Wordless Wednesday: Beach Vacation

Last week we took a little overnight road trip to the Oregon coast, stopping at the Tillamook cheese factory and the Newport aquarium along the way.

Learning about cheese

Sampling the cheese

Being the cheese

Wordless Wednesday: Pumpkin Patch Plus!

I'm posted a few of these before (when I wrote about our trip to visit Dionna) but with our new OT schedule, we haven't had the chance to visit another pumpkin patch yet this year.

Daniel's favorite: flowers!

Meeting the NPN Family

On the weekend of October 8 some of the amazing women and men who work hard to make Natural Parents Network the wonderful community and resource that it is got together for a meet-up at two locations across the U.S. — the Midwest and the Northwest. This was the first time that many of the volunteers have met in person after a year of collaborating on this amazing website. Please scroll to the bottom of this post for a list of links so that you can read what some of the other volunteers had to say about this incredible First Annual Natural Parents Network Team Get-Together!

I traveled across the country with Daniel to visit Dionna from Code Name: Mama, and at the end of the week was the much-anticipated Natural Parents Network volunteers' gathering. Of approximately 60 volunteers, 21 of us (plus some partners and kids) were able to attend either of two gatherings, one in Missouri and one in Washington. Some of the people who weren't able to travel to either of the gatherings were able to join in on a video chat with the two larger groups on Sunday afternoon. I ended up getting to attend both gatherings, which was super lucky, so I got to meet everyone!

(The stripey green one on the far left is the one I made.)

On Saturday morning, I had breakfast with Shannon of The Artful Mama and her son, Jorje of Momma Jorje and her husband and daughter, and Amanda of Let's Take the Metro and her two daughters (as well as Dionna and her family). Shortly after that, people began to arrive, including Rebekah and Chris of Liberated Family and their children, Laura of Walden Mommy and her husband and four children, and Amy of Peace 4 Parents and her partner and four children.

We had a delicious brunch and used freezer paper stencils to decorate clothing. The kiddos played together in the yard (except Daniel, who slept in the Boba on my back...too much excitement) while the parents visited. It was really lovely!

Wordy Wednesday: Visiting Code Name: Mama

I'm back home now from the trip to visit Dionna of Code Name: Mama (which ended with a quick weekend road trip to Seattle and back). We're all starting to recover from all that traveling and we're getting settled back in at home.

I've got lots of photos from the trip (and I'll share even more tomorrow when I post about meeting some of the Natural Parents Network volunteers). But for now, the rest of our visit with Dionna and her family:

Dionna, Kieran, Daniel and I went to the zoo with Mandy of Living Peacefully with Children and her four lovely kiddos. Here we are on the train at the zoo. Daniel decided to take a nap instead of seeing the sights:

I'm sharing this photo in honor of International Babywearing Week (Oct. 10-16).
I'm loving my new Boba soft structured carrier, which got tons of use on this trip!

Wordless Wednesday: Chickens (and a Duck)

A few more photos from our recent vacation (since I've been sick):

The chicken didn't know what to make of that rubber ducky.

Petting another chicken with Nana.

Uncle Kevin cuddles a chicken

...and a Daniel.

(Daniel was actually having a lot of fun in the swing
with the rubber ducky. He even learned to quack!)

Thanks to Daniel's Great-Grandma Patty and his Nana Julie for the last four photos.

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Linked up at Wordless Wednesday at Hobo Mama and Natural Parents Network.

Wordless Wednesday: I Missed My Garden

We just got back from our vacation yesterday evening. As we walked up to the house at the end of our journey, I was surprised to feel excited to see my garden. I was excited, in particular, to see how much everything had changed in a (relatively) short time.

Before:

All my broccoli plants got attacked by aphids & ants.
This was the prettiest one, with a tiny floret in the middle.

I thinned the carrots one last time right before we left. They were so cute, I had to take photos:

And yes, we did eat them (after a thorough washing, of course).

After:

The broccoli finally died, and a couple of things bolted
while we were away, but everything else has just grown a lot!
(See how big those carrots—on the left—have gotten now?)

One of my tomatoes is getting huge!

My lavender finally has flowers!
(These are the same lavender plants that were so tiny last year.)

