amh_navyblue

I agree with the pp that for that short of a trip, pumping and dumping may be the way to go.  That said, shipping BM is actually not too complicated.  You do not need dry ice.  The key is to pack it close together in some sort of insulated bag or cooler, using newspaper to fill in the cracks.  The frozen milk being packed closely together actually acts as a ice pack for the rest of the milk.  You can put in some additional ice packs if you want, but as a long as you ship it late in the day, with arrival by 9 or 10am the next morning, you'll be fine.  You may have a few that defrost slightly, but in my experience the defrosting has been very minimal and it was put right back in the freezer when it arrived at its destination.  The most comical part about shipping BM for me the 2 times I did it was being asked what the value of the package was...pretty impossible to put a dollar amount on that stuff!!!

umdbride

Thanks for all the info!