warm milk on the plane

[Dowellfam]

Hello- I am hoping someone can give me some ideas on warming milk on a plane. This is the first time I'm flying with a child that is no longer on formula- but is not to the point that he will take a bottle of cold milk and we are having a hard time getting him to drink juice! I am going to get a warm milk at the airport espresso stand before we board the plane and then a VERY HOT container of milk from the espresso stand to carry on and use later on once it's cooled. However, we have a 7 hour flight and I know he'll need one before we get to Orlando. Do the flight attendants warm milk on the plane??? What do you all do? Thanks in advance for your advice/tips!

 

[mjkacmom]

Most of mine drank room temperature formula from the start. Gradually make his bottles cooler. Kids don't need juice - it's one step below soda. When ds refused to drink milk out of the sippy cup, his pediatrician told me to only offer milk in the cup, all day. Thirst is a great motivator!

 

[Riviera510]

I dont have an answer to the warming of the milk on a plane but...

What I did to get my kids to go from warmed up breastmilk/formula to cold milk was.. use like 6oz warmed milk and add 2oz cold milk to it. Do that for a few days and then do 4oz warmed milk and 4oz cold milk. A few days later do 2oz warmed milk and 6oz cold milk... etc.

 

[PrincessMommyLM]

If you are not quite ready to wean him to colder milk...

My guess would be that you could ask the flight attendants to heat the bottle/cup for you... I don't have experience with that issue specifically, but when we went to WDW in December, my toddler was on antibiotics that had to be refridgerated. The flight attendants were happy to stick his medicine in their little fridge for the flight!

OR - I did use a portable bottle warmer when my son was little... It wasn't super effective, but it did heat it up a little... It was plastic with some sort of gooey-ness inside and then there was a little disk you "pushed" to heat it up... the "goo" got warm then and you wrapped the plastic around the bottle or cup... I think mine came from Target, so it might be worth looking!

Hope that helps!

 

[MiniGirl]

If you are not quite ready to wean him to colder milk...

My guess would be that you could ask the flight attendants to heat the bottle/cup for you... I don't have experience with that issue specifically, but when we went to WDW in December, my toddler was on antibiotics that had to be refridgerated. The flight attendants were happy to stick his medicine in their little fridge for the flight!

OR - I did use a portable bottle warmer when my son was little... It wasn't super effective, but it did heat it up a little... It was plastic with some sort of gooey-ness inside and then there was a little disk you "pushed" to heat it up... the "goo" got warm then and you wrapped the plastic around the bottle or cup... I think mine came from Target, so it might be worth looking!

Hope that helps!

Former f/a here.... the f/as more than likely put the medicine in their ice bin as planes do not have refrigerators on them. I'm surprised they did that though. When I was flying, standard procedure was to double bag a couple of airsickness bags and fill it with ice and give it to the pax. That way you could put the meds in it and keep it with you at your seat. Much more convienient for the pax and better for the f/as, too.

As for warming bottles, the coffee pots were the best option. We would have to empty out a pot and run a cycle w/o a coffe bag and then let the bottle sit in the hot water in the pot. Obviously, unless we had a light load, we couldn't do this until after the service when we no longer needed the pots to make coffee. I never had a problem doing this, but I did fly with several f/as who would not. There was a story going around about a f/a who did this and was later fired for doing so. Apparently, the formula was too hot and the pax sued the airline because her baby was burned. They settled out of court but the airline fired the f/a because this was not procedure. Don't know if there is any truth in the story or not though.

Of course, this was years ago, but I don't think airplane galleys have changed all that much.

 

[Nicolepa]

I was never able to get my milk warmed on a plane. Also YMMV as to whether you can even get milk on an airplane. More often than not I was told that milk was for the coffee/cereal and they didn't have extra.

 

[laughinplace199]

When is your trip? If there's enough time, you might try getting your baby used to colder milk. A few days luke warm, then a few days room temp, etc until baby is drinking milk right from the fridge. This will be helpful to you in the parks too. If baby will drink cold milk by then, you can just buy milk in the parks (or at restaurants) whenever you need it and not have to worry about warming it. Also, I would not bother with juice. Most pediatricians discourage it anyway. Good luck!

 

[Hannathy]

I'm going to sound really mean but your child is a year old! I thought it was for an infant. I think he/she can last thru a flight with only 1 bottle and offer a cool one if they need another one. It really isn't that long, aren't they on solids at all? keep them grazing and the may not want another bottle.