Daniel did not seem to notice the changes in the garden much, but he did recognize his buddy, Eddie. As soon as we walked in the door and Daniel saw Eddie, he started laughing out loud, saying "Eddie," and reaching out to get down and pet him. It was so sweet!

Here they are cuddling again this morning, in bed.

Tons of thanks to my friend Kelly for taking such good care of our cats and plants while we were gone!

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Linked up at Wordless Wednesday at Hobo Mama.

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Vacation

The Journey:

Playing on the plane

Getting some activity in between flights

Decisions, decisions.

The Destination:

Birthday celebrations for two

Babywearing Grandpa

Pictured left to right: Iced tea, a crochet project, bare feet, chickens.

Traffic stops for jaywalking goslings

D is getting a healthy dose of dirt...

...and plenty of carrots.

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Linked up at Wordless Wednesday at Hobo Mama and Natural Parents Network.

TSA Screening Inconsistencies

Please forgive me in advance for another post about the TSA. I have a lot of processing to do about the events surrounding what happened to me last week, and this is part of that process. 

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When I filed my complaint with TSA about the way they handled my breastmilk, I had to choose a category under which to file it. After lots of deliberation, I finally decided that the most relevant category was "Inconsistent Screening (Different Practices between Airports)". This really doesn't even begin to describe the events that I outlined in my complaint, but it did adequately describe my overall experience with TSA during this trip: very inconsistent.

I've heard (and read) many arguments about the new TSA screening practices, mainly arguing whether or not they make us safer. Had my personal experiences with these procedures not differed so drastically from airport to airport, I might be more inclined to agree with those who think the advanced screening practices are an improvement. On this trip, I went through the security checkpoint at two different airports, and I was screened totally differently each time. If every airport behaves this way, and there's no uniformity in screening practices, how can they possibly be detecting and preventing threats effectively?

On both of my trips through security, I wore the same clothes and brought the same items with me on the plane (with the exception of the breastmilk on my return trip). During the first screening I experienced, I went through the metal detector (as this airport doesn't have the full-body scanners) as usual, and then was pulled aside for a lower-body pat-down. The TSO indicated to me that I needed to receive the extra security measure because I was wearing a skirt. I submitted to the pat-down and then was asked to move to a different screening area.

I had been flagged for an explosive residue test because I had an empty stainless-steel reusable water bottle in my carry-on bag. The TSO who told me why I was being tested for explosive material held up my water bottle, indicating that it was the reason for the test, without explaining to me what was happening. I told him, "It's empty," thinking that he was asking me to dispose of the liquid inside. He had a thick accent and I had trouble understanding all of what he said to me next. He directed me to hold my hands out flat, palms facing up, with my thumbs alongside my palms. He swiped them with a piece of something that looked and felt like a paper towel, and then put it into a machine to analyze the findings. When it came back clean, he helped me gather my things and move to an area where I could reorganize myself prior to departure.

On my return trip, I expected to have similar treatment. I was (again) wearing a skirt and carrying an empty reusable water bottle in my carry-on bag. When my mom, brother, sister, and I arrived at the security checkpoint in the New Orleans airport, the line was short. This airport does have the full body scanner, and the TSOs were doing the advanced screening on half of the passengers that went through the checkpoint. Each person who came up in line would either be pointed toward the scanner or the metal detector, very consistently, every other person in each of the lines. (I had a fair amount of time to sit in the middle of the screening area watching people go through the checkpoint, so I got a feel for the rhythm of it.)

By the time I had left the screening area and come back a second time, there were significantly more people in the queue for getting processed through to the gates. At that point, the full-body scanner had been shut off, and no one was receiving the new advanced screenings. Does this make any sense? I know people have complained about how long it takes to get through security when the scanners are in use, but couldn't they have just switched it to every third person? Or every fourth? Why stop doing it altogether? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of having more in-depth screening devices, if they're not going to be used during peak traffic times?

One of the things that really gets to me about being denied the alternate screening for my breastmilk is that I believe the x-ray didn't provide as much relevant information to the TSOs as the alternate screening would have. They basically scanned my milk to see if anything was frozen inside it, but didn't learn any information about any chemicals it might have contained. I wish they had offered to perform the same explosive residue test (which I had received at the first airport) on the outside of the breastmilk bags—or, on the milk itself, as I had offered. If that had been done, they would have actually ascertained that my milk did not, in fact, contain chemical explosive material. (Hasn't that always been the issue with liquids—that they could be potentially explosive?) After I finally allowed the TSO to put my milk through the x-ray machine, I passed through the metal detector and was not required to be patted-down below the waist due to my skirt. My reusable water bottle was not questioned at all.

