Things to consider when traveling internationally with infant
My hubby is in the military. He was able to come home for the birth, the downside he will not be home again until May. He also has a rather nice duty station; alas, the base is overseas and does not allow children under six to live there. So we are here and he is waaaay over there. Hubby and I are thinking about having me and the little one visit in December before I start back full time at school.
We gave ourselves until the end of the month before booking the flight, that was we have plenty of time to research and finalize everything. We want to figure out logistics now rather than later.
What are some things we should probably have figured out?
For instance, the first “problem” I thought of was how am I going to feed the baby (who will be four months at the time of the trip). Flights with layover is looking like 26 hours, add in getting to the air port early, and travel time to and from lodging on either end equals a huge stash of milk needs to be packed. I exclusively pump and the TSA 3-1-1 did not sound very breast milk friendly. I e-mailed TSA and they were very quick to respond. Turns out breast milk is considered liquid medicine and does not fall into the 3-1-1. As long as each container is 3 oz or greater you can bring as much as necessary, on top which you are allowed frozen liquid/gels to keep it cold.
oh and Air France is looking like our most likely candidate for air carrier… any one travel with them recently?
Look into getting a skycot/bassinet
Before you travel you should call the airline and see if they offer a bassinet for the baby. They attach to the bulkhead and give you a place to set down the little one if you don't buy them a seat. We are flying with South African Airways in late Dec and arranged the bassinet when we made the reservation. If you don't buy the baby a ticket, be aware that you will be charged 10% of the fare plus all the taxes. For us that ended up being almost $600.
Also, you should look into whether the airport you have the lay over in has a hotel or other rooms you can rent in the airport. I know that the airport in Amsterdam has rooms you can rent so you can get a chance to lie down and rest between flights or take a shower.
They also have babycare lounges which look interesting
http://www.schiphol.nl/web/show/id=92821/langid=42
Good Luck!