Traveling with babies/kids is sometimes a bit of a panic...
What to bring? What to do or not to do? Am I allowed to bring breast milk in my luggage without my baby?
We don't pretend to be able to answer all your questions because we realize that the policy around the transport of milk - to give only this example - remains very vague from one company to another, from one airport to another!
Pssst: that says a lot 😅 about the vagueness that remains around parenting.
1 📌 : organisation
Before ✈️ :
We advise you to prepare - at minimum - your trip in advance, to avoid surprises... Especially at this time when sanitary conditions are sometimes changing.
In this regard, we can recommend:
• TravelDoc.aero which remains an official site to consult in real time the conditions of entry.exit 🦠 in the countries.
• The Masked Traveler's Instagram account and website. It's a wealth of additional information to double check ✅
• Road map, travel documents: You don't necessarily need to print out all your tickets etc. but if you are traveling with two people, transfer tickets, covid certificates etc. to each other (it saves the situation if one of the two laptops drops out - yes, it's a real life experience), create a conversation to share everything in one place or use the Wallet application on your smartphone.
This will save you from searching through your emails in front of customs with that drop of sweat on your forehead.
By the way: buying an external portable battery for your smartphones is really worth it!
• You can also use valet parking services at the airport, if you follow us you must have seen the ECTOR service (an offer is to be found in the Tajinebanane Breastfast Club). The valet will wait for you at the airport drop-off point and will park the car in a safe place. They will follow your arrival in real time to return your car at the exit of the train/plane.
Saving a lot of time and logistics!
At the airport ✈️ :
Families with children can have easy-access to check-in formalities, and can also board the plane earlier. This facility is not always respected but it does a lot of good 🤪, don't hesitate to get closer to a hostess to make yourself known!
Alternative solution, take out only one snack for the whole clan, let the meltdown happen, there is a good chance that you will be spotted. 🤓
If you are not the most organised, you also have:
• the option "posage de cerveau" in all-inclusive offers like at Club Med 🌴
• Roadtrip orga option from A to Z with Evaneos 🚌
During ✈️ :
Read on for more tips!
2 🥛 : take away milk
If you are traveling with breast milk in a bottle: at room temperature, breast milk can be kept between 4 and 6 hours maximum. If you know that your flight (and all the process before departure) may exceed this time frame, and to avoid any risk of milk contamination, we advise you to travel with a small cooler + ice pack.
Boob to know: it is recommended that babies suck/drink during take-off/landing to avoid earaches. Indeed, sucking allows to regulate the pressure of the internal ear of your bambinos! So don't hesitate to give the breast, a pacifier or a bibi during take-off and landing! 
We searched the net for information 🎣 :
Flying with baby:
Concerning the transport of breast milk, it is very rare that airlines do not allow the transport of breast milk. Indeed, for travelers with babies, liquid products (milk, water) are generally accepted by the teams on board the flights.
We have explored a few sites:
✈️ Paris Aéroport:
"Yes, breast milk can be carried in the cabin.
It is subject to the same transportation rules as indicated in the previous question:
Liquid baby food is allowed in your carry-on bag in the amount necessary for the duration of the trip (outbound trip, stay at the destination and return trip). You must be able to justify the need to keep these liquids in the cabin, due to the presence of a baby with you.
Any excess must be packed in your checked baggage.
✈️ Air France flight with baby:
"Breast milk and infant formula are allowed, and even if the passenger is not traveling with their infant, but they may be subject to additional screening."
✈️ Easyjet flight with baby:
"We support breastfeeding mothers by allowing them to feed their babies on board the aircraft at any time. The 100ml liquid limit per container does not apply to milk, sterilized water or baby food, provided the total amount does not exceed 1 liter. You may be asked to taste it for safety reasons."
Find all the information at this link:
http://www.easyjet.com/fr/aide/embarquement-et-vol/voyager-avec-des-enfants
✈️ Vueling flight with baby:
"You can pack any food your child needs for the trip in your carry-on, including water, porridges or purees, which you can carry in containers larger than 100ml. Also, the containers do not need to be sealed."
