To ask for your experiences flying with a formula fed baby

[Sayhellotothethings]

Posting here for traffic

We are visiting family abroad when LO will be 5 months. Only a short flight but I'm wondering about getting formula, sterile water etc through airport security or at the airport. I read that you can take up to a litre of cool sterile water but have now been told by the airport we are flying from that the 100ml rule applies! Unless we take 10 100ml bottles? And get boiling water at the other side?

Not sure about any prepped formula!

Has anyone done this and what were your experiences?

Also as an expat I can agree entirely that there is no rule about not using bottled water in the country I live in or DHs country - in fact, the advice is that bottled water must be used! It’s the only drinking water available! My kids have used bottled water as have all their cousins, schoolfriends, neighbors, etc. obviously it is boiled though. UK guidelines vary hugely to a lot of guidelines around the world in my experience.

Empty bottles and however many of the pre made formula bottles you need for airport and flight, easy peasy

Thanks for all of your replies. I think I will do as most of you have said and get pre made bottles.

Normally we have a flask of boiling water and a flask of cool boiled water with us so I may ask for them to give us some boiling water on the other side of security so we can sort this, just in case.

I may also put some ready made formula bottles in our luggage for the flight home. Will it keep ok in transit on the way over?

For some reason last time we tried the premade bottles LO refused to drink it so may have to do some trial feeds!

Re: bottled water - not all babies are born in the UK. Bottled water is fine as long as the sodium level isn’t too high. Very few bottled waters contain too much sodium.

The risk of chronobacter is very real but very tiny. The tragic deaths in France that were quoted above were, if I remember correctly, due to NICU staff neglecting the hang times for the formula and leaving it at room temp for hours.

I took my bottle fed son on many flights and we used bottles of premade. There is absolutely no need to preorder - that is insanity. I can’t imagine it makes for a very calming experience when you’re worrying whether your baby’s milk will be available at the other side of check in. You can take as much milk as you need (and when they’re weaning you can take purées as well).

Don’t use plane water.

@Sayhellotothethings The bottles will keep fine in transit. I always take a few for coming home.

I’d try and push your LO onto pre-made if you can. I always take it through in my hand luggage (flag at security for screening as it’s over 100ml) having it screened at security is usually quick and you know you have what you needed. I really don’t understand the logic behind ordering it to Boots. Unused ready made formula keeps fine in luggage providing its unopened.

Failing that then I would make up bottles just before boarding with hot water bought at an airside coffee shop. Or fill up an insulated flask with the hot water to make fresh on the plane. My last resort would be to use Evian and make the bottles with cold water- like PP’s not in the UK this is recommended feeding advice in the country where I live too. Under no circumstances use the hot water on the plane as it’s teaming with bacteria that whilst harmless to an adult could make a baby very sick (google it and it’ll probably put you off an inflight coffee).

We click and collected in boots in the airport for premade formula so it wasn’t counted as weight in our hand luggage and formula went in the hold. In the foreign country we used boiling water to make the bottles up.

The ‘cooled’ boiled water is ‘at least 70 degrees but not actually boiling’. Not ‘cooled down to cold/tepid’. Previous posters are correct in saying the aim is not to sterilise the water but to kill any bugs in the powder.

I had no idea about the plane water. Very glad I posted this thread now!!

I think baby formula is allowed. If not buy ready made stuff from superdrug or boots after security. Assuming these shops will be there.

Probably sounds obvious but if you’re using ready made, make sure you have a spare or two in case of any delays. Not sure where you are going but if it’s somewhere Touristy you might be able to buy ready made out there for the return journey.

Frequently travelled. Dc was combo fed.

For formula, take an empty flask past security go to a coffee shop fill with boiling water and buy a bottle of spring water to cool. So hot water to kill the germs in the formula amd spring water to get to right temp.

Take a clip lock large plastic box the size of the bottle, milton tablets to
clean the bottles. Past security fill with tap water put in tablet now bottles can be sterile.

Christ, some really dangerous advice on here

As lots have said quite clearly - NOT using boiling water to make formula can be fatal. It’s not about the water, it’s about the bacteria on the powder

And as someone else said

Read the fucking tin!!!!!!

Fucking hell. Tap water? Cold water? I’m
Pleased your babies are ok.

Anyway. The biggest problem we had was that the plane boiling water is super boiling and takes ages to cool- maybe the altitude/pressure or something? I used to ask for them to fill the pre sterilized bottle
With boiling, I’d tip my powder in, and then sit it in a bowl of ice. They were more than happy to provide both the boiling water and the ice.

As to the PP above saying plane water was full of bacteria? Given how hot it comes out, certainly as hot as our kettle, how does that work? Does the boiling of it not kill the bacteria? Which common bacteria survive the high temperatures without being denatured, regularly enough to count as a major risk and make water “teeming”?

We have never used boiled water for formula, we use cold bottled, or tap water (tap water is sterile anyway) and have never had any issues in the 5 months

To add, we fly long haul mainly, and my thermos if I had filled it at the terminal before departure wouldn’t have stayed hot enough for 13 hours. My thermos might have been rubbish though!

Check with your airline provider but my friend took premades (sealed) in her hand luggage. They were exempt from the 100ml rule so worth checking. Otherwise, boiling water from any coffee shop and powder. Costa were great in giving her some boiling water and ice water to cool it. Much better than our local!

We have also flown lots with our baby. Formula in little boxes, boiling water from the plane or a little s’well bottle/thermos filled up with boiling water airside.

Most bottled water is also safe for babies to drink abroad, just keep an eye on the sodium content (only a few mineral waters really breach the limit, we always laugh that Evian is the best when we are in Asia - posh baby!)

Although this summer I was genuinely staggered to be charged £3 for a cup’s worth of boiling water for the baby’s bottle - by BA. Unbelievable!! The air stewardess was as embarrassed as I was!

Interesting the rules and advice for formula I just checked the label and it just states ask a doctor for preferred method of mixing.

We have our own well so DH has built a purification system in the basement and we trust that.

Op, read the NHS advice please.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/making-up-infant-formula/
For those saying they just make up bottles in flight with boiling water from the crew, what would you have done if the plane was suffering from turbulence and you had to remain in your seat with seat belt in for hours? In those circumstances crew would not give you boiling water for safety reasons!
Travelling with a baby is stressful enough as it is. Just make it as easy as you can and go with the pre made bottles ordered before hand and pickup airside. Put extras in your hold luggage for the return journey. If your empty sterile bottles are sealed in a zip loc bag it will remain sterile for hours.

Ready made formula and steri bottles! We’ve flown lots of times, many of them long haul. Toddler is now 2. Always used ready made cartons.

Just to add, not sure what country you’re going to, but if it’s spain, be careful if you do use bottled water as some of them the sodium content is well above 20mg/L

When we flew with our daughter I made up the sterilised bottles with water & put the powder in the little containers that fit in the Tommee Tippee bottles. I had them all in a bottle bag & when I got to security I explained what they were, so they just took the bag aside & asked me to take a sip out of 2 of the bottles of their choosing. Simple as that.

We flew last year and we're told by security that we could take as much baby milk/ and or food as we wanted. The 100 ml restrictions didn't apply. Not sure if it's the same for all airlines and at all airports though