Flying long haul (Australia) with a 6 month old

[Strawbs]

Hi

Looks like I need to fly home to oz (family situation) and I'll be doing it on my own (other half will need to come out for funeral so can't come twice) and I'll be taking my son who is a horrendous sleeper as it is. Any tips for how best to do this on my own? Is it worth breaking the trip up? He is on dairy free formula so I need to see if I can get it in oz (I've googled and it says it's $300 for 8 tins!!!) or maybe I will need to post it over - has anyone gone on holiday there who's child has been on neocate and been able to get it easily?

Is it worth me not taking the pram (bugaboo chameleon so a big difficult pram to fold and pack away) and try to borrow one or am I better off having it for the waiting time at the airport? I have an ergo carrier but he doesn't sleep well in it.. Is there a different sling / carrier that I should get to help him with this?

Sorry for all the questions, been up since 1 with phone calls to and from home so trying to get my head organised.

Cheers x

[avj]

We took our daughter to NZ when she was 4 months old, and I would def advise taking the pram. The shortest stopover will be 3 hours and thats a long time to only have a carrier, especially if you are trying to eat, use the bathroom etc. The staff at the airports tend to be really helpful with babies and will help you as much as possible with folding the pram etc, and making sure you can normally pick up from the gate.

Hope this helps

[nikki73]

I would take an umbrella fold that reclined. I have a zapp with travel bag you re welcome to borrow but it doesn't recline and I am away until Friday. Very light though.not done long haul but flights in my experience have always been better than anticipated.and there's always someone kind to help.good luck and sorry you have to travel in such circumstances.

[nikki73]

Strawbs am sure there have been threads about flights to Australia/nz before. Might be worth doing search.x

[Pickle]

Definitely take a pram, but not the Cameleon... nightmare to collapse and reassemble and you'll have your hands full! We've always used a Maclaren to travel as you can unfold with one hand.

Do the trip in one go, it's fine. Have been to NZ by myself with kids at various ages and it's fine. Did it with son at 9 months, no bother at all. Sorry for short reply, one handed while feeding - do a search as I will have given advise on this before.

Sorry to hear of sad circumstances for the trip :(

[Vanessa3]

Hi Strawbs,

I flew home to Sydney on my own with one of my boys when he was just under 6 months old. I was expecting the worst & it was a pretty easy journey in the end, so don't worry too much in advance. Also, the ground crew & plane staff are generally really supportive & do help you out if you need a hand. I've found even the worst sleepers tend to fall asleep okay once the roar of the engines start up.

PRAM: I took our Phil & Ted's up to the gate & handed it over to ground staff - don't worry about the size of your pram - they let you take it to the gate & you will get it back in Oz. In Singapore I had little one in the baby bjorn - which was really useful as I had to take my massive baby bag off the plane & re-board - It was good to have hands free for clearing customs in Singapore & Sydney - but like I said, ground staff & other passengers are always happy to help out. You do get priority boarding & clearing customs with a baby when travelling alone.

FLYING: I've flown BA & Qantas over the years - arrange in advance the baby carrier seat - even at 5 months, my eldest was too big for the crib, and I had them swap it for the car seat - it works the same as the crib - it's fixed to the bulk hold once you're in the air, but baby must be on your lap during take off & landing & turbulence. Definitely grab sleep when you can, even if you're not tired - 24 hours is a long time not to sleep. I wouldn't advise stopping over - I stopped for a few days in HK last year, and had the problem of bringing a baby & a toddler down to Sydney alone & both were still on London time. They say you catch up on jet lag an hour a day, and I have definitely found this with children. A stop-over simply prolongs the inevitable- that you still need to get on a plane & do another long haul with a baby, except this time, baby will be all over the place with jet lag.

MILK: While both boys were BF, I had formula with me when one of the boys were 8 months old. I packed a couple of cartons of aptimel powder in my luggage, which was fine - baby gets the full 23kg luggage allowance, so weight should not be an issue. If you can get the dairy free formula here cheaper, pop it in your suit case. Any that you take on board, you will be asked at Heathrow to taste (they ask you to open half of it, but in reality, I've only ever had to open a few bottles)

Other good tips - pack a clean set of clothes for you - babies can do exploding poos & projectile pukes & at 36000 feet, it often lands on you!

Sorry for the essay - I've done this trip many times with little ones, so feel free to PM me if you have any specific worries. It's natural to feel a little bit anxious before a long haul with a baby by yourself, but it's only 24 hours, and for me, easy by comparison to childbirth!!

Good Luck!

[Strawbs]

Thanks everyone so much, thank goodness I got his passport last week, sorted his visa now just need to get hold of my dad and arrange flights etc..nikki thanks for the offer I may take you up on it. Defo won't be going prior to Friday so I'll let you know.

Thanks again sorry for the short reply my head is a bit all over the place x

[cazbee]

Hi Strawbs. I'm sorry you have to fly out for a family situation. I dread that call. I have done this trip once on my own with my son when he was 8 months old and survived to tell the tale, and on one leg we didn't even have a bassinet (I burst into tears at the check-in counter when they told me that!) but it really wasn't that bad and can definitely be done. I am going again soon with my husband when our son will be 17 months old son and I am sure even with two of us it will be much harder work this time.

