Air-traveled with a toddler lately?

The planes have lots of drinks and you can also carry on any beverage bought in the airport after you have passed through security. You'll pay a lot more for it at the airport shop but it'll be worth having your favorites handy. Very few planes I have been on seem to have milk so I always buy some at the airport shop along with a bottle of water.

There aren't any food restrictions about what you can carry on so just pack a buch of her favorites.

Mo is a lot older than your daughter but the thing that always seems to save us is a portable DVD player with some favorite shows/films. A few small toys and some books.

And don't forget to put a change of clothes for everyone flying in your carry on bag in case she gets barfy or wet.

Have a great trip!

Here are the latest restrictions:

http://www.tsa.gov/311

Thank you, Boomerang and Sozobe. Helpful information!

I guess I was thinking that her applesauce might be considered 'gel' and get chucked out... maybe not. Didn't catch that the restriction was only on liquids. Thanks, I will pack a bunch of her fav foods for the trip. (And the clothes & books etc.)

Thanks for the link, Sozobe...reading up now. Will also call the airline to find out more once I have our itinerary (someone else booked our tix for us).

Nope, applesauce gets chucked unless it's under 3 ounces. Last time we traveled (October, I think), I had a small container of applesauce (maybe 6 ounces) that I was counting on for sozlet-sustenance, nope, chucked. I wasn't happy. :-(

That was what I brought IN to the airport though, I think if you buy it once past security you're OK, and most airports have that kind of thing (this was a teeny one and didn't).

One thing that worked well on sozlet-the-toddler was to have a succession of (cheap!) new toys that were pulled out at well-timed intervals.

...sorry, applesauce gets chucked if it's OVER 3 ounces, not under 3 ounces. Under 3 ounces is fine.

ooooh! GOOD to know, thanks, Sozobe! I think the smallest sized applesauce tubs/jars are 4 oz (gerber, earth's best? etc.). I'll call the airport, see if there're stores inside the airport selling baby-food.

I just spoke to the nicest customer rep at Philly airport. Never met an airport staffer who was as polite & helpful as this lady. She confirmed that food items brought from the outside must be plastic-baggied and 3 oz or less. She's trying to find out if there are any stores inside the airport that sell baby food and I have to call her back in a bit.

I'm really surprised that baby food counts as a liquid or gel. Weird, that.

I've seen those little packaged containers of applesauce at delis and such at airports -- most decent-sized airports have those. As in, while baby food per se might not be sold, I think applesauce is more likely to be gettable.

Then again, there have to be a whole lot of travelers who are looking for baby food in airports these days, so while I don't remember seeing a lot of baby food, I have only traveled once since the latest restrictions and that may have changed.

Back home, trips done - safe & fun.

Neither Philadelphia nor San Francisco airports had *any* babyfood available after the security check-in point. None! At Philly airport, we could actually find a small carton of milk for M - and that was all. I carried small tubs of mandarin oranges (bought in bulk from Costco) in plastic baggies, and other little snacks like graham crackers, goldfish, cheerios, and several slices of cheese. We bought breakfast egg sandwiches at Philly airport to carry on the flight so we could feed her some of those eggs. It was interesting that when I asked the stewardess to refrigerate the cheese and milk for me, she said that she could give me a bag of ice to stick those items into, and I'd have to keep them at my seat. I didn't push it, we'd already had some trouble with seats etc....but it was very annoying. Maybe they only provide that little help for infant formula/breast-milk etc. Good thing was that ours was a Very Early morning flight to SFO, and it was direct. So M slept through a lot of it.

Coming back was a little easier - shorter, only 5-hour flight, and again M slept through a lot of it.

This was M's sixth air trip since she was born. In terms of the sheer number of take-offs & landings - it was her 22nd flight!!! She was *such* a good baby....slept quite a bit, when she was awake, she played with her books, or just ripped a couple magazines.

One more cross-country trip coming up on Friday - and I'm desperately seeking suggestions for edibles to carry for my M-ster.

