Making up bottles whilst travelling long haul

[Sunlover00]

Hi

We're travelling to oz with Singapore airlines in march and trying to be prepared to avoid a bad trip with our young baby, so we're trying to crack the feeding Aspect.

Does anyone have any tips on how to manage bottle sterilising/making/feeding at airports and on board during flights?

Thanx!

[Beany]

Hi - very exciting, but also lots to plan I guess!

We did this flight and it worked best when we used the ready-made formula that comes in cartons. I sterilised the amount of bottles needed for the flight and put each one in a sandwich bag to try and keep them sterile (I think I was a bit mental!). There are also bottles you can buy that come packed and are pre-sterilised, but I was nervous my little one wouldn't take them as they were unfamiliar.

If your preferred formula brand doesn't come in cartons, and if you don't trust that the water available on the flight will be properly boiled, then there is a company that sell 'sterile' water suitable for babies - will try to remember their name.

2 other tips - ridiculous Heathrow security said we had to taste 50% of the baby's food to prove it was just milk! We had to beg and plead not to do this (as we had planned the amount we needed pretty carefully), so in the end only had to taste 1 or 2 of them. Sydney security were fine.

Finally - our bubs preferred warm milk and it wasn't always easy to get an attendant to heat it when we needed (or to the right temp), so maybe buy a bottle warmer for the flight if your little one also prefers a warm drink.

Good luck, and enjoy the trip!

[Sunlover00]

Thanks beany! All really useful info. Will Definately go for the carton option and bottle warmer. Can I ask if you felt the bassinets were decent enough, or do you think I should bring a sheepskin liner for example to make it cosy?

Can't believe heathrow are so strict - 50 percent is a lot to be tasting! I think I'll have to bring extra just in case they insist

[candj]

You can also ring the Boots at Heathrow (T5) and reserve some cartons of ready made formula to purchase after security. I would bring enough pre sterilised bottles with you on the flight. I too have done as above and had enough plus some individually wrapped in plastic.

You can heat milk by using one of the 'sickie' bags which are apparently waterproof with the hot water (which is VERY hot) from the tap in the galley - I had an air hostess heat baby food in one for me before. Obviously you'd have to leave it to heat in the galley and not do it at your seat!

In our experience, Singapore Airlines is very accommodating. Good luck!

[BellendenBear]

I don't think you can buy the cartons of formula in Oz so probably a good idea to buy enough for the way home too. Their airports don't seem to have the equivalent of Boots, but I couldn't find it in the supermarkets there either.

I flew to Oz with baby a couple of years ago. I also found that security coming back was much less strict.

How old is baby? I think Singapore airlines have some of the biggest bassinets. My daughter slept pretty well in hers and she was almost 14 months.

It won't be as bad as you think. Good luck.

[Beany]

The singapore bassinets seemed ok - but yes, we took her blanket for familiarity and comfort and we were glad we did. The bassinet we were given didn't have a hood or anything - so quite bright, and didn't manage to find a solution to that!

You can buy one brand of formula in Oz in cartons, but if your little one is attached to their brand then better bring extra, as they don't have the same brands in Oz usually. And yes, no Boots equivalent, so need to buy in advance for the Oz - UK trip.

Much easier to fly with young one I think - you'll be fine!

[Sunlover00]

Thanx for all the great tips everyone. Our baby will be 5 months by the time we fly. I'm sure the trip won't be as bad as I think but just sometimes, images that I will end up being the 'parent with screaming child' on a long flight slips into my mind. But with all this info now, I'm feeling much more Confident that feeding at least won't be an issue.

I'm Breastfeeding but I top up with formula at end of day when milk supply is a lower so hopefully I won't need too many cartons.

My baby tends to sleep shorter naps if there's quite a lot of light so I think I'll have to bring a snooze shade to drape over the bassinet. Think she's too nosy to sleep when she can see people and shapes!

[Mathilda]

I used the vital baby disposable bottles when we went to a festival last year and they worked well. They are a teat with a plastic bag attached for the milk, so they are v small and light to carry.

[Pickle]

We took disposable single use Tommee Tippee with us when we first went to NZ, as well as a couple of regular sterilised bottles. We took ready made cartons and had no trouble getting them through security, but you can buy them at boots so don't worry too much.

Having done the return flight to NZ around 8 times now with children in tow (first trip when son was 15 weeks old) we've always found it to be fine, and have never found either our kids or others around us to scream the whole time. Just try to relax, take a familiar item of bedding, and enjoy the flight.

[newcomer]

5 months is a really nice time to fly- your baby will probably sleep through a lot of it, and it'll be quite relaxing (well, compared to travelling with a toddler anyhow).

For various reasons, I've now done more than my fair share of long-haul flights with my son on my own, and it's never as bad as I expect. Having said that, I do try to be as prepared as possible.

My tips would be:

1) Bring more formula powder than you think you need (in case of spills; delays; etc). I usually bring twice as much.

