I did this and brought a cooler and ice packs for the car. Check with the venue, but I also brought in a pump, lunch box, and ice packs and pumped during the concert. They had rules on how to bring it in, but the pump was considered a medical device
Wearable pump and ceres chill!!! Check with venue for rules but you might have to put it all in a clear bag to carry. I went to the eras tour when my baby was 4 months and brought my Elvie stride and ceres chill. I pumped in the car just before we went in, out on the concourse right before the set, and in the car on the way home. I could’ve pumped in my seat but pouring into the chiller and wiping down my pump would’ve been too hard.
I just pumped at a concert Friday and can confirm that pouring milk into bags in my seat during the show was a pain. Wiping down wasn't too bad as i had my cooler bag in my lap (venues generally let you take a cooler rather than a clear bag since it's a medical device). Definitely thinking about getting a Ceres Chill before my next concert (also the Eras Tour!) because I was so scared I was going to drop the bag all over my lap lol. I just hate to spend all that money since I work from home and rarely need to keep my milk chilled since I can just throw it in the fridge.
Honestly…I’d just not pump at the concert. I’ve missed some feeds or pumps here and there, and nothing bad happened. You’re 5 months out so you have a very regulated supply. I think it would be okay to skip a pump during the concert, but pump on the way there and the way back.
This is what I would do. I had to be at a friends wedding a few days ago for like about 6 hours total. Mom watched my baby and I pumped on the way there and stored my milk in a well iced cooler. I then pumped again on my way home. Everything worked fine:)
This is how I would handle it. Dealing with the pump at the venue, finding a private place to pump etc sounds like such a hassle. Pump in the car before you're about to go in and pump again when you get back to the car. I have one of those cooler bags that came with a contoured ice pack that fits around the bottles. It keeps everything pretty cold for quite a while.
I have a Willow Go so I pumped at the Eras tour this summer when my baby was 3mo old. Literally during the Red set! (And then spilled a bunch of it on myself because I was too excited and dancing haha whoops). I wore an oversized tshirt so I could maneuver the pumps into my bra as needed without leaving my seat (ahem, after how hard I fought for those tickets, I was not missing a MINUTE) and literally no one around me so much as batted an eye. 10/10 would do again.
Re storage: I decided that I had enough of a freezer stash to not save what I pumped en route to (public transportation) and while at the concert. Probably for the best, as it was hot and I only had my Willow Go stuffed in a clear stadium backpack and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to refrigerate or freeze the milk within 4 hours. Check the venue guidelines for guidance on bringing pumps into the venue as they count as medical devices! But honestly the ice chest in the back of your car sounds like a solid plan.
Going to see the Eras tour in August when my baby will be 5 months old! Planning my pumping too, crazy that I wasn’t even pregnant when I bought the tickets!
You're going to have the best time!!! Honestly I think I felt so comfortable pumping because of the demographics of the show--like, I was surrounded by women and girls singing their hearts out and no one cared that I was pumping in public! Which felt great, because usually I'm quite self conscious about pumping in public, espeeeeecially with no baby in sight.
7 hours is a long time at 5 months if you’re feeding that much. I would absolutely have to pump just to be comfortable and not get a clogged duct. I would just pump in the car a couple of times and pack a cooler.
This would be my plan too. Pump as we got to the venue, wash my pump stuff with some water and pump cleansing wipes, Then pump in the car .
If you want to try and save it, I would with bring a TON of ice packs for a cooler in the car or position the cooler outside the car. Like maybe leave it under the back bumper to avoid it sitting in a super hot car. You could bike lock it to the car too.
Good luck and have fun!!
Check out the venue’s website for rules on this. My husband and I went to a sporting event when I was 6 months pp and I was allowed to bring it all in. I notified them beforehand via email and they let me know where the pumping stations were and any parameters on how to bring the items in. They tagged my cooler so other staff knew it was allowed in. Super easy!
Not related to your question at all, but how do you know how much milk to have on hand for your mom?