I found out later that all three of my other family members had enhanced screening. My mother and sister had opted for the full-body scanner, while my brother received the advanced pat-down. My mom and sister, after going through the full-body scanner, also then received pat-downs from the waist up. Doesn't that seem a little excessive...not to mention, a bit questionable? It made me wonder if no one was even looking at the images created by the scanner, since they still had to agree to pat-downs after passing through it.

Basically, I don't understand how these new screening practices are effective if they're not being implemented consistently across the board. Even if some airports have different technology than other airports, doesn't it seem like the same criteria should be used to determine if someone is indicated for advanced screening (wearing a skirt, having a steel water bottle, etc.)? And if the full-body scanners are really generating a virtual naked picture, and there's really someone on the other end of the machines monitoring those pictures, then why should someone be required to submit to additional patting-down after going through?

That's all. I simply don't understand.

Traveling with Cloth Diapers

My collection of wet bags, packed and ready to go.

I recently took Daniel out of town for his first time on an airplane, and his first trip away from home for more than one night. I went back and forth on whether I would take the cloth diapers with us, or just rely on disposables for a week.

I ended up deciding that I'd take our cloth stash, and if using cloth wasn't working out, I'd go out and buy a small pack of disposables and call it a successful try anyway. I figured that once we got there, cloth diapering wouldn't be any extra work than it is at home. My main concern was what we would do for the travel days, as being on the plane with only cloth diapers made me a little nervous. Turns out, I didn't have anything to worry about. I had heard others' accounts of having major blow-outs on the airplane (due, in part, to the pressure changes) and other such horror stories. For that reason, I brought a few disposables along with us in our carry-on, just in case we ran out of clean cloth and needed a back-up.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

On the morning of our flight, I put Daniel in a cloth diaper, and packed three more in our travel-size wet bag. I also packed a few extra inserts for re-stuffing after pees. I ended up using only one of the extra insert on the plane. I have a wet bag with a dry pocket on the front (Planet Wise brand) which I love. It's incredibly convenient to store the clean diapers, wipes, and rolled-up changing pad in the front pocket, and then just put the dirty diapers in the back pocket. The bag kept me from having to lug the bulkier diaper bag back and forth from the airplane lavatory, too, which was a bonus.

I flew Southwest airlines, and (as far as I know) all of their planes have a changing table in the front lavatory, but not the back. This means you'll have to be assertive about getting up for the bathroom to change your little one, since there's no congregating or forming lines at the front of the plane. On the four flights I took, only one time did someone (another passenger) give me a hard time for jumping up to change Daniel in the lavatory. He insisted it was his turn, since his wife and daughter had just visited the bathroom. Uh...whatever you say, Mister Grumpy-Pants.

The flight attendants, however, were very helpful. They showed me how to fold down the changing table, even though I already knew how to do it. Several of them also tried to push plastic bags on me for disposing of dirty diapers. It took a lot of convincing for a couple of them to understand that I was using cloth diapers, and that I would absolutely not be throwing them away!

When it was time to change Daniel, I put him in the Ergo and grabbed the wet bag. I thought airplane lavatories felt small when I was pregnant, but they feel much smaller when there are two breathing people in there. The photograph above was taken with my back pressed up against the door as far back as I could go. It was pretty darn tiny! I definitely recommend having a changing pad to put down on the fold-down changing table surface, as you never know what's on those things. If you have a cloth one like ours that can roll up small and fit in your bag—that's even better. As it is, Daniel scooted up above ours so his head was on the table, but it still protected most of him from whatever was left from all the other babies who've been changed there before. (Gross.)

I intentionally dressed Daniel in a onesie with baby leggings, to facilitate diaper changes. I also didn't put any shoes on him, and generally tried to keep the clothing simple, so there was less to mess with throughout the day. I basically just changed his diaper as I usually would when we're away from home, and returned to our seat. It was no big deal—just a little extra cramped in the lavatory compared to a regular public restroom. I didn't end up having to use any disposables on the airplane. Daniel also didn't happen to poop on our travel days, so that made it much easier.