2) The pouches of made-up formula are good but I'd also bring some powder as a back-up in case security make you open everything. For the powder, you could measure out the scoops into a clean bottle in advance, pop some cling film over the bottle-mouth (so that the powder can neither spill nor travel up into the teat), then screw on the teat and lid in their normal position. It's easier than faffing around trying to count scoops in dim lighting.

3) Make up the bottle yourself in the galley. An another poster mentioned, the stewards sometimes overheat the bottle and it's a painfully long wait until the milk cools down enough for your baby to drink.

4) Even if you never normally give any painkillers to your baby, please bring some Calpol or similar with you in case the change in pressure hurts your baby's ears or, God forbid, the baby develops a fever mid-flight. The sachets are handy, and I usually bring a few plastic (disposable) spoons with me too so I can simply chuck them if/when they get covered in sticky Calpol!

5) Wrap EVERYTHING in separate ziploc bags.

Enjoy the trip!

Ps, if you use Hipp Organic milk, bring LOADS with you. I couldn't find it anywhere in NZ the first time I went and my son refused every other brand I tried! Don't know about Oz though - maybe it's easier to find there.

[Inkmaiden]

Definitely take loads of powder with you if you use Hipp Organic- it's not available in Australia and the only organic formula I saw there was ?15 a pack! You can take an unlimited amount of formula powder through Heathrow security and Australian customs are fine with it at the other end as long as it's unopened.

[Sanne Panne]

Also, at 5 months age you really don't need to worry about perfect sterilisation. Good to pre-sterilise and allow to dry bottles thoroughly (for peace of mind etc etc) but even if you have to re-use a bottle just by rinsing it with water you'll be fine... the infamously germophobic Americans don't usually sterilise baby bottles at all except once after buying them new! No need to change your habits just to make you feel more relaxed in case things don't go as planned.

[Sunlover00]

That's brilliant - thanks for all the advice everyone, really appreciate it! My other half will think I'm a genius when I look super organised and brilliant for thinking of every scenario ;0)

[bobby's bear]

We took our baby to Oz when she was five months and I would echo what everyone else is saying in that it is a great time to fly long haul with a little one. The cabin crew fell over themelves to help us and even took her into the galley for a play when they were quiet to give us a break. They only thing I would add is to bring more nappies and changes of clothes than you think you need. I think the cabin pressure upset our LO's tummy and we had several leaky poos and then during turbulance the steward spilt orange juice on her so we needed several costume changes. The temperature on board also ranged from freezing to boiling.

[chica9]

I'd echo what others have said here. I've done several long haul flights with my daughter, now 9 months old (and also mixed fed) without any problems. My daughter loved all the attention from the stewardesses and other passengers!

I usually make up a couple of bottles just before I leave home using pre-mixed cartons, then carry them in a little cool bag which will keep things cool for 8-12 hours - security may ask you to taste them but I figured that by unscrewing the top and tipping a bit out onto my hand to taste I was keeping what was in the bottle reasonably sterile. I found it useful to have an emergency bottle to hand in case of long queues and sudden meltdowns in the airport. For later in the flight, I took one of those dispensers into which you measure out 3 separate formula powder doses - this made making up bottles in the galley really easy. They have hot water dispensers where the temperature is over 90 degrees - I would then cool the bottle by putting it in my daughter's sippy cup together with some cold water from the water dispensers (or washroom) - I guess your daughter may not have one yet but any wide enough container will do! The bottle cooled quite quickly by doing this a few times. And I guess you could ask for ice. I also bought cartons of pre-mixed formula from Boots once I had passed through security, but it's worth remembering that some new planes don't seem to have fridges in the galley, so you'll have to tip away any of this formula that you don't use immediately.

I'd take enough bottles and formula for the flight, airport transit (at each end) and at least one spare. My daughter is very easily distracted from breastfeeding - all the people, lights and activity in airports and planes appeared to be much more interesting than feeding, including during take-off - and so I was glad to have a couple of extra bottles just in case I needed them.

A couple of other tips:

The one downside to the seats with baby cots is that whilst you have lots of space on the floor for your stuff during the flight, you can't have anything there during taxi and take-off, so all your supplies will be in overhead storage for what can feel like quite a while if you're flying from Heathrow! It's worth stashing what take-off essentials you can around you / in the magazine holder in front of you. I'd suggest a sachet of calpol + tube of teething gel; some wipes or muslins; maybe a bottle; and a couple of favourite small toys/rattles- particularly any your baby likes to gnaw on.

If your daughter has a favourite TV programme, and you have an iPad or small laptop, I recommend downloading a couple of her favourite shows to take with you. No help during take-off, but this can be a lifesaver midflight and for the middle of the night once you're at your destination and you have a wide awake jetlagged baby.

Have a great trip!

[Alexthecamel]

I took a five months old on a very long journey- 3 days! and reverted to exclusively breast feeding. I had been mixed feeding before, but couldn't face the hassle of making up bottles in unsanitary and cramped conditions. It worked really well!