[Miggy]

Hi,
Not sure if I've posted this in the right section. We've been here just under 2 years and our new baby daughter was born 5 weeks ago. Unfortunately, things have gone far from smoothly culminating with her being admitted to Starship just over a week ago, where she almost died.

I'm missing my family in the UK terribly and my mum has offered to help us out with the cost of flights if we want to go back for a short break. My brain is pretty fuddled at the moment but I just can't get my head around how the bottle/formula thing will work with the restrictions on liquids etc. especially given the length of time we will be in the air/in transit. We would be flying with Singapore Airlines and changing planes at Singapore airport.

I know that you used to be able to buy throw away "steribottles" in the UK but I've never seen them over here. Can I take pre-made up bottles on the plane? Although to be honest I would have no way to keep them cool for such a length of time. Could I take bottles made up with cooled, boiled water and add the formula later? Does the formula have to be in a sealed tin?

I'm more concerned about the change of plane in Singapore than in Auckland as I don't want to get half way then have the stuff taken off us.

Sorry for all the questions. I'm sure there is a simple solution but I just can't think of it at the moment!

Thank you so much,
Lynn

[Tia Maria]

Miggy,

Sorry to hear you've had such a hard time and I'm glad to hear your baby is a little fighter.

I haven't got time to reply fully now but there are lots of ways round it, so don't worry!

If you've got time search the forum for some of my post about Feb 2008 you should find ones about my trip back. Alternatively search for 'Changi', and that should throw up a couple of my threads, I've been back twice with baby, once by myself and once with family.

I'll try to post more if I get time later...

Cheers

Tia

[Georgebulldog]

First of all congratulations on the birth of your daughter, a short post from me as 9 week old will need feeding any minute but you can put freshly boiled water in a sterilised bottle & it will keep OK for 24 hours then add the formula milk as you need it so no need to keep cooled. You can buy packets of milk powder which I assume should be OK or I know you can buy ready made up formula, well you can in the UK?!
I use the method I said to feed my dd as advised for my 1st from my UK midwife & it was so much better than heating bottles.
Anyway good luck but I would maybe call the airline although they never seem to know much.
Gotta run it's feeding time :D

[nippa&pippa]

Sorry to hear about your daughter, I hope she will make fully recover.

I am not going to be much help on bottle feeding but my middle child was 9 weeks old when we visit NZ on reccie and she was onl hypoallergic formula milk "top-up" (a bottle feed after full breastfeeding, once a day). There was no packet or ready-made milk, just powder for hypoallergic, so we had to take a whole tin onto plane, with empty sterlised bottles. Then once we in the plane, I gave bottle to stewardress fill up with boiling water when I knew her feeding time due in 30-60mins time to allow bottle cool down, then when it is feeding time, I just added powder into bottle.
We manage to get tin of formula milk onto plane as I had a letter from GP to stated these are hypoallergic formula milk so they know I can't buy them in packet/ready-made milk carton as well as for NZ's MAF.
I have heard other mums used bottle water to add into sterlised bottles as other options that you can buy after you been to customs, then ask stewardress to heat the bottle up, but that mean you have to carry water...

[Jo Jo]

Hi Miggy,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope your daughter is on the mend now.


Could I take bottles made up with cooled, boiled water and add the formula later?

Yes, you can. This is what my sister did when she came to visit me earlier this year.

Does the formula have to be in a sealed tin?

No, it doesn't have to be in a sealed tin. My sister carried hers in a plastic tub. There aren't any restrictions on the amount of formula powder you can take on the plane with you, either.

I can't remember which airport my sister flew back though, but you should be fine at Changi - you can read the details of the security restrictions at Changi here (http://www.changiairport.com/changi/en/airport_guide/departure/safety_n_security/travel_advisory_faq.html#em).

[Miggy]

Thanks so much for all your helpful suggestions. Feel a lot better now and flight back home doesn't seem so insurmountable.

(Just realised that I called the UK "home" - yikes! - hopefully just a post-natal blip)

[Tia Maria]

Miggy, firstly I found Changi airport to be the most relaxed of the airports, (compared to Heathrow and Auckland), on this matter, but obviously it can depend on who you get on the day.