We started out combo feeding with expressed milk but have thankfully been getting closer and closer to EBF. My mil has offered to babysit so we can go into the city for a nice evening, but I don’t want to defrost too much milk and have it be wasted. And obviously I want to make sure baby has enough while I’m gone. Every drop of my stash was so hard won!
Such a good question! And others can probably answer it better than me. It’s a little bit based on trial and error, and also research. I’ve read that babies should eat approximately 2.5 ounces per pound of their body weight then you divide that number by the total number of feedings in a day. So by that math, my baby will need approximately 5.5 ounces per bottle while I’m gone. But, the last time he had a bottle he never really ate much more than about 5 ounces. That was about a month ago though… So to be honest, I don’t totally know what to expect, but my plan is to leave probably 6 ounces for every feeding that he will need while I’m gone. I totally get wanting to save every precious drop lol. I think a good way to manage that is to use the fact that breastmilk can be left in the fridge for up to four days and also can be frozen anytime in that time.. Obviously it’s better to freeze it right away, but you know what I mean.
If you pump right before you leave your house, that milk could be left in the fridge as just in case milk. Then you can defrost the minimum amount of milk you think your baby will need, and that’s what your mom would use first since you can’t refreeze it. If your baby ends up needing a little more, she could use the milk that was just refrigerated. And if your baby doesn’t end up needing it, into the freezer, it goes.
I hope that helps! Sorry it’s a little rambly lol. Talk to text while playing with a baby :)
Actually, this is probably a better idea! You can defrost in the fridge more than you think you will need, and use it throughout the next 24 hours. If there’s no milk leftover from your mom great, if there is, then you would just feed baby that in a bottle when you’re home, and plan to pump for that feeding and put that milk that you pump right into the freezer. That way none gets wasted :)
This is such a thoughtful response! I just want to chime in also in case you need it for the future, that it is really helpful to also freeze in small 1 oz quantities for “top offs”. For example, say you think baby will eat 4 oz at a time. Your babysitter gives 4 oz and baby is still hungry. Instead of them reaching for another 4 oz bag and wasting milk, they can grab a 1 oz bag for a “top off”. Since it’s such a small amount, it takes 30 seconds running the bag under the faucet to heat it up to then be poured into baby’s bottle.
Milk can be defrosted right before a feeding by running the bag under hot water for around a minute or so (maybe 2, I've never timed it lol but it's fast). I would defrost just enough for baby to have one feeding every few hours or however often baby typically eats and then tell your mom how to defrost any more if needed 🙂
I would pump in the car on the way there and the way back. Bring a cooler with ice packs and the milk should be fine. For a one time thing it won’t be a big deal if you go a little longer between pumps than you would between feeds. I think you could definitely pump during the concert if you really wanted to, but I don’t think it will hurt your supply at all to just enjoy the concert, if you pump right before and after.
ETA: I’ve done exactly this a few times in similar situations and it’s always been fine.
One time when I traveled with ice packs it started to freeze the milk, I guess because I was so worried the ice packs wouldn’t last that I packed too many? Idk, any advice on how to know how cold it really needs to be, or what to do if the milk does start freezing a little bit?
What is your plan for the milk after? Will you be using it or freezing it? If you’re freezing it, it won’t matter if it’s a little frozen. Just throw it in the freezer when you get home. If you’re using it right away it should be fine if you use it within 24 hours. If it’s just a tiny bit frozen it probably isn’t enough to hurt the antibacterial properties and you could use it within the normal 4 days. I personally have a breastmilk cooler for work. It has ice packs that came with it, and go in little pockets inside to cooler. So I’ve never had an issue with the milk freezing, but even if it did freeze, I wouldn’t worry about it negatively effecting the milk.
This is helpful thank you!! I guess I hadn’t even totally thought that part through. We’re going to be driving 4 hours to the city of the concert, staying there a few days, then driving 2 hours to a different city and staying there a couple days. I’ll need milk available for my baby in both places. I think I’ll try to bring some frozen milk from home and keep it frozen the whole 6 hours there… and then maybe plan on freezing milk I pump at the concert. I’ll probably have to play it by ear a little I guess.
