Flying with 8 month old - What can I take in hand luggage for him?

[chargedproton]

He is formula fed. I am going to take ready to drink formula. We are going for 5 nights and he has 4 bottles a day.

I am going to take 40 bottles of 200ml ready made.

Plus 6 lunches and 6 evening meals and 6 breakfasts.

I want to take all these with me via hand luggage for him.

Will I be able to take all that?

I don’t trust putting it in normal luggage in case it bursts or something.

We want to take a travel stroller too.

im not sure you will get all that premade forumla through security

maybe order and collect once past security

I misread your thread title and thought it said

"Flying with 8 month old - can intake him hand luggage?"

Can I take him*

As far as I am aware, you can't take that much liquid on board. Have a look on airline / airport website, they should tell you how much you can take.
Why don't you use power, already put in portions? People are very helpful and will be able to give you hot water. Many places have microwave to heat / boil water if you are worried about germs.

How will you possibly fit 40 X 200ml bottles in hand luggage?

That's what? 8litres of milk alone?

Pretty sure they won't let you take that much through security. They let you take enough for the flight maybe a day or so... But carting all that plus 18 meals? Plus anything else you'll need like nappies, spare clothes, stuff for you, passports etc
How would there even be room??

Where are you going? Why can't you buy bottled milk out there or take it in powder form?

From www.gov.uk/hand-luggage-restrictions/baby-food-and-baby-milk

"When travelling with a baby you’re allowed to take enough baby food, baby milk and sterilised water for the journey. There is no legal limit to how much you can take however check with your airport before you travel."

Ah no, I thought there was no restrictions. Just says no more than 2000ml for breasts milk. It’s very vague on the gov website.

So how much could I take?

I’m worried it’s the difference in water that might affect him. Also sterialising his bottle.

Well I’ll pack 20 bottles maybe then and some meals.

I’m going to turkey. I don’t know if they sell ready made HiPP Organic milk there. I don’t want to change it in case his stomach doesn’t agree with their milk.

You can’t take 20 bottles worth of milk as hand luggage OP. It’s liquid and so restricted.

You are allowed to take as much formula and milk for your child in hand luggage as you need for the flight. So maybe 2 or 3 bottles, not 20!

What about after customs?

Or is it worth packing all the rest in the main lugguge with plenty of bubble wrap!

We did our first long haul when DS was 6 months old and took the 200ml premade formula. The airport had no issue with it, we took one for each of his feeds (5), a couple for when we first landed and then 5 spare for just in case. They may ask you to open and taste one. Generally they're pretty reasonable if you're flying long haul with a little one.

You’re only allowed enough for the journey but there’s no specific amount. 40 cartons is highly likely to be refused as that’s way too much for one journey! They also have the right to make you open each container.

40 packets of liquid milk... you are going to delayed in EVERY security check point in all airports.
I got a small container with 3 compartments and 3 empty bottles, and bought a big bottle of water as soon as I passed the security check.

You will struggle to find the same brands in another country and even if it is the same brand they may be slightly different, I preferred to carry the usual powder formula and refill the little portable container every day to be able to mix it on the go.

Years ago, mothercare used to sell some self sterilising bottles that were a dream, you just needed to give them a quick wash with soapy water and put them in the microwave with an oz of water for a couple of minutes. Much easier than boiling, most restaurants were happy to put them in the microwave for you.

I’ve asked Thomas cook. Can’t exceed a litre! So thankfully I checked. This is short haul so 4 hours.

Well I have the mam bottles so they are self sterialising.

Would they let me use the microwave? I’m worried about using the water to make the feed. What if it upsets his stomach?

The bottles that self-sterilise in a microwave are the MAM ones.

Gatwick has a boots which you can order and collect in store which is past security. Could you not do that? They won't let you through with that much milk

Obviously depends where your flying from lol

Unless you're going to somewhere deeply underdeveloped (and most of Turkey is not), this is massively more than you need. Will you have access to a microwave? In that case these are amazing and pack small www.amazon.co.uk/Munchkin-Latch-Steriliser-Bags-Pack/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21. Or if no microwave, then Milton tablets or boiling on a stove. Then you just need the tin of powder, so much easier.

For meals, how much does he truly need at 8 months anyway? Worth taking some pouches, but they have food there and things like local breakfasts make interesting and tasty finger food. The thing I would add is to bring some snacks / finger food on the plane as it can keep him busy if you're stuck for a while.

You'll be fine, take a deep breath and good luck!

If it is those little cartons then they do fine in your hold bags.

... And please remember 40 x 200ml is 8 litre = 8 kg! That's a lot of weight to carry around.

So can you take say 3 bottles and 3 cartons in hand luggage, then the rest in your hols luggage? Maybe with some snacks across both too?
The water change won’t impact if you’re only using for sterilising.

As for other things to take... a change of clothes for you and the baby, a little light blanket in case it is too cold or you are delayed (I used to fold it as a little mattress for DS to sleep on it or use it as a picnic blanket for him to sit and play if we had a long wait.

Calpol un sachets is always useful. If taking baby food, ensure it doesn’t come in glass containers.

And a very important piece of trivia... planes have no microwaves so they can’t warm anything for you. If you take fruit or sandwiches ensure they are binned before you leave the plane. I used to avoid juices and sweet stuff, otherwise DS would get happily hyper and make the trip a proper challenge for me and anyone around us.

Use bottled water to make bottles there. It will still need to be boiled. Look for one with the lowest sodium content.