How to Breast Pump while Backpacking

When planning my first backpacking trip post-baby, I wondered how the heck I was going to breast pump while backpacking.

My kiddo was almost one, still breast feeding 4 times per day, and not joining us on the 9 mile hike. I knew I needed to pump but wasn’t sure how.

I googled “breast pump while backpacking” a million different ways and found nothing. There are plenty of articles on pumping while camping, traveling, etc. But not backpacking – which is a bit more difficult.

I’m here to tell you that it is possible to go backpacking before your baby is done breastfeeding. The recommendations recently changed to “breastfeed for 2 years,” and if you love backpacking, 2 years is too long to miss out on that nature fix.

My friend and I ended up doing a 1 night backpacking trip to Caribou Lake in Colorado. 1 night was perfect! Enough time to escape into nature and very doable with pumping. I was even able to save all my milk!

All my pump parts and cooler are in that backpack!

** I do link to some of the items I used to breast pump while backpacking. If you buy from the link, I will get a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting my blog! **

Why you need to breast pump while backpacking

If you are breast pumping and/or nursing your baby, I am sure you have read many articles about it. (That’s what we do at 3am while nursing, right?) You likely know that your breasts adjust to how much your baby is eating. If you go 24+ hours without pumping, your breasts may adjust and stop producing as much milk. I didn’t want this to happen; I love breastfeeding. You need to pump to keep your supply up.

Also, if you are used to nursing or pumping multiple times per day and suddenly stop, it can become quite uncomfortable with how full you’d feel. Backpacking can be uncomfortable enough on its own, so it was definitely worth pumping to prevent this from happening.

This doesn’t apply to everyone, but I never managed to pump enough milk to have an over-supply of milk for my baby. By pumping while backpacking I was able to save the milk for my husband to use during my next work shift.

Read next: How Travel Changes When You Have A Baby. Once you have a toddler, I HIGHLY recommend Iceland as your first international trip. If you need another Backpacking How To – learn how to poop in the woods.

How to keep milk cold

This was something I googled a bunch. I didn’t want to risk giving my baby spoiled milk, so I wanted to be sure the milk I pumped was cold and safe. If you use a cooler, it’s possible to keep milk cold for 24 hours. I used the Medela cooler. To be extra confident that the cooler was cold enough, I put a ziploc of ice in the cooler. After one night of camping, some of the ice was still solid. I knew the temperature in the cooler had to be low.

If you are backpacking during extremely hot weather, this may be more of an issue for you. You could put a small thermometer in the breast milk cooler to be sure that it is cold enough.

Try to keep your cooler out of direct sunlight if possible.

If you are backpacking for more than 24 hours, you will have to throw some of your milk away. Breast milk can be kept at room temperature for 8 hours, so you could potentially throw the milk away at the beginning of your hike and keep some of it toward the end.

To keep my cooler cold, I was very quick about adding milk to it and not keeping it open for long. I didn’t open it unless I needed to, and when I did, I popped the bottle of milk in and zipped it shut fast.

Here is the CDC’s guide to storing breastmilk.

Supplies to breast pump while backpacking

Typically when backpacking, you try to pack the least amount of weight to carry for all your miles. If you’re going to breast pump while backpacking, your pack is going to be heavier. There isn’t really a super light option for this. You need your supplies and cooler, and then when you pump you’re actually making your pack heavier by keeping the milk. The things we do for our kids.

Here are all the items you need:

• Manual Breast Pump. Super easy to use and by far the lightest option. I used the Medela manual pump. No batteries or anything heavy required. You can only pump one side at a time, so it does take a little longer. Try to pick a spot to pump with a great view.
• Bottles and caps. Bring ones that fit whatever manual pump you use. I just capped each bottle and stuck it right in the cooler. Depending on how many times you’ll pump, you could bring breast milk bags to store milk as well.
• Cleaner. I used cleaning wipes specifically for pump parts. I just wiped my parts clean after each use and rinsed with clean water. (Don’t forget to pack out your wipes!) You could pack soap if you wanted and clean your parts that way.
• Breast milk cooler and ice pack. Whatever one works for you. Medela kept my milk super cold, so that’s what I recommend. But here’s a list of travel breast milk coolers if you need to buy a new one.
• A towel to catch any milk as you’re removing the pump.
• Optional – nursing cover. If you’re going on a busy hike and are particularly worried about someone seeing you pumping, bring this. Personally, I felt like a badass making food for my baby in the wilderness, so I didn’t care if anyone happened to see.
• Loose/pump friendly clothing. Don’t wear a super tight shirt that you won’t be able to roll up to pump. Pick something breast pump-friendly. Wear a pumping bra or a sports bra that you can pull up.
• Extra snacks and water. Pumping burns extra calories. Be sure you’re eating enough and staying hydrated.

I don’t know exactly how much weight the supplies added to my backpack, but they do take up some space. Plan accordingly.

Bears?

If you’re camping in bear country, do you need to put your breast milk in a bear bag/canister? I honestly couldn’t find an answer for this. I don’t know how much of a “food” odor breast milk has, so I’m not positive that you have to put it in a bear canister or if it would fit in your bear canister.

To be safe, though, don’t store it in or near your tent. Store it 200 ft away from your tent and/or hang it in a bear bag.

If you dispose of breast milk, do so 200 ft away from campsites/trails.

Tips

Find somewhere private and with a good view. The manual pump takes a little while, so try to find a comfortable spot to pump. You’ll have to go off the trail a little for some privacy. If hikers pass, just pause and pull your shirt down for a minute if you’re worried about it. Or bring a nursing cover.

Look at photos on your phone of your sweet baby if you need a boost for let down.

Bring hand sanitizer to use before pumping.

Recognize what an awesome mom you are for breastfeeding your baby, for taking time for YOU in nature, and for pumping while backpacking. You. Rock.

If you have any tips that I missed – which is definitely possible since I was kinda winging it – let me know in the comments!

Happy backpacking!!

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