Flying to US w/ 4month old - how do I deal with formula milk etc

[belinda31]

We're going to New York for a wedding next week. My baby is formula fed, but what do I do about feeding him on the plane? Normally I pour boiling water into bottles and then add the powder when he wants the feed, but presumably I can't take the water through with me? How do you deal with that?

He is on Aptamil at the moment, and is very fussy so I don't want to change it - is this available in the US or should I bring enough to keep us going?

Also, we have a Maclaren, but we'll also have to take our Maxi Cosi car seat - I have booked a cot for the flight (i hope) and so we'll wheel him through the airport in the buggy and it'll go into the hold at the last minute, but do we check the car seat in? Do I just find a big bag which it'll fit in?

Any other travelling tips very gratefully received!

This looks like the latest US advice on taking baby milk on a plane (the rules are always changing and it's hard to keep up!

Only have experience flying short haul with my DD so hope someone else can help with your other questions! All I can say is that a friend who went to the States with her DS at about 5 months was very worried about the flight itself, but wished she'd thought about how she would help her DS deal with the time difference. So might be worth thinking about that beforehand too. All the babies I know have coped remarkably well with flying (even to Japan, South Africa, the States - not the same baby though!).

My DS uses Aptamil and we just used the cartons of the ready made stuff for travelling (short haul though.) The last time we went through 2 airports and no one made us open any of the cartons to check them, I just declared them when they asked if I had any liquids and put them through the scanner.

As far as our pram went, we had the option to put it on the hold when we checked our bags in or take it up to the steps of the plane and then they put it in the hold for the journey. Check on the airline you are travelling with, as that's what we did with Easyjet. I think the same applied with the car seats.

I traveled along with my nephew who was 3 months at time to Florida last year. We checked the car seat in with luggage - only difference you had to take to the outsize baggage area. We put the car seat in a black bin linner, purely to keep it dry if it was raining when luggage was been put on plane or taken off at other end (wet car seat bit of a nightmare). We kept the buggy until we were boarding as 3 hours in an airport with a wee one is not fun! My sister was advised before passing security to add formula powder to the hot water so she could taste it at security and be allowed to take on board, so this is what she did! They don't allow you to take the boiled water through unless made up to formula and they are quite strict and even worse on the return from the states! I would also suggest you take enough formula with you to last the trip as there products are really different! Hope this helps you out and you have a good trip

car seat bag

They're big for first stage seats but perfect for the next stage up - worth every penny imo

The easiest thing to do is to phone the Boots airside at Heathrow and get them to put enough Aptamil cartons to last you the flight (plus some extra in case of delay). You can't guarantee being able to take cartons through unopened

Don't forget, AFTER you've gone through security, you can still get to Boots, so you could buy mini cartons of formula for the plane. I'd have thought airlines would agree to heat up baby milk if your lo won't drink it at room temperature. You should be able to check.

I telephoned boots airside and asked for cartons to be put to one side. Don't chance getting them there when you arrive un-ordered. A few people tried this when I was waiting for my order to come through from the back as the shelves were bare.

Where are you flying from and which airline are you using?.

Would certainly speak to a branch of Boots airside to put an order in asap for some carry on cartons. (Aircrews can make up bottles by providing hot water but it can be very very hot and thus take some considerable time for it to cool down).

Aptamil is not available in the US. Would take a couple of Aptamil containers in your suitcase; certainly take enough to last you the week as US formula milk is quite different in taste from UK/European based ones.

You will need to complete the ESTA form online for travel to the US (you will have to do an ESTA for your baby as well) and ensure that all your passports are up to date. Baby will need his own passport too.

you can take the water and powder separately as long as the water is in a baby bottle or beaker. They just ask you to taste the water and any baby food or liquids you take with you. I have always been asked to taste but its easy enough!

I wouldn't chance taking cartons through security as i have had to open them in the past. Either buy them at boots once you're through security or take powder in small dispensers and ask cabing crew to put boiling water in a bottle and let it cool down before you need it.