Link of the Day: Flying with an Infant

Here's a good and clear explanation of what is allowed (and more importantly, what is not!) when flying with an infant. Part of having a good experience while flying is acquainting yourself and following the rules (whether they make sense or not, unfortunately).

Car seats and flying part 2

As a tip, if you are planning on taking your carseat on board the airplane and using it to restrain your child during the flight, it never hurts to print out the FAA's rules on doing so (found here) "just in case". We personally have never had a problem with using our carseat on the plane but I've heard from plenty of people who have had difficulties for one reason or another. If it's a rule-based issue, then having a print out of the document should help you navigate the issue (IF you're following the rules in the first place!). It also doesn't hurt to check your airline's website ahead of time and print their rules as well.

One thing to remember: you can only use a carseat on the plane for a seat that has been paid for. Now, some airlines will allow you to use the carseat in an empty seat on the airplane after boarding has been completed, but it's not always guaranteed and varies by airline by airline and by staff. Never assume if you haven't paid for the seat that you'll be able to use the carseat on the airplane.

LotD: How to organize your carry-on luggage

I have my own work in progress post on this topic but in the meantime, I stumbled across this neat link on getting organized while traveling with baby and special bonus -- a FREE printable travel check list here.

Tips for getting ready for 2014

Even though I'm not planning any big international trips in 2014, I have a checklist of items I like to look at at the start of each year, many of which will apply to both international and domestic trips. Here are some of the travel-related activities I like to start off the year with:

• Check passport for both available pages and expiration dates. If you're planning on traveling overseas, it's good to have at least two blank pages available in your passport. Additionally, some countries require you to have a certain amount available before your passport expires before you can enter.
  
• Start checking airfares. Kayak is one of my favorite airfare comparison search engines. If you are traveling internationally, I recommend Vayama which specializes in international flights; I used the latter to find an awesome airfare to India in 2009. You can also use Bing.com's price predictor to figure out whether you should buy now or wait for a better deal (this service was previously known as Farecast).
  
• If you are traveling internationally, determine whether you need a visa. Obtaining a visa can be tiresome and bureaucratic; I still have nightmares of the amount of time and paperwork required to obtain my husband's Indian visa in 2009.
  
• Check with your insurance to find out what your coverage is while traveling overseas. In general, it's a good idea to review your coverage every year and to understand what's available to you when you're away from home, especially when it comes to out-of-network charges.
  
• Borrow a guidebook/video from your local library or discount bookstore on any places you might like to visit. Guidebooks are constantly being revised and unless you know 100 percent you're visiting that place, it's probably not worth sinking a lot of money into the books. In the past, I've used my Kindle to look up information on the Internet or buy guidebooks when I'm actually "in country".
  
• Review your vaccinations and determine if you need any new vaccines (Yellow Fever, for instance, comes to mind for some parts of South America) or a booster (Pertussis is an example). You might also want to talk to your doctor about any necessary vaccinations or medical care/precautions for your self and/or your children. If you're visiting someplace where malaria is an issue, there are medications you can take beforehand and afterwards, for instance.
  
• If you are a member of Costco, you can check out their travel deals, including discounts on car rentals that are about $20 to $40 cheaper (in our experience) than nearly anywhere else we look and can sometimes feature additional benefits such as a free second driver and a discounted rate on a GPS. We routinely rent our cars using a Costco discount.
  
• If you are renting a car at your destination, talk to your insurance agent about what your car insurance covers. You might also review your credit card to see if you have some additional protection there. Many times rental companies offer additional insurance coverage for a charge that you don't need to take because you're already covered by your personal policy and/or your credit card.

CDC health alerts

As you get ready to travel, it's always worth taking a look at the Center for Disease Control (CDC)'s website for the latest advisories on outbreaks, epidemics, vaccines that are needed, and other information. You can find information regarding traveler's health advisories here.

Link of the Day: Scary Mommy Travel Guide

Looking for things to do with kids while you're traveling? The Scary Mommy Travel Guide can help. Check out their tips on what to do in many US cities and a handful of international destinations. I checked out their recommendations for a few cities -- Austin, Baltimore, and San Antonio -- and found them to be a pretty good starting point for creating a kid-friendly itinerary (though I'm wondering about the exclusion of the National Aquarium from the Baltimore guide and the Alamo from San Antonio guide).

Link of the Day: Take these steps to make your air travel better

CNN has a neat article on how to make your travel experience better. You can read their tips here.

