formula milk in UK

what with all the chaos in the UK airports presently, i am worried that my baggage containing my bub's milk formula will go missing during our travel next week. in that event, i will need to use a different brand of formula as the one he takes is not available in the UK. spoke to my pd and advice is to start the first bottle of the day with the new formula, continue the rest of the day with current formula. if bub takes to new milk well, to increase to 2 feeds the next day. i will have about 1 tin of his regular formula with me on board, that might last me a week.


looking at the sainsbury website, they have:

cow & gate

aptamil

farleys

sma


any advice/comments about the above and also about those ready to feed packets? thanks!

i find cow and gate too thick, my boy has difficulty sucking it out from the bottle. my favourite is sma, and my boy likes it too. my husband's fav is farleys, cos he said he grew up on that. there! hope that helps!

Get a tin or two and post them to wherever you are staying. If it's a hotel, let them know in advance in writing (email).

hiya,

was in uk over summer and yes, the list you have there is pretty much it. i had a similar problem to you - my boy will only drink one type, and he's been very sick so we had wasted a lot of milk powder we'd brought from hk on trying to feed him and him throwing it up etc.

i bought a tin of similar (lactose free sma) and mixed it with the milk i had (O-lac) ie 4 parts his normal milk, and 2 parts new milk, and we got by that way....good luck!

thanks for all the advice!

Wheelymate, what formula is your bubs on in Singapore? There should be a customer hotline on the tin that you can call and they can tell you which is their equivalent in the UK. My son was on SMA in UK and when we travelled to HK/Australia I rang them up and found out that it was made by Wyeth and the equivalent (though slightly different ingredients) was S26. And yes I would recommend the SMA in UK and the premade packs are very handy for travelling.

What about trying Aptimil here before you go and then if it works out, you can switch straight over in the UK? We did the same thing when moving in the oppposite direction, with no problems.

aptamil is not sold in singapore, my mum-in-law called the hotline and apparently it's the equivalent to enfalac (what my bub is drinking now).


i just wanted to get a sense of the more popular brands that mums use in UK. hopefully my formula tins will get there in one piece so all these woould be unnecessary!

Sorry, just assumed that it was since we can buy it in HK. You should be OK going to the UK anyway, once it is not stored in your hand luggage. Just flew back from there and had no problem with the stocks that I had packed in my luggage, but had to buy ready made cartons in Boots airside for use on the flight. I called ahead and a very helpful lady kept a few behind the counter for me.


Hopefuly by the time that you return, things will have returned to normal, but if not, allow plenty of time to clear security etc. I was offered 'special assistance' as I was flying alone with the children. I did not take it, which was a mistake. Have a good trip!!

dora,


as of today, there is no issue bringing liquids on board if i depart from changi airport provided my final destination is heathrow (ie no further transits). so i plan to fill at least one of my bottles up with water to mix with the powder in case my bub wakes up i can feed him within the departure lounge before we board the plane.


the problem is flying back if the restrictions remain the same - even if i do buy the ready to use cartons, i still have to test the milk in front of security, how will the milk stay fresh for the long haul flight?? how did you do it?

I brought lots of extras for security checks. I then asked them to choose 2 random cartons (ready made 200ml) for me to sample. It took about an hour to get it cleared (supervisor called over etc.), but they eventually agreed to letting me take a few with me. I bought spares in Boots airside, as they warned me that the second security check may not allow me to board with them. The spares that I picked upat Boots were SMA though (not his usual formula) as they did not stock Aptimil, and I thought that something was better than nothing. As it happened, I did not need them - maybe they took pity on a frustrated mother flying alone with 2 children?


Other parents took powder in measured containers and mixed them with water at security. They were not allowed to bring any of their own water on board, so had to use the water that is used to make tea. I was not very confident about doing this, as my son has a very fragile stomach and throws up very easily, and I never know how long the water has been sitting there.


The airline promised me in advance that they would make dry ice available to cool bottles that parents had already prepared, however I am glad that I did not rely on this as they knew nothing about it onboard.


The sensible solution would be for the airline to stock a variety of ready made cartons of different brands and make them available to parents. Hopefully, if the current situation continues, they will start to do that, but if not, it is best to be prepared.


The lady at Boots in Terminal 3 was called Medha. She was really helpful over the telephone and put a few cartons of formula behind the counter for me in case they sold out. I seem to remember from your other post that you are on BA (Terminal 1). It might be worth calling the Boots at T1 a day or 2 before you leave LHR to see if they will do the same for you.


Good luck with it. At least your baby is young enough to stay still during the flight. As time goes on, they will hopefully get a more workable system together. Had to keep reminding myself that it was all for our safety!

i am wary of water on board too although my aunt who used to travel with her kids when they were really young said it was ok.


our return is a night flight from london to sg - i plan to feed him first at the airport before we go through security. by right that should keep him full enough until the plane takes off (when i get get water from the stewardess) but i am worried if the flight gets delayed, etc...where will i get milk? i suppose i will need to reserve milk like you did.


if i do buy the ready made cartons, will they open all the cartons? that really doesn't make sense - and dry ice to keep milk cool? that's food poisoning waiting to happen!


you said some parents brought powder in milk containers - that is my plan so that even if i do have to taste the powder in front of security, at least i can still make a fresh feed when i get water from the the stewardess on board - unless they actually want us to make the milk on the spot at security check????

If you buy the reserve milk airside (after security and before you board) and keep the receipt, then you should be absolutely fine, especially if that is only your back-up.


Agree about the food poinoning risk - the might change their tune when there are babies throwing up all over their cabin crew. I guess the sad fact is that we cannot rule out suicide bombers using their children as cover.


Judging from your other posts, your little guy is a good sleeper. Mine isn't yet (am beginning to think that he will not sleep until he's a teenager), so I needed lots to try to get him back to sleep duuring the flight.


At least you're prepared either way. Enjoy the trip!

thanks dora,


just really anxious about the trip.....as if travelling with a little one for the 1st time isn't stressful enough, there're all these extra security measures to worry about. i know it's for our safety though...


hope we survive the trip! :)