Arrival at Our Destination

Our diaper-changing station (From top left: stuffed diapers,
flushable wipes, flushable liners, Bac-Out, laundry supplies,
dirty laundry bag. Middle left: extra inserts, changing pad.
Bottom left: hanging wet bag)

When we got where we were going, our bags were delayed, so I was grateful for the few disposables that I had brought with us. By the next morning, we had gotten our bags back, and I was able to switch back to cloth at that point. Cloth diapering on this part of the trip was pretty much the same as being at home. We use all pocket diapers now, and I don't have a huge stash (I think I have eighteen, and Daniel is usually wearing the last clean one when I'm washing diapers). Because of this, I'm accustomed to re-stuffing my diapers with clean inserts after some pees to stretch out time between washings. (I usually only re-stuff once before washing a diaper, but it depends on how wet it has been.) I find that with the synthetic inner fabric of most pocket diapers (like bumGenius and Fuzzibunz) the moisture wicks through that inner layer onto the insert, so when I re-stuff the diaper, the shell is pretty dry. If the shell is just a little wet, sometimes I'll let it air dry while I use a clean diaper, and then I'll re-stuff that one for the next diaper change, after it has dried out.

I set up a diaper changing area in the room where Daniel and I were staying with all the things I needed there. I used a large hanging wet bag for the dirty diapers. The hanging wet bags from Planet Wise have a large dry pocket in front (just like the smaller to-go version) where I stored all my clean diapers when I packed them in the suitcase. If it had been a shorter trip, I wouldn't have unpacked the clean diapers from the hanging bag. Instead, I would have pulled a clean one out and put a dirty one back every time I changed Daniel, as I do with the wet bag in our diaper bag. I brought flushable "toddler" wipes instead of cloth, which is what we normally use at home. I used flushable paper liners for poops, and we did elimination communication (EC) part-time, so I ended up having only one dirty (poop) diaper to wash while I was there.

Laundry Time

We were staying with relatives, so, fortunately, I was able to use their washing machine and dryer. I did diaper laundry twice while I was there (same as I would have at home). I tried to mimic my washing routine as closely as possible, as I know it works well for us. At home, I normally do a cold rinse with no spin, then a hot/cold wash with an extra rinse, since we have a HE washer that needs to be tricked to use extra water. The home where I was staying similarly had a HE washer, so it was easy to maintain a similar washing schedule and routine.

I brought a small amount of Charlie's soap powder with me in a plastic sandwich bag, along with a small bottle of Bi-O-Kleen brand Bac-Out enzymatic cleaner (which I use to spray dirty diapers down), and my lavender and tea tree oils. I also used a little baking soda from my family's kitchen as a laundry booster. When it came time to wash diapers, I dumped the contents of the wet bag out into the washer, then threw the bag in, too. I washed the whole lot together, and I didn't have to touch any stinky diapers in the process. (This hanging wet bag method may actually be a little easier than my at-home method, where I have a dry diaper pail with a washable pail liner that goes into the washer with the diapers.)

If you're traveling somewhere where you won't have access to a free washer and dryer, check out Hobo Mama's tips for cloth diapering for apartment dwellers. Most of her tips can be easily adapted to apply to traveling with cloth: using laundromats, hand washing, line drying, etc. If you're going somewhere where you'll be staying in a hotel, look for one with laundry facilities. Keep in mind whenever you use public laundry facilities that others have probably used scented detergents and fabric softeners in the machines before you got there. Consider doing a load or two of your family's clothes with a fragrance-free detergent and no fabric softener before you do your diaper laundry, to prevent them from getting coated with detergent build-up from previous users.

Top Traveling Tips:

• Try to streamline your diaper bag, especially if you're traveling by airplane. If you have a small wet bag with a front dry pocket, use that for trips to the lavatory to change your baby's diaper.
• Bring a compact changing pad with you for your trip.
• Bring a large, reliable wet bag, preferably a hanging wet bag with a clean (dry) pocket on the front.
• Use flushable liners and wipes to make cleaning up poop easier.
• Practice EC, if that's something you already do at home.
• If you feel comfortable doing so, re-stuff your pocket diapers after pees, it'll stretch out a smaller stash and keep you from having to wash as often.
• Try to mimic your at-home washing routine as best you can when you're away from home.
• Cloth diapering is not all or nothing! If using disposables on the plane or at night time makes it easier to use cloth for the rest of your trip, do it. You never have to feel guilty about deciding to use a few disposables because you're going out of town. Traveling with a baby is tricky enough without being hard on yourself about your diaper choices.  
• Be gentle and patient with yourself!

