Making Travel Easier for Breastfeeding Mothers

Have you traveled while breastfeeding, or more specifically, while pumping? I have a few friends who have and I give them huge props for being so organized! Having to remember to pack clothes, toiletries, and work items, in addition to a pump, storage bags, and a cooler makes my head spin just thinking about it. Wouldn't it be so nice if there was a special hotel package that took all this into account and catered to breastfeeding moms? Ladies, your prayers have been answered!

The Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago knows how difficult traveling without your nursling can be, so they created a package with you in mind. For an extra $30, the Hard Rock will provide you with everything you need to keep that liquid gold for your little one. The package includes a hospital-grade Symphony breast pump, everything you need to clean and sanitize it, nursing pads, breastmilk storage bags, ice packs, and a cooler bag. They will also make sure your room is equipped with a mini fridge and a microwave. In addition to all that, the concierge is available for anything else you might need, such as additional supplies or help shipping milk back home. The concierge team is trained on how to properly ship milk, and would be happy to help you get it back home without having to tote it through airport security.

The idea was launched on Mother's Day in 2013 and was the brainchild of Hard Rock Chicago's General Manager, Carrie Meghie. Meghie felt that this was important for breastfeeding mothers and, after doing research, was surprised to find no other hotels (at least in the US) offer a service like this. The icing on the cake? All proceeds collected from the additional fee for this package will benefit the families of local kids in the NICU. Now that's a win-win!

I think it's so great to see something like this and I would love to see more hotels follow suit! Who knows, maybe the Nursing Mother's Package will take explode in popularity and be available at hotels nationwide.

Share your thoughts with us. Do you like this idea? Would you pay extra for this package?



Information provided by The Chicago Tribune and Child Mode.