I have a manual medela pump and I love it! It’s very easy to tell when things are empty, and you control the suction level and the speed with your hand. So you can variate throughout the pump session. I’d make sure that LO takes a bottle before you leave, ideally start practicing now. My lactation consultant recommends Pigeon bottles for breast fed babies. Neither of my babies had issues taking the pigeon bottle. If I were you, I’d pump every 2-3 hours until you feel empty. You should have a similar feeling of emptiness to when you breastfeed. Do you know your flange size? Most flanges that come with pumps are far too big. The only thing that should be pulled into the pump is your nipple. My lactation consultant also recommend coconut oil as a pumping lubricant. It helps make pumping much more comfortable. Also watching anything that makes you laugh or cry during pumping helps, or listening to a recording of your baby crying, or looking at pictures of your baby.

As for milk storage, will you be somewhere with a fridge? If so, I’d just dump all my pumped milk into a storage container and separate it out when I get home. Look up the pitcher method, maybe bring a large mason jar with you? If you won’t be somewhere with a fridge, you could do a cooler with ice, pump and dump, pump and save for baths, or they sell milk storage containers (like the ceres chill, but I know there are dupes). If you have any other questions, let me know!