UPDATE!!!!I need traveling tips!

[Lindsay1234]

Were going to go on a (first!) family vacation in a few weeks and were actually flying! I just want to make this as easy as possible for our family, the airline and security. Can you guys give me some tips?

Dd2 is 1 yr old, tube fed (backpack with pump), tons of meds, takes donor milk, so I will have a cooler filled with frozen. Were also bringing a stroller and a carseat.

-Are meds ok to be xrayd? What about frozen breastmilk?
-Her backpack/pump is NOT considered a carry-on, right? Is the cooler?
-How do they do screening processes on families like ours?
-I have notes from docs saying she needs meds, BM, etc, is that right?
-dd2 is tubefed and takes nothing by mouth, any experience flying with a kid that doesnt suck? what about the ear popping?
-carseat gets checked, stroller gets taken to the plane? Shes sitting on our laps for the 1 hr flight.
-will we survive this?



I was going to call TSA this week too.
Have any experiences with kids of any diagnosis and flying?

Thanks guys!

[AndVeeGeeMakes3]

We travel as a family a lot, but only in cars. However, I travel a lot solo, and what I'd recommend, based on my observations, is that you need to check with the airline in addition to TSA, particularly in regards to what is going to be considered carry-on. I flew a few weeks ago with a compact roller bag and a laptop bag and a purse, all of which I carried on on the to leg of the trip. On the way back, at the layover, they made me check my roller bag AND my laptop bag because the plane was full.

Whatever they tell you, I'd ask if I could get their policies relative to your case in writing so that you don't encounter a non-kid-loving attendant or whatever who won't work with you. I do know that medicines and formula (or bmilk) are allowed, though I wonder about the cooler.

SUPER congrats on getting a vacation!!!!! Have fun!

[RiverTam]

Originally Posted by Lindsay1234

-dd2 is tubefed and takes nothing by mouth, any experience flying with a kid that doesnt suck? what about the ear popping?
-carseat gets checked, stroller gets taken to the plane? Shes sitting on our laps for the 1 hr flight.

There are lots of ways to get ears to pop. Both my kids had lots of ear infections. I also have a scuba C-card. If you can't take anything by mouth,
open the jaws as wide as you can and take a big deep yawn. Repeat until the ears pop. My husband also swears that if he moves his jaw side-to-side, it opens his ears. Repeated swallowing works for some people. A pacifier works for some kids. (Gum chewing, gummy candy, or anything chewy, works for older kids who can take stuff by mouth. A bottle or breast feeding works for kids who can take something by mouth.)

You can probably take the stroller to the door of the plane. The flight crew will take it there. They'll stow it (underneath the passenger compartment) for you. Before you get off, someone will retrieve your stroller for you and it will be waiting outside the door for you.

[anj_rn]

OK, here is my experience on Continental:

Medical equipment does not count against your luggage requirement as long as it does not have anything but medical equipment in it, and you have to have access to it on the plane. (I.e. the pump bag won't count as long as there are no stuffies or toys in the bag). The diaper bag will count. Airlines are 50/50 on the coolers as medical equipment since you do not technically need access to the milk.

They did not count our suction machines, or trach bag with meds, but they did count our cooler. We always gate check the stroller, and carry on the car seats (since ours are not lap riders).

Call ahead and have then mark your ticket as a special needs ticket, then ask for assistance going through security. Any time I was questioned, I showed them DDs trach & g-button and explained what they were for and how they worked, it did a lot to smooth things over since they focused on her needs not just the equipment.

[Lindsay1234]

THANKS GUYS!!!!

I feel a little more confident now. Her meds need to be refrigerated and the BM is from a donor so the cooler is counted as med supplies!

I chatted with her airline AND TSA, so Im feeling good now.
And thanks for the ear popping tips, she doesnt take a paci of BF, but she does swallow and move her mouth!

[Lindsay1234]

Thanks for all your advise guys, traveling was a SNAP!

We went to the handicap/family security line and declared all our stuff first, then they escorted us to the xray and asked our permission to xray all the supplies and cooler. Then they asked if it was possible for me to hold the baby while walking through (no big deal) and they folded up the stroller for me, let me through with huge smiles and kind words and we were free to go!

I was practically speechless from the kindness and courtesy we experienced. This was at San Francisco and Las Vegas. In LV, they DID have me open up the fresh milk and they used this machine to test the air above the milk, I guess for chemicals? But they didnt touch the bottle at all, made me open and close it.

FYI, dd1 and dh had backpacks. I had a HUGE diaper bag and this rei cooler (pretty big) packed with 250+ oz of frozen BM, the blue ice packs, meds and 4 bottles full of fresh and then I had dd2s pump backpack (stuffed w med supplies), stroller and car seat. We weren't charged for anything and no one hassled or even rolled their eyes over our stuff.

Her ears must have popped on their own, she laughed the entire time we were flying, no bottle/paci.

Pain free! Thanks for your tips, they ALL helped!!!!