I bought sachets of baby formula, as this way I would not need to lug around a big tin, also they are easier to pour into a bottle while sitting in an airline seat - although I still got a fair amount on my lap. They are not concerned by sealed sachets. The sachets make up to 8oz which is more than your 5 week old will need, but obviously just throw away what you don't need. (or take a scoop with you, to scoop out what you need).

I then had empty cleaned and sterilised bottles. Once I passed through all the 'liquid checks', I got some boiling water from a cafe and made up a bottle, so it would have time to cool before baby needed it. Once on the plane the air stewards will do the same and give you 8ozs of boiling water - always leave time for it to cool, sometimes they have room in the fridge for it - but not always.

They let families with young kids on early but I found that restricted the amount of walking around I could do with baby, so I often sent hubby on first to get everything set up, then I took a slow walk down to the plane.

Just in case you don't have a bottle ready, take a dummy for baby to suck on for take off and landing, as this can ease any ear pain.

I'm not sure if you are stopping at Changi for any length of time but I would just have the one bottle made up if necessary, the worst that will happen is they ask you to take a sip. Either try to do this without touching the teat, or swap the teat after, for one you haven't sucked on.

Obviously sterilising doesn't matter so much with older babies, but with a 5 week old who has been ill, you'll want to be extra careful. I had at least a 6 hour stopover in Changi, so I checked into the transit hotel. There I washed all the bottle with boiling water from the kettle, (I had bottle brushes but I had no w-up liquid, so I made sure it was boiling), and the used cold water sterilising. You can just find a lidded lunchbox, that fits two of your bottles, then use sterilising tablets, (in original box, in case they wonder what they are too!).

www.foodtown.co.nz/steriliser_tablets_karicare_153304.htm

You can do this on the plane also, although harder in a smaller space. Its really simple but I suggest you practice it at home first, just so you can get you head around what's involved. One good tip is to make sure you rinse out your bottles as soon as they are finished with, as its the milk that has been left in for a while, that causes all the problems.

So if you plan it well enough you never need to go through security with liquid, but if you don't the worst that will happen is that you will have to drink the milk.

On the way back you can buy some steribottle from Boots, but I suggest you test them. I've use them before and they can leak - although this is easily solved by wrapping a Muslin square around the bottle. But more importantly the teat will be different to what your baby is use to using and you will want to be confident that it won't be a problem.

Heathrow has a Boots the other side of the security checks, which has a small section of ready made formula. I bought some of these for the first flight back and used sachets for the second. However, don't rely on it as there were only a few, so they could easily be sold out.

Heathrow was the worst for checks, they made lots of people try the milk and insisted on searching my bag with their 'liquid detector', (some tongs holding a bit of something or other), as I think they were convinced I was concealing milk somewhere.

Take a baby sling with you, because although you will get priority for a bassinet, if the seat belt sign is on you will have to take them out of it and it can be a long time to hold a baby. Although they still might make you take the baby out of the sling if they are not convinced its safe.

Singapore Air are great with babies and will have no problem helping you out. They asked me how hot I wanted the water and how much, so they were obviously use to doing it. :nice1

Hope that helps...

Cheers

Tia

[thewoodies]

You can get the steri bottles disposable in boots! Can you get your mum to post you some - I used them to go to Jamacia from UK in Jan (10 hr flight) they are bulky but as you use them you throw so it gets easier also make sure you take extra feed/bottles in case you are delayed (I didnt - i packed spare in my suitcase -BIG mistake).

If you took liquid through gatwick and montego bay i had to taste it first on both flights!

I would take sachets and sealed disposable bottles next time and get the hostess to fill the bottel with water. If you cant get disposable bottels get some cheap ones you dont mind throwing away ( i know not very environmentally friendly but a poorly baby has to come first).

Good Luck:cheers

[Familyofmonkeys]

Take a baby sling with you, because although you will get priority for a bassinet, if the seat belt sign is on you will have to take them out of it and it can be a long time to hold a baby. Although they still might make you take the baby out of the sling if they are not convinced its safe.



We flew with Singapore airlines and wearing a baby sling was against the rules.....they asked me to remove it for both flights. On the second leg of journey the seatbelt light was on for over 8 hours due to turbulence so I had to have 12 week old baby strapped to my knee.....not very secure....a sling would have been much safer and more comfortable, but they make the rules :roll

That said, it was very useful to have baby attched to me when we were waiting around the airport....kept my hands free for other things.