Air travel with 8 month old baby to US

[webwoman05]

We are currently booked to go to visit relatives in Florida (but have own rented villa to stay in). I have a ds1 who is 5 who has travelled very well for the last 2 years to Florida but ds2 will be 8 months when we travel and I was just after a bit of advice really about feeding etc on the plane and as US laws are quite strict about bringing in food stuffs into the country I wondered what the ruling was on baby food (jars) and also formula milk (either ready made in cartons or the powdered stuff). I am currently bf and I am quite happy to carry on bf if it makes life easier? I have just started weaning ds2 and he loves his grub and by 8 months when we travel he will probably be consuming a lot more than he is currently so jars will probably be the best option. I am being a very good mummy at the moment and preparing my own organic stuff but am more than happy to introduce jars for the trip.
Any tips or experience of travelling to US with 8 month old? Have ordered a skycot but there are no guarantees apparrently as they often tend to give them to younger babies. Will be travelling with dh, ds1 and ds2 and my Mum with Virgin Atlantic.

Cheers in advance!

How about portable food like bananas, apple, raisins? Breadsticks? Cheese if kept slightly cool?

IME children tend to eat less when travelling.

Or how about ordering the vegetarian meal for you on the plane and letting your DS pick at that? The vege meal is always yummy!

Also, can't see it being a problem taking a lunchbox full of food in to the US. Ditto formula.

My 8mth old was too big for the skycot but we did get one
Jars were easy to buy
Rice cakes and rusks were much more difficult so I would recommend taking those
You will be fine taking stuff in that is sealed up

Hi,

Have previously taken in powdered formula milk and jars of baby food to the US without any problems. Used the ready made cartoned milk on the plane, if this can be drunk cold so much the better. Just ensure that all foodstuffs and containers are secure in your suitcase (I used to use a tupperware container type box).

As for food, the children's meals are not served long before the adult meals come around. Would take your own foodstuffs for the children and let them eat that. Do not rely on them to fully provide. In my experience of them Virgin aircrew can come across as dispassionate and unprofessional.

You cannot bring in any fruit, dairy or meat products into the USA so any spare fruit etc that you carry with you must be left on the aircraft. Gerber is a brand of US made baby food that is popular and my son liked that also.

Get your DH on the plane to complete all the visa waiver forms and customs form required (this will take some time as he will need to complete one for him and one for all of your children. A separate white customs form should also be completed by him). You will need to complete and sign your own visa waiver form. Your Mum will also need to complete her own visa waiver form. All these will be presented to you at check in.

All the adults in your party will be fingerprinted and photographed upon arrival into the US.

Wear comfy shoes (at Orlando you certainly walk!!) and be prepared to to go through a security arch on arrival.

Thanks ladies for all the advice. MerrkatsUnite: Thanks for the tip about the Gerber brand - I shall look out for that one. I am hoping by the time we go ds2 will have been introduced to a lot more varied food. Currently he is just eating pureed carrot, butternut squash etc. So far there is nothing he has refused which is quite encouraging - long may it continue!

I took a pack lunch for ds1 last year as you never know what the kids meal is going to be and the first year it was pasta which he will not eat. DS1 was 3 years old when we first travelled to Florida so travelling with a baby will be a new experience for us! Also by 8 months ds2 will be so much more advanced than he is now - let's hope he is not crawling as we haven't bought him his own seat so he will be on my lap!

Thanks again ladies!

we hadn't bought a seat either but i managed to talk the air hostess in to giving us a sky cot( but make sure you prebook a front seat so you can maybe have a cot if you want it. we took off, i gave her a bottle of milk and then she slept in the sky cot for the whole journey had to wake her up as we were about to land, how lucky was that, but it would have been hard if she had been sat on our laps the whole time.

we couldn't take milk already made up in the bottle so i just put the powder in the bottle then got some hot water on the plain. but i did pack jars and tub of powdered milk in my suit case.

perfumelady: Lucky you! Here's hoping! How long was your flight?

well it was london to florida with virgin, so 8-9 hours