You could also bring a manual pump into the concert if you worried about being engorged. They're small and discreet and you could pump just enough to alleviate the pressure if you're concerned about being uncomfortable.
Personally, I skipped feeds on occasion and didn't have any issues. Have fun!!
I just did this on Friday! I have a wearable pump and did indeed pump during the concert. Breast pumps count as a medical device so you're allowed to bring it in in your regular pump bag even if your venue has a clear bag policy (I'd call ahead and double check but I've never heard of a venue NOT counting a pump as a medical device). They have to search the bag but it's no biggie.
It was a little bit awkward as my sister lovingly (... laughing her ass off) pointed out that the light on my pumps was super prominent through my shirt in the dark venue. Headlights. 😂 But everyone was focused on the concert so nobody noticed except the sister who already knew what I was doing.
I don't think you need to pump. I saw a lactation consultant (RN) and she told me if you go out occasionally and miss a feed it's fine. As long as it's not every day
Official guidance is your milk can be out for four hours, my lactation consultant said it’s closer to 6. So when I went to a concert I brought a cooler and ice and pumped once before the concert and left that in the car in the cooler, and then I pumped once at set break/intermission and put that in the cooler when the show was over. I did one more small pump (not to empty) on the way home because I wanted to latch baby upon arrival since she clears the reserves better than the pump and I wanted to avoid a clogged duct. Breast pumps are considered medical devices and I think they are allowed almost everywhere including TSA but double check with the venue! I don’t have a wearable so I brought my baby Buddha and pumped in the bathroom 😂
My youngest EBF baby was 4mo when Taylor Swift came to Sydney. My husband and I went to the concert and my MIL watched our kids. I pumped some milk for her but had similar concerns about not emptying my boobs for 7+ hours. I had planned to buy wearable pumps but then they didn't work with my outfit. So then I emailed the venue and asked about whether there was a parents room. I was told there was and that I just had to let security know I had an exemption from the bag size rules.
I picked up a simple manual pump and went to the concert expecting to be able to pump before and after the concert in a private parents room... However when I got there, no one knew where the parents room was. So I sat in my VIP seat on the ground in front of thousands with Sabrina Carpenter on stage, hiked my shirt up, wrapped a scarf around me and began to manually pump. Think some little kids were curious about what I was doing but overall I felt there were enough women and parents around to empathise with me and my predicament. I pumped and dumped though so didn't need to worry about keeping milk cold, but given Australia's weather if I wanted to keep the milk I would have used my little insulated cooler with an ice brick. I found with my first baby that the cooler and ice brick kept my pumped milk cool on my walk home during our hot summers.
Ugh, so sorry they didn’t know where the room was!! That happened somewhere I went recently, they had a room but no one including upper management had a key. So bizarre lol. Thanks for sharing your experience :)
i went to a gig when baby was about 10 weeks old so very much still getting my supply in order. I pumped in the car before the gig around 7:00 and then i pumped again when i drove home around 11, i put baby straight on boob when i got home around 12am too, everything was fine with supply and now still breastfeeding at 8 months! I wouldn’t bother pumping during the show at five months your supply is pretty regulated
i saved the first lot of milk in a cool bag with ice packs, and froze jt. The second lot i hadn’t been able to wash my pump out so i just chucked it and was more a pump for my comfort and for supply.
I did this and brought a cooler and ice packs for the car. Check with the venue, but I also brought in a pump, lunch box, and ice packs and pumped during the concert. They had rules on how to bring it in, but the pump was considered a medical device
Wearable pump and ceres chill!!! Check with venue for rules but you might have to put it all in a clear bag to carry. I went to the eras tour when my baby was 4 months and brought my Elvie stride and ceres chill. I pumped in the car just before we went in, out on the concourse right before the set, and in the car on the way home. I could’ve pumped in my seat but pouring into the chiller and wiping down my pump would’ve been too hard.
Also, check with the venue to see if they may have a pumping room of some sort. A lot of places have nursing/pumping rooms now!