✈️ Lyon airport flight with baby:
"Infant formula, milk, juice, water and baby food, in quantities reasonable for your itinerary, are not affected by the restrictions on liquids, aerosols and gels and are therefore allowed in the cabin. All such products must be presented to screening personnel for inspection separately from your carry-on baggage. The agent reserves the right to have you taste these products."
✈️ Marseille airport flight with baby:
"If you are traveling with a baby, you can take the food and beverages in quantities necessary for the child's travel in your carry-on baggage (baby food and bottles, milk, powdered milk and water)."
In summary, if you are traveling with baby, carrying breast milk in the cabin is allowed with varying degrees of restrictions depending on the airport/airline.
Flight without a baby:
However, we did not find any information about carrying breast milk in the cabin when traveling without a baby?
👀 Observation:
It is still very likely that you will need to carry breast milk without your baby on the flight. We agree that in the vast majority of cases, when a mother expresses breast milk while traveling, it is because she is not in the presence of her baby and that it is not necessarily obvious from an economic and logistical point of view to check a bag in the hold. We obviously understand the security issues, but we are a little concerned that the subject is not written in black and white because we sincerely believe that it is not a minor issue in the daily life of mothers.
Cabin baggage without baby:
In the absence of clear instructions from both airlines and airports on this subject, we invite you to follow the recommendations valid for the transport of liquids in the cabin and not for the transport of baby food.
👀 A reminder:
(source : Aéroport de Paris)
Carriage of liquids in carry-on luggage:
• In containers with a maximum capacity of 100ml each.
• In a closed transparent plastic bag with a maximum capacity of 1 liter (size 20 x 20 cm).
• Only 1 bag per passenger.
• Products exceeding 100 ml must be placed in your checked baggage.
👀 Observation:
If you're traveling alone and don't feel like checking a checked bag for your milk, you may have to choose between your day creams and your baby's milk... Sounds like a joke but is unfortuantely, a reality 🙆🏾♀️
What about the breast pump?
There is little or no information on electric breast pumps (we are talking about the bulky ones, not the pocket-sized ones):
• You may not be allowed to put it in the hold of the plane because it has a battery in it, just as it may be considered as additional cabin luggage and therefore subject to an excess... 🤷🏽♀️
• The same as for the transport of milk. The instructions are not very clear, the risk is that it is "dependent on the personnel onboard".
I have personally been denied access to the plane with my electric breast pump in a tote bag if I did not pay an additional fee. I refused to pay and fortunately had time to contact my doctor who emailed me a prescription for the use of a breast pump so that I could be allowed to transport it!
I escaped an 80 euro charge... This bad experience happened to me only once in 2 years of travels during my breastfeeding, but I advise you to bring your prescription in case of transporting an electric breast pump in order to avoid this type of frustration!
3 🛌 : fête du sleep
If you can, choose flights at times when your child normally sleeps. To do this, we validate flights/trips at night!
(even if, as you can imagine, nothing guarantees a deep sleep 😂!).
Little tip:
If you are going with several people, when choosing your seats on the plane, select a window seat + an aisle seat.
Indeed, it is very rare that the middle seat is chosen so you have ++ chances to end up with a seat in the middle just for you and to lay down your baby/youth!
If the plane is full = bad luck!
You'll just have to ask your charming neighbors to switch with you unless they feel like being babysitters (unlikely, let's face it... 😅).
Jetlag 🥱 :
Speaking of sleep, here are Marie @mytraveldreams' tips for dealing with our babies' jetlag:
https://www.mytraveldreams.fr/blog/2019/04/15/comment-gerer-le-jet-lag-avec-bebe-conseils-des-pros/
4 🧳 : travel light (easier said than done, but we'll try it!)
🐒 Roll and carry the little ones:
• 🤰🏼 YOYO® style baby carriers or compact strollers that can be kept in the cabin are very useful, especially if you are traveling alone with your children.
For our toddlers who are no longer transported: we love la valise Béaba which acts as a stroller suitcase. It's not super large but very, very practical (we personally use it every time).
Little tip:
(Re)discover Love radius for physiological carrying methods adapted to age, temperature, type of activity...
You have at this moment an offer in your Tajinebanane loyalty account.