The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) Holiday Checklist

If you are traveling during this holiday season, take a look at the TSA's travel tips/checklist. It gives a good rundown on what's allowed, what's expected, and where to get good information. It's especially helpful if you're not a frequent traveler or if you're coming to the United States from another country; we do have some differences in our security procedures such as needing to take off shoes when going through the TSA checkpoint. You can also check the TSA's website here if you need more details.

Can you take milk on an airplane?

A common concern that comes up a lot from parents traveling on airplanes with small children is how TSA deals with milk -- either cow milk, formula or breast milk. The short answer is YES, you can take milk in reasonable quantities through security (note: "reasonable" is obviously a judgement call, but be prepared to explain why you have the amount of food on you that you did; we had 12 food pouches on us when we flew to Singapore and were questioned on the quantity. Once we explained where we were going and that we expected our 11 month old to need one packet every 3 hours, TSA told us we were fine) . However, some things to make taking milk through security easier:

1. Carry your baby's food in a separate carry-on and declare ahead of time -- BEFORE you start putting your things in the x-ray machine -- to the TSA that you are carrying baby food. Carrying it in a separate bag will make it easier for you to take it out when TSA asks.
   
2.  If your child is old enough, you could consider using milk boxes, like the Horizon Organic ones. Unfortunately, they do not have whole milk options, but for a short trip, it might be a good and convenient option (and less messy too!).
   
3. If you are taking formula, I recommend taking powdered, not ready-to-feed formulations; I did hear one horror story from a mom who had to cancel her trip after TSA made her open every single one of her ready-to-feed formula bottles and as a result, she had to throw them out as she didn't have enough for the trip. When we traveled with formula, we always took the individual Enfamil formula packets as well the tub as a back-up. We never had a problem.
   
4. You can also ask the flight attendants for milk. We have started to take this approach because it's the easiest option.
   
5. Buy milk/water once you have passed through security. Items purchased after you go through security are perfectly acceptable to bring on the airplane.

Expect to go through additional security screening because you are bringing milk on-board an aircraft. Most of the time, this check consists of a visual screening and also scanning through a special machine that does not involve opening the package. Always be prepared, however, to actually open the food/beverage you're bringing through and plan accordingly. Once I got a full body pat-down as well.

You'll also find that strictness varies airport by airport and also day by day. When we flew to India, TSA in Newark scanned every single one of our formula packets (and we had 16!) and I noticed they were scanning another woman's baby bottles -- she had 5-6 of them. Our home airport, however, just ran 2-3 of our formula packets through their scanner, visually checked our food pouches, and called it a day. Expect the type of screening we encountered in Newark to be the norm though and plan accordingly.

As always, I recommend carrying copies of TSA guidelines on you just in case you run into someone who says you cannot bring milk for your baby through security.

Link of the Day

It seems like I've been posting a lot of travel-related stories lately but I hope you find the information useful! Here's another story: New trick to get the best seat in coach. Not exactly kid-related but could have some information and product recommendations that you find useful.

One little point I will quibble with -- don't think you actually get noise cancelling headphones in first class, though for the amount of money airlines charge for first class, you certainly should! If you are looking for noise cancelling headphones that work great but don't cost an arm and a leg, check out Able Planet Clear Harmony Active Noise Cancelling headphones. I got these for my husband for a Father's Day gift last year and he loves them. Right now, they are priced at $129 but I've seen them as low as $89.

A tip from a friend

A friend the other day shared her best air travel tip and it's so simple but so very awesome. I'm jealous I didn't think of it myself!

My friend advises families traveling together to split up before boarding the flight with Mom and kids (or Dad and kids or whatever permutation your family may be!) being the absolute last to board. Have another family member board on time with their boarding group to secure overhead baggage space and then speak to the gate attendant about being notified at the absolute last minute to board the aircraft. This way one member of the family gets the overhead space needed and the kids aren't on a plane waiting and waiting for everyone else to board.

My husband is always in the first boarding group so we always board together and the result is we sit on the plane for at least 30 minutes waiting for the entire aircraft to be boarded and baby is always antsy during this time as we can't pull anything down from the overheard bin for her to play with and she's pretty much exhausted all other options such as the flight magazine while we're waiting for boarding to finish. Following this tip means my husband is the only one who sits on the aircraft waiting while baby gets an extra 15-20 minutes to run around in the gate area before we board.

If you try this, let me know how it works for you! And remember, key to this plan is to let the gate attendant know what you're up to, so they know to tell you when the aircraft doors are about to close.

Link of the Day

A CNN travel writer answers the question: Can taking your child abroad actually be fun?