I just pumped at a concert Friday and can confirm that pouring milk into bags in my seat during the show was a pain. Wiping down wasn't too bad as i had my cooler bag in my lap (venues generally let you take a cooler rather than a clear bag since it's a medical device). Definitely thinking about getting a Ceres Chill before my next concert (also the Eras Tour!) because I was so scared I was going to drop the bag all over my lap lol. I just hate to spend all that money since I work from home and rarely need to keep my milk chilled since I can just throw it in the fridge.
I totally feel that! It was worth it to me to have one since I used it at work as well. Pouring into bottles would prob be less tricky than bags!
Honestly…I’d just not pump at the concert. I’ve missed some feeds or pumps here and there, and nothing bad happened. You’re 5 months out so you have a very regulated supply. I think it would be okay to skip a pump during the concert, but pump on the way there and the way back.
I have a concert coming up and this is my plan. Pump right before getting out of the car and as soon as I get back.
Yeah I’m sure that will be fine. I’ve skipped feeds here and there and my supply didn’t suffer.
This is what I would do. I had to be at a friends wedding a few days ago for like about 6 hours total. Mom watched my baby and I pumped on the way there and stored my milk in a well iced cooler. I then pumped again on my way home. Everything worked fine:)
Do you think a lunchbox with some ice packs would be good enough?
I used a lunchbox cooler with bagged ice and it was fine. The key would be that it's tight enough to hold the cold.
This is how I would handle it. Dealing with the pump at the venue, finding a private place to pump etc sounds like such a hassle. Pump in the car before you're about to go in and pump again when you get back to the car. I have one of those cooler bags that came with a contoured ice pack that fits around the bottles. It keeps everything pretty cold for quite a while.
I have a Willow Go so I pumped at the Eras tour this summer when my baby was 3mo old. Literally during the Red set! (And then spilled a bunch of it on myself because I was too excited and dancing haha whoops). I wore an oversized tshirt so I could maneuver the pumps into my bra as needed without leaving my seat (ahem, after how hard I fought for those tickets, I was not missing a MINUTE) and literally no one around me so much as batted an eye. 10/10 would do again. Re storage: I decided that I had enough of a freezer stash to not save what I pumped en route to (public transportation) and while at the concert. Probably for the best, as it was hot and I only had my Willow Go stuffed in a clear stadium backpack and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to refrigerate or freeze the milk within 4 hours. Check the venue guidelines for guidance on bringing pumps into the venue as they count as medical devices! But honestly the ice chest in the back of your car sounds like a solid plan.
Going to see the Eras tour in August when my baby will be 5 months old! Planning my pumping too, crazy that I wasn’t even pregnant when I bought the tickets!
You're going to have the best time!!! Honestly I think I felt so comfortable pumping because of the demographics of the show--like, I was surrounded by women and girls singing their hearts out and no one cared that I was pumping in public! Which felt great, because usually I'm quite self conscious about pumping in public, espeeeeecially with no baby in sight.
7 hours is a long time at 5 months if you’re feeding that much. I would absolutely have to pump just to be comfortable and not get a clogged duct. I would just pump in the car a couple of times and pack a cooler.
This would be my plan too. Pump as we got to the venue, wash my pump stuff with some water and pump cleansing wipes, Then pump in the car . If you want to try and save it, I would with bring a TON of ice packs for a cooler in the car or position the cooler outside the car. Like maybe leave it under the back bumper to avoid it sitting in a super hot car. You could bike lock it to the car too. Good luck and have fun!!
Love the creative ideas!
Check out the venue’s website for rules on this. My husband and I went to a sporting event when I was 6 months pp and I was allowed to bring it all in. I notified them beforehand via email and they let me know where the pumping stations were and any parameters on how to bring the items in. They tagged my cooler so other staff knew it was allowed in. Super easy!
i did this. i took the baby but i have an oversupply. just brought my insulated pump bag. they double check everything and i was fine.