I hope reading about my experiences traveling with cloth inspires someone to give it a try! I really love cloth diapering, so I was highly motivated to make this work for us. It ended up being fun to have all of Daniel's cute cloth diapers with us, and we got a lot of compliments on them. (He even received a new one as a Christmas gift while we were there!) I feel confident that the next time we travel, our cloth diapers will definitely come along with us for the ride.

Have you traveled with cloth diapers? What are some of your best tips/tricks for being away from home with cloth? I'd love to learn some new things from you!

TSA X-Rayed My Breastmilk

I really don't want to write about this. I really wanted my travel experience to go as smoothly as possible. I prepared myself, I set positive intentions, I read about my rights, I empowered myself with information.

Before I left on my trip, I had read the TSA guidelines for traveling with breastmilk and other liquid exemptions (items that are exempt from the 3-1-1 rule). I had also read about Stacey Armato, the lawyer and breastfeeding mother who was detained and bullied by TSA and made to miss her flight when she refused to allow her pumped breastmilk to be x-rayed. It was my understanding from what I had read that:

• "When carrying formula, breast milk, or juice through the checkpoint, they will be inspected, however, you or your infant or toddler will not be asked to test or taste breast milk, formula, or juice. [TSOs] may test liquid exemptions (exempt items more than 3 ounces) for explosives."
• "Breastmilk is in the same category as liquid medications"
• "Frozen items are allowed as long as they are frozen solid when presented for screening. If frozen items are partially melted, slushy, or have any liquid at the bottom of the container, they must meet 3-1-1 requirements."
• Breastmilk can be screened either through the x-ray machine "or by hand (the "alternate" screening for medication) which may consist of a visual inspection or a wipe of the container's exterior that supposedly detects explosives."
  

I brought frozen breastmilk to the airport to take home with me after a week-long vacation, and ended up being forced to put my milk through the x-ray machine, or I wouldn't have been allowed to pass through security. In the end, I was shaken and crying. I felt bullied and belittled. I felt violated and seriously wronged.

Here's What Happened

Way more frozen milk than I had with me

On Tuesday, January 4, I went to the New Orleans (MSY) airport with my mother, brother, and sister to fly home to our various destinations. I had packed three bags of breastmilk, which were frozen solid, in a cooler bag with an ice pack on top. The bags totaled approximately 18.5 ounces of milk, and were fairly small in size. When I reached the checkpoint, I declared to the Transportation Security Officer (TSO) that I had breastmilk and I wanted it to be screened with the alternate screening process. I had already put my personal items (including my baby carrier), phone, and shoes, into bins, and I was carrying my 7-month-old son and the cooler bag containing the breastmilk.

The first TSO (a woman) told me that there is no alternate screening process for breastmilk. I told her that breastmilk is classified as a "medical liquid" according to TSA and is therefore allowed to be alternatively screened (not put through the x-ray machine) if I requested. She said that wasn't true, then called for her manager. I talked to him, repeating my request for the alternate screening, and he said that everything has to go through the x-ray machine. I told him that the TSA website says that breastmilk is in the same category as other medical liquids, and therefore does not have to be x-rayed. He said, "I'm sorry, but everything has to be x-rayed." I asked if there was anyone else I could speak to about it. This man (manager) told me that his manager would be a while because he was all the way over at the other end of the airport. He and the other TSOs directed me to wait in a chair in the middle of the security screening area. I could see my family waiting for me on the other side of the metal detector and full-body scanner. I sat down and held Daniel on my lap, without my shoes or other personal belongings, which had been placed on top of the x-ray machine at that point (as they had already gone through the screening process and were waiting for me to make it through).