✈️ For a baby ticket:
Please note that strollers/car seats or cots are not counted as luggage for "baby tickets"!
You are usually allowed to bring two pieces of childcare equipment in addition to your luggage!
Example: a cot and a car seat.
🚘 If you are not too overloaded, take at least a car seat. Safety in transport is a priority and in travelling it is often a stress!
Even lighter version, rent your childcare equipment everywhere on your vacations with Manny.
Another little tip:
You can load up all the oversized luggage of your babies with diapers or small dishes/clothes (use the umbrella bed covers for example, huge space saver 😉 )!
Boob to know:
• These oversized luggage are deposited.retrieve on another belt than your suitcases, hence the interest of a baby carrier because sometimes you have to cross the whole airport 🥵 to get the stroller.
• Both extras are okay with "baby tickets", but for our 2+ year olds just look at the baggage details in your travel options summary and.or contact your airline.
🚂 During the journey:
Our trick is to create a mini bag in your big bag.
Once you're seated, you just have to take out this mini bag and put your luggage away. No one wants to open their suitcase X times during a flight.
In this mini bag, we anticipate but not too much (don't forget that in case of recurrent explosive poops or vomitos ++), you have access to your cabin baggage at any time of the trip for a family restocking.
Place your "just in case" (clothes, Doliprane...) on top in the carry-on suitcase for more accessibility and take the bare minimum in the mini bag which will be stored at your side: a complete change of clothes, a bag for their dirty laundry if needed, diapers, food, liniment, toothbrushes, toys...
You can provide a mini bag per kid. You can bring out for the trip some old toys that they haven't seen for a long time, a new coloring book? This way you can be sure to keep their full attention for at least... 3 minutes!
💊 Health:
• We know that the health of our minis remains our priority and that you may feel insecure at the thought of them being sick during your trip. We advise you to bring a first aid kit with the basics (Doliprane, thermometer, antiseptic, anti-mosquito ...) according to your children (age/weight).
• If your baby/child is taking a medication and its duration covers the travel time, make sure that your prescriptions (make duplicates) are up to date and that you have enough medication for the whole stay.
- Ditto check personal/CB/life insurance
• If you have not already done so, we advise you to download one of the teleconsultation apps such as: May Santé, Doctolib, Askbiloba, or Medipicto which will allow you to communicate with health care providers in all languages... You can then teleconsult a health professional and ask for advice anywhere during your trip.
5 : le meilleur pour la faim ?
Well, we had to be a little self complimentary... If there is a time when I find Tajinebanane to be super practical, it's when I travel!
I was lucky enough to be able to breastfeed Lou (now 4 years old) for more than 2 ½ years absolutely everywhere and it's clearly when traveling (plane, car, train) that I would never forget to dress in TB 😅.
Comfort and practicality anywhere, anytime, you carry us in almost every country in the world and the mif matches are as frequent in the air as on the sea...
Of course I could have listed 78990 other tips but this article is already 7 days long.
Ci-mère
Ali.
Useful links:
• Article Evaneos:
https://www.evaneos.fr/magazine/conseils-pratiques/5-conseils-voyager-avec-bebe
• About breast milk transport:
https://www.laleche.org.uk/taking-expressed-milk-on-airline/
Immediate boarding on Insta:
• @cloudiies : self-promo for the simple and good reason that we often share our trips around the world
• @parisianovores: a family of 5 that we love to follow
• @thebucketlistfamily: the taste of travel for our int. friends 🇬🇧👂
• @yolandotis :For the family trip - very Instagram aesthetic version 🇬🇧👂
• @1duvetpour2: travel with twins under one year old and extreme sports
• @mytraveldreams: Out of travel inspiration and need more tips?
• @themomtrotter: homeschooling and travel 🇬🇧👂
• @yaellehenry: a family of globe-trotting beau-gosses to follow
• @thetravellingchild: worldwide family 🇬🇧👂
• @juliaflabat: backpacking around the world with two small children.
• @etdieucrea: the vanlife and the great spaces of this family who lives in Biarritz all year round.
• @2traveleers: we discovered them thanks to a tag #tajinebanane, and it's the Mif' !