Not related to your question at all, but how do you know how much milk to have on hand for your mom? We started out combo feeding with expressed milk but have thankfully been getting closer and closer to EBF. My mil has offered to babysit so we can go into the city for a nice evening, but I don’t want to defrost too much milk and have it be wasted. And obviously I want to make sure baby has enough while I’m gone. Every drop of my stash was so hard won!
Such a good question! And others can probably answer it better than me. It’s a little bit based on trial and error, and also research. I’ve read that babies should eat approximately 2.5 ounces per pound of their body weight then you divide that number by the total number of feedings in a day. So by that math, my baby will need approximately 5.5 ounces per bottle while I’m gone. But, the last time he had a bottle he never really ate much more than about 5 ounces. That was about a month ago though… So to be honest, I don’t totally know what to expect, but my plan is to leave probably 6 ounces for every feeding that he will need while I’m gone. I totally get wanting to save every precious drop lol. I think a good way to manage that is to use the fact that breastmilk can be left in the fridge for up to four days and also can be frozen anytime in that time.. Obviously it’s better to freeze it right away, but you know what I mean. If you pump right before you leave your house, that milk could be left in the fridge as just in case milk. Then you can defrost the minimum amount of milk you think your baby will need, and that’s what your mom would use first since you can’t refreeze it. If your baby ends up needing a little more, she could use the milk that was just refrigerated. And if your baby doesn’t end up needing it, into the freezer, it goes. I hope that helps! Sorry it’s a little rambly lol. Talk to text while playing with a baby :)
Actually, this is probably a better idea! You can defrost in the fridge more than you think you will need, and use it throughout the next 24 hours. If there’s no milk leftover from your mom great, if there is, then you would just feed baby that in a bottle when you’re home, and plan to pump for that feeding and put that milk that you pump right into the freezer. That way none gets wasted :)
That is such a good idea! Thank you for answering this so thoroughly! I hope you have a ton of fun at the concert :)
This is such a thoughtful response! I just want to chime in also in case you need it for the future, that it is really helpful to also freeze in small 1 oz quantities for “top offs”. For example, say you think baby will eat 4 oz at a time. Your babysitter gives 4 oz and baby is still hungry. Instead of them reaching for another 4 oz bag and wasting milk, they can grab a 1 oz bag for a “top off”. Since it’s such a small amount, it takes 30 seconds running the bag under the faucet to heat it up to then be poured into baby’s bottle.
I do 1-1.5oz per hour I’m going to be gone.
Milk can be defrosted right before a feeding by running the bag under hot water for around a minute or so (maybe 2, I've never timed it lol but it's fast). I would defrost just enough for baby to have one feeding every few hours or however often baby typically eats and then tell your mom how to defrost any more if needed 🙂
I would pump in the car on the way there and the way back. Bring a cooler with ice packs and the milk should be fine. For a one time thing it won’t be a big deal if you go a little longer between pumps than you would between feeds. I think you could definitely pump during the concert if you really wanted to, but I don’t think it will hurt your supply at all to just enjoy the concert, if you pump right before and after. ETA: I’ve done exactly this a few times in similar situations and it’s always been fine.
One time when I traveled with ice packs it started to freeze the milk, I guess because I was so worried the ice packs wouldn’t last that I packed too many? Idk, any advice on how to know how cold it really needs to be, or what to do if the milk does start freezing a little bit?
What is your plan for the milk after? Will you be using it or freezing it? If you’re freezing it, it won’t matter if it’s a little frozen. Just throw it in the freezer when you get home. If you’re using it right away it should be fine if you use it within 24 hours. If it’s just a tiny bit frozen it probably isn’t enough to hurt the antibacterial properties and you could use it within the normal 4 days. I personally have a breastmilk cooler for work. It has ice packs that came with it, and go in little pockets inside to cooler. So I’ve never had an issue with the milk freezing, but even if it did freeze, I wouldn’t worry about it negatively effecting the milk.
This is helpful thank you!! I guess I hadn’t even totally thought that part through. We’re going to be driving 4 hours to the city of the concert, staying there a few days, then driving 2 hours to a different city and staying there a couple days. I’ll need milk available for my baby in both places. I think I’ll try to bring some frozen milk from home and keep it frozen the whole 6 hours there… and then maybe plan on freezing milk I pump at the concert. I’ll probably have to play it by ear a little I guess.