While I was waiting, a male TSO asked me if I was waiting for someone, and I told him I was waiting to discuss my breastmilk with "a manager," and he walked away. I waited for approximately 20 minutes in the chair in the middle of security before the second manager, Randell C. Lundsgaard, showed up. Mr. Lundsgaard asked to see my milk. I opened my cooler bag, removed the ice pack, and showed him the three bags of frozen milk. Mr. Lundsgaard then reiterated that the breastmilk had to go through the x-ray machine. He told me that since it's frozen, it doesn't count as a medical liquid. I pointed out to him that breastmilk is perishable. If I didn't freeze it, it would spoil, and would be unusable. He said that he understood that, but that "bad people" could hide things in frozen liquids, and there's no way for him to verify that this is, in fact, breastmilk, without it going through the x-ray machine.

I told him I wasn't willing to irradiate my milk, and asked if I could have my phone back so that I could show him the TSA website where it says that breastmilk doesn't have to be x-rayed. He told me that I could have my things back, but not within the secure area (even though they had already passed the x-ray screening). He told me that I had to leave the secure area with all of my things to use my phone. I asked him if I could take the plastic bins with me (since I was carrying my baby still and wanted to avoid having to pack all of my things back up just to have to unpack everything to go through security again). He said I was not allowed to take the bins out of the secure area. He offered to help me carry my things, and he said he could do anything short of carrying my baby for me. But, he didn't help me carry anything. He monitored me while I put Daniel back in the carrier, then packed up my things and left the secure area.

Trying Again

I sat right outside the checkpoint to look up the TSA regulations on my phone. I opened up the page that discusses medical liquids and also the page that talks about how liquids that are frozen solid at the time of screening are allowed through the checkpoint. I gathered up my things and got in line to go through security again. I unpacked my belongings again after my boarding pass and ID were checked, and immediately asked the first TSO (the female one who first said that there is no alternate screening for breastmilk) that I would like to talk to her manager again about the breastmilk. I told her I had the TSA rules from their website on my phone to show to him. Her manager came over to me and didn't want to see what I had to show him from the TSA website. He just told me that Mr. Lundsgaard would be a while (again) because he was all the way over at the other end of the airport (as he had been before). I acknowledged what he had said, and he walked away. I sat down again with Daniel. The female TSO set my bins of belongings aside because she didn't want them to go through the x-ray without me this time. They were out of my direct sight, so while I was waiting I had to turn around to watch my things, as other travelers had to work around them to put their things through the x-ray machine.

After a while, Mr. Lundsgaard showed up for a second time with another man, Francis K. Ruholl, to talk to me about the breastmilk. I showed them the websites that said breastmilk is a medical liquid and also that liquids that are frozen solid are allowed (and exempt from the 3-1-1 rule). They said that I was looking at two different rules that don't go together, and that since the milk is frozen, it no longer qualifies as a medical liquid because it's not a liquid anymore. I then asked, "What about frozen medications?" They said that if I had a note from my doctor that they would consider allowing the milk to not be put through the x-ray machine. I pointed out that I'm not in my home city, which is why I'm transporting frozen milk. How was I supposed to get a note from my doctor? They said if I had a note from my doctor that that "might help," but since I didn't have one, the breastmilk had to go through the x-ray machine. They said once again, that since it was frozen, they aren't able to do the alternate screening on it, because they can't just get a little bit of it out. I then offered to open one of the bags and break a piece off for them to thaw and test, and one of them asked, "But then how can we be sure that the rest of it is safe?"

At this point, I was getting fairly upset. I told them repeatedly that they were breaking their own (TSA's) rules. I mentioned Stacy Armato's story, and how the TSA has apologized to her and told her they were in the wrong and that her breastmilk should have been allowed to have the alternate screening. I offered to read them that post on the TSA blog, as I had read the regulations about breastmilk from the TSA site to them previously, and they declined.

Under Pressure

All this time, they were standing over me as I was seated with my baby in my lap. They were gesturing forcefully with their hands and raising their voices while talking to me. Mr. Ruholl had been shaking his head "No" to everything I was saying from the moment he arrived. I was crying, and I had been waiting so long that I needed to use the restroom. I could tell that these men were not going to let me go through the checkpoint without irradiating my breastmilk. I asked for their business cards. One of them wrote the phone number of the customer relations representative for the New Orleans airport on the back of one of the cards. Mr. Ruholl offered me a clipboard that he had been holding with a complaint form to fill out, but I declined, in favor of filling one out online (so I know it would be submitted) and later (so I could go ahead and use the restroom). I felt defeated.