Some background - M's a pretty well-air-traveled baby, and we never had a problem until last month on our to-CA flight. She was soooooo airsick, my poor baby. I was beside myself because I think that in her whole 25-month old life - she's thrown up ~5 times. Never spat up milk even. On that flight, though, there was literally a River of vomit - twice. It freaked us both out. I just wouldn't even believe the poor flight attendent (super nice, even though he got some on his pants!) that he saw it ALL the time, and that it was just air-sickness and nothing else. Anyway, M nodded off to sleep after and I calmed down. And she was right as rain on the trip back. I'm pretty sure now that it was the heat that did it to her - standing in the long check-in queue outside in 85 degs, and then in the security line with almost no air-conditioning.

Well, it's going to be 96 degs here tomorrow. And I'm convinced that it'll be a similar scenario. I checked with M's doc and there's basically no medication that they can provide for a 2-yr-old. Just said to feed her light, dry stuff & clear liquids. Now, M'll have her lunch (which I'll keep light) at her daycare, but I will need to pack some dinner-type stuff for her. Beyond pretzels and goldfish and apple juice, I'm drawing a complete blank as to what I should keep in my carry-on. I have to make sure it'll be something that can keep in the heat. Philly airport has pretty much zilch food stuff for a baby, so I'll have to take it from home.

Yeah, heat has been a problem for us too, I think you're right.

The 2-oz-of liquid rule really sucks in this situation. Normally I'd recommend freezing some stuff so that as it melts it will be nice and cold, but I don't think you can bring it on.

Try asking for a cup of ice cubes right when you get on, or ice chips if they have them. That's what has helped sozlet most in those circumstances.

Make sure she's very well-rested, too. Heat, tiredness, and motion seem to be the recipe for disaster.

As for dinner-type stuff... eek. Fruit... grapes, that kind of thing. Does she eat sandwiches? Peanut butter and jelly?

Nope - my strange little girl *will not* eat sandwiches. She nibbles on slices of cinnamon bread (there you go - one more item I can pack & that will travel ok).

Yeah. Fruits is good. I think I should be able to find some fruit salad inside the airport. (I generally don't like to give her cut fruit from outside - but I think that it might be safer because whatever I carry from home will probably get squishy & whatnot.)

Ok...feeling a little better. Thanks.

One more question: do you think it's nutty to keep wiping her hands & face with a wet-wipe while we're standing in the queues? I thought it'll help keep her cool but someone just said to me that it'll make her sick later (coz of temp. difference?). Doesn't make sense to me - so thought I'd check.

Does she like rice?

I was thinking that when my stomach gets wonky I fall back on what my doc calls the BRAT diet - bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. Those little bags or Ready-Rice could probably make it past airport security without a hitch. You're supposed to heat them in the microwave for 90 seconds but I know a lot of campers who say you can eat it right from the bag.

She does like rice! But she won't eat the kind that comes out a bag - I'd have to cook it for her.

So. If I were to take out her cooked rice from the fridge *just* before leaving for the airport. Oh, and if I pack it in ice and only discard the ice at the last securty check point (probably about 2 hours by that time) - do you think it'll be safe to eat for her?

I think wiping her head and hands with wet wipes sounds like it would be soothing. And of course dress her appropriately for the heat but bring a small blanket for when the AC kicks on.

Does she like crackers and such? String cheese? Oh, maybe not if she's got tummy trouble. Grapes are good, apples are nice but hard to cut on a plane. Bananas make sense.

Cool, thanks, FreeDuck. That's what I thought (re: wiping down face/neck/hands) - but got thrown a bit.

Will definitely pick up some fruit inside the airport (I *think* there a Starbuck's(-y type place) inside by the gates. And she'll eat that for sure, too.

Also, Sozobe - you're allowed to take in 4-oz liquid bottles. So I'm going to stick her Gerber apple juice bottles (conveniently 4-oz) into the freezer - great idea, thanks!

I know you know this but I'll say it here anyway, avoid milk for the day (maybe even the day before). Ducklet was extremely motion sick. The formula guaranteed to make her throw up was heat + milk + car. Worked every time. And it didn't have to be much heat either -- it happened in the winter if we didn't un-bundle her once she was in the car.

Hmm. I don't know about the safety of home cooked rice traveling so far. And I don't know how airports are about various containers of food. That's why I was thinking ready-rice. Uncle Ben's makes several varieties, I've only tried the wild rice (it was okay) so I can't vouch for any of the other flavors.

What about chicken noodle soup? They make those open and eat cans now. (Another favorite of campers.)