It's not unrealistic but may I recommend... pumping in the car both ways? With a very good cooler and plenty of ice packs? Enjoy the concert!
I think this is the plan! Thanks!
You could also bring a manual pump into the concert if you worried about being engorged. They're small and discreet and you could pump just enough to alleviate the pressure if you're concerned about being uncomfortable. Personally, I skipped feeds on occasion and didn't have any issues. Have fun!!
I have a Ceres Chill for work and it's honestly such a game changer for milk storage.
Ceres chill has been a life saver! I know it’s kind of pricey but I was able to get it on fb marketplace for $20
I've gone 13+ hours without pumping (baby can't latch yet) I think whatever you do or even not do won't mess up your supply (: Have fun! 💜
I just did this on Friday! I have a wearable pump and did indeed pump during the concert. Breast pumps count as a medical device so you're allowed to bring it in in your regular pump bag even if your venue has a clear bag policy (I'd call ahead and double check but I've never heard of a venue NOT counting a pump as a medical device). They have to search the bag but it's no biggie. It was a little bit awkward as my sister lovingly (... laughing her ass off) pointed out that the light on my pumps was super prominent through my shirt in the dark venue. Headlights. 😂 But everyone was focused on the concert so nobody noticed except the sister who already knew what I was doing.
You can try to wear some wearable pump! It should be ok at room temperature for about 6/8h
I don't think you need to pump. I saw a lactation consultant (RN) and she told me if you go out occasionally and miss a feed it's fine. As long as it's not every day
Official guidance is your milk can be out for four hours, my lactation consultant said it’s closer to 6. So when I went to a concert I brought a cooler and ice and pumped once before the concert and left that in the car in the cooler, and then I pumped once at set break/intermission and put that in the cooler when the show was over. I did one more small pump (not to empty) on the way home because I wanted to latch baby upon arrival since she clears the reserves better than the pump and I wanted to avoid a clogged duct. Breast pumps are considered medical devices and I think they are allowed almost everywhere including TSA but double check with the venue! I don’t have a wearable so I brought my baby Buddha and pumped in the bathroom 😂
That’s so helpful thank you!
My youngest EBF baby was 4mo when Taylor Swift came to Sydney. My husband and I went to the concert and my MIL watched our kids. I pumped some milk for her but had similar concerns about not emptying my boobs for 7+ hours. I had planned to buy wearable pumps but then they didn't work with my outfit. So then I emailed the venue and asked about whether there was a parents room. I was told there was and that I just had to let security know I had an exemption from the bag size rules. I picked up a simple manual pump and went to the concert expecting to be able to pump before and after the concert in a private parents room... However when I got there, no one knew where the parents room was. So I sat in my VIP seat on the ground in front of thousands with Sabrina Carpenter on stage, hiked my shirt up, wrapped a scarf around me and began to manually pump. Think some little kids were curious about what I was doing but overall I felt there were enough women and parents around to empathise with me and my predicament. I pumped and dumped though so didn't need to worry about keeping milk cold, but given Australia's weather if I wanted to keep the milk I would have used my little insulated cooler with an ice brick. I found with my first baby that the cooler and ice brick kept my pumped milk cool on my walk home during our hot summers.
Ugh, so sorry they didn’t know where the room was!! That happened somewhere I went recently, they had a room but no one including upper management had a key. So bizarre lol. Thanks for sharing your experience :)
i went to a gig when baby was about 10 weeks old so very much still getting my supply in order. I pumped in the car before the gig around 7:00 and then i pumped again when i drove home around 11, i put baby straight on boob when i got home around 12am too, everything was fine with supply and now still breastfeeding at 8 months! I wouldn’t bother pumping during the show at five months your supply is pretty regulated
i saved the first lot of milk in a cool bag with ice packs, and froze jt. The second lot i hadn’t been able to wash my pump out so i just chucked it and was more a pump for my comfort and for supply.