As I started to get up from my seat to put my milk on the conveyor, Daniel started to chew on the envelope my boarding pass was in. I took it from him and made a remark to him about it (as he has a tendency to try to eat paper whenever it's within reach). Mr. Ruholl then addressed Daniel, jokingly saying, "Don't chew on that, that's not good for you!" I replied, "No, but you know what is? My breastmilk. And I won't be able to give it to him after you irradiate it." He stopped talking. I told them that since my family was waiting for me and I wanted to get home, I would put the milk through the x-ray machine.

I went through the metal detector with Daniel, and motioned to my family members for one of them to come over and hold him for me. They were too nervous to approach the security area (having been questioned about why they were lingering there, I found out later) so I walked over to them in my socks and handed Daniel over. I went back to retrieve my belongings, then returned to my family. I was fairly distraught, and crying pretty hard by this point. My family tried to comfort me, but Mr. Ruholl came up to me because I had left my cell phone in one of the security bins.

My Family Has My Back

Since he was standing there with everyone, my brother started asking Mr. Ruholl questions. Mr. Ruholl quickly got very defensive and aggressive, and began pointing in my brother's face as he spoke loudly. I was standing in between them, but to the side, so Mr. Ruholl had his hand in my face. I reached up to his hand and asked him to get his hand out of my face while my brother was also asking him to stop pointing at him, and he put his hand down. I don't remember everything they said to each other, but my brother was trying to find out if Mr. Ruholl had broken the law. I recounted the events of the last 45 minutes or so to my family, while Mr. Ruholl repeatedly said that I was misinterpreting the regulations on the TSA website.

Mr. Ruholl then admitted that there are unpublished regulations that can't be made public "for security reasons" that state what he said about the milk having to go through the x-ray. My brother pointed out that if laws/regulations aren't made public, then the public can't follow them. My brother asked if the milk had been irradiated. I told him it had been, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to use it now.* Mr. Ruholl then said that it is my opinion that radiation is harmful. My brother pointed out that the harmful effects of radiation are scientific fact, not opinion. This went on. I was very upset. I was still crying, and having a bit of trouble breathing from being so worked-up. I left the group to go to the bathroom where I cried some more. When I came out, Mr. Ruholl had left, and I rejoined my family.

The fact is, we don't know what x-rays do to breastmilk. Regardless of this, the TSA is required to provide hand inspection of breastmilk and other items classified as "liquid medications" at the special request of the passenger. I was denied this opportunity in direct violation of the TSA's own published regulations. The whole idea that TSA has unpublished rules that passengers are required to follow is very scary to me. I understand there may be things that need to be kept secret in the interest of national security. I also know that if a regulation isn't discoverable by a passenger, she shouldn't be required to follow it. The agents I encountered were caught up on the semantics of a "medical liquid" being frozen (technically making it no longer a "liquid") instead of understanding that the milk itself is exempt from standard screening, if requested by the passenger.

I wrote most of this in the airport right after I recovered from crying after my time in the security checkpoint. My conclusions that day were this:

I feel violated. I feel my travel experience was greatly affected by the way I was treated. I wish they would have followed their regulations instead of harassing me in front of other passengers.

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*Edited 1/6/11 at 6:46PM PST: To clarify, I did not throw away my milk after it was sent through the x-ray. I brought it all the way home with me and it's safe in my freezer now. I understand that x-rays don't cause breastmilk to have radiation or become radioactive. However, my milk was irradiated meaning it was exposed to a dose of radiation. The radiation could have had an effect on some of the cell structure/proteins in the milk (which is why breastmilk isn't supposed to be heated in the microwave). The fact that there should be alternate screening available for liquid medications acknowledges the fact that radiation from the airport x-ray machine could have an effect on items that are put through it. It's my right to choose whether I want my breastmilk exposed to the x-ray machine, and I was not allowed to make that choice.

Wordless Wednesday: Vacationing with Daniel

Aunt Suzy

Great-Uncle Bob

Cousin Camille

Great-Aunt Susan

Grandma Sharon

Great-Gran Gran

Uncle Matthew

Cousin Stephen

(travel is exhausting)

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Linked up at Wordless Wednesday at Hobo Mama and Natural Parents Network.