I think 6 months is a good age to be doing it as your son won't be too mobile and agree he probably will sleep well once the drone of the engines kicks in. I couldn't sleep as my baby was just starting to crawl and I was terrified of him waking up and toppling out of the bassinet, so I just watched loads and loads of trashy films and it did seem to pass the time. I kept reciting to myself with each flight "it is only half a day - I can survive half a day". Like Vanessa3 after childbirth that was nothing in comparison! My son when he was awake was mostly amused with an empty plastic bottle and paper cups from the galley and I don't think I will be that lucky on our next trip!

I can't offer advice on the neocate but I second the suggestion of getting it here on prescription and taking as many unopened tins with you as you can fit in your case. It is summer there so you won't need to pack bulky clothes. Customs will probably not have a problem with the formula as long as the tins are sealed. Maybe take a letter from your GP? If you run out you will definitely be able to get a dairy free equivalent there. Would your travel insurance cover trips to GP and medical costs there to get the formula on script? Could you put out a call to mum friends in Oz on Facebook to see if they have any advice/info on dairy free formula?

I flew with Singapore which was not the cheapest but the flight times were convenient and the staff were excellent. They helped me get settled on each flight, put my hand luggage away, brought a little toy for the baby (I kept them all and attached them to his buggy as badges of honour for surviving the flight!!) and held him so I could go to the loo, eat my meal etc.

I did break up the journey which worked well for me because I am not a good flyer even pre-baby (a bit unfortunate for an Australian!) and find it very physically taxing. I took a 10pm flight from Heathrow, then got a cab from Singapore airport and stayed a night with some brilliant friends who had a baby so were kitted out, then had a full day in the tropical sun, which I found good for adjusting our body clocks and then went back to the airport for another night flight at 8pm the rest of the way to Sydney. I can't say I or baby slept much that night in Singapore but being able to lie down/rest/eat/shower/feel slightly human again was good enough. I wasn't in a hurry to get home, which I appreaciate you will be if it's a family emergency, and didn't have to pay for a hotel which are very steep. If you think a stopover would be good for you do you have any mates in the tropics you could call on for a night?

For me, the hardest part was not the flight but the first week dealing with a jet lagged baby. My parents were working so I had to basically keep going all day and night for the first 5 days so it was just like having a newborn tiredness wise. So in that respect I was glad I broke up the journey as I wasn't quite so knackered when I got there. Hopefully you will have some offers of babysitting when you arrive.

Best of luck. You will be fine and hopefully you will be able to spend some enjoyable time with friends and family as well as dealing with the family situation. xx

[patt1980]

Hi,

It's never nice to have to do the flight back for something like this so i feel for you. We had to do it reverse when we lived in Oz and it is the phone call you dread. Mini patt was born in Sydney and we moved back to London when she was 5 months old last August so did the reverse trip. She is a 'Neocate baby' and it was pretty similar getting it there as here, if you don't have a prescription it is about $60 a tin though. Most pharmacies need to order it in but this only takes 1 night. I posted 8 tins and took 8 in one suitcase and customs were fine with both. It would be worth taking your Dr's notes and copy of prescription with you in case you run out as you might be able to get the Dr to issue a script there but i found i could only get mine from my peadatrician and as you pay around $300 to see one of those it may be cheaper to buy Neocate depending how long you are there.

I didn't find the flight as bad as i thought and my daughter has always been a rubbish sleeper (off topic but am sure there's a connection with dairy intolerance, neocate and bad sleeping?!), she slept for about 6 hours of the first leg and 4/5 of the second. In between she liked playing with the remote controls, having a go on the headphones and walking around looking at the lights. I flew Thai and they were incredibly good with me having a child and very helpful. Jetlag for the baby wasn't too bad either and i think having a bad sleeper actually helps with this as it's not like they have a perfect 7pm-7am routine that gets disrupted!

Anyway good luck and if you have any other questions re neocate etc feel free to PM me.

[Strawbs]

Thanks patt I'm going to post some and take some, I called Australian customs and they said it was fine because it was dairy free phew!!

Does anyone know will they allow me to take Ella's kitchen through customs? Thanks!

[Pickle]

I've managed to get baby food through NZ customs, so I think you'll be fine (I think NZ are tougher?). as long as you declare it I doubt there will be a problem.

[Inkmaiden]

I didn't have any problem taking pouches through Australian customs a year ago but they have lots of organic pouches in most Australian supermarkets now anyway.

You can also take unlimited amounts of formula powder through British security for the trip and there was no issue with taking my main supply of formula through Australian customs because the containers were sealed and in my hold luggage.

[bli]

Hi

I haven't read all the posts here, so sorry if already answered... but just to say I took 10 tins of Nutramigen (dairy free formula) powder in my main bag, and 2 in my cabin bag when I flew to NZ a year ago. NZ Customs were a little surprised at the quantity, but had no problem with it as simply classed it as baby food, and didn't bother to look at the letter I had from my GP, nor actually open my bag to look at it (they saw it on xray). Not Australia, but imagine policies similar?

Heathrow security didn't ask me to taste it either, though made me throw away some soy yoghurts as quantity a few mls more than the limit, arrghhh, but that's a different issue.

Good luck, it will be tiring but better than you think. Sorry for your loss too.