I would start today and give them cooler bottles and get cool fast because if they refuse them at 1 it is no big deal. (don't they get kids off bottles at 1 anymore?) I'd definitely get them to room temp. before leaving or else it will be a pain in the parks and hotel also.

If you are using liquid formula or even milk you could ask for hot water and add some to the cool bottle to warm it up some, again with the age a diluted bottle wouldn't be a big deal.
If the bottle is for soothing and they like the temperature have you tried water? they may like the just warm water.

Have fun and don't stress babies are tougher and more adaptable than we give them credit for!

 

[mbethel]

My DS is 13 months and over the last 2 weeks I've transitioned him from warm cups of milk to cold. Mornings and evenings he still wants it warm but he'll drink it straight out of the fridge the rest of the day, just not as much as when it was warm. Neither of my DDs really drank milk at all. My DD3 is just now asking for "cold milk" since her brother is having it. I decided my DS would like it cold, or at least drink some, especially in prep for our May trip.

 

[msmama]

You can get room temp milk that doesn't need refrigerated (like a juice box). Maybe don't get him on cold milk but work him down to room temp at least.

 

[MickeyMouse'sBFF]

I would just bring a cup bigger than the bottle to fit the bottle inside of and then pour hot water (you can ask for) into the cup and let the bottle "float" in the water. Other than that.. Microwave is the other option if they have one.. But thats not the best option in my opinion. (hot spots and plus.. plastic in microwaves just dont make me feel good) Good luck!

 

[brymolmom]

How long til the trip???

Stop warming the milk now just do not warm it again - be done -finished... Start by leaving it out of frig for a few minutes to make it not cold/but not warm either...then eventually leave it out less - each day a bit less. He'll drink it eventually and since he is 12 months, assuming no health concerns, he will be fine going with very little or no milk for a few days - just double up on yogurt and cheese for those days if you're concerned.

Or - again since he is old enough to eat baby and/or regular food - I wouldn't worry about it for the plane. If he doesn't want to take the cold milk - just offer food. He won't dehydrate in 7 hours.

Does he drink water? If you have trouble with the cold milk - I would start him on water right away - if he's really thirsty - this will be fine for the plane trip.

But if you stop warming right away - just think how much easier your trip will be without having to find somewhere to warm milk everywhere! That should be your incentive!

 

[bellebud]

Other than that.. Microwave is the other option if they have one.. But thats not the best option in my opinion. (hot spots and plus.. plastic in microwaves just dont make me feel good) Good luck!

I don't even know if they'll do the bottle in the microwave. I remember 10 years ago, my girlfriend sometimes asking various places to micro her baby's bottle, and they never would (fast food places, regular restaurants), because it's a danger (putting the bottle itself in the micro).

 

[tjmw2727]

I never warmed my kiids milk or formula but I know the airlines serve tea so you could get a cup of hot water and try warming up the milk a little that way.

I do know that most airlines don't carry milk so if you want milk onboard you should bring some. Many of the airlines have a list of available beverages on the website - it would be worth it to check.

Milk and formula for babies and toddlers are exempt from the TSA ban on liquids so I suggest a few 12oz milks in a soft side cooler with an ice pack. Or you can bring an empty cooler and a zip lock, purchase small milks after clearning security and ask for ice in the zip lock to keep them cold in the cooler.

Even better if he will drink it you can get the parmelat milk, its shelf stable so you can buy and serve it room temp with no hassle. My kids like it but not all kids do.

Of course, as has been said, if you start gradually serving his milk a little colder from now to the trip you may avoid the bother of finding warm milk during the vacation.

 

[stacy6552]

Ok here's an idea from the tough love pages of parenting. Stop warming the milk. If he doesn't like it, he won't drink it, but if he's thirsty enough, he will drink it and get used to it. Start this now, so that by the time you're on the plane, he will drink what you have available.

 

[Dowellfam]

Thanks for all the replies! We have 3 weeks until we leave, I will try making it cooler and cooler for him! He only just turned 1, and weaning him to milk was a HUGE challenge- he wouldn't take it at all, so I needed to warm it to keep it as close to his formula bottle as I could. Yes- he's on solids, and he eats the baby food, etc, but we have a 7 hour flight- and he never goes that long without a milk bottle and is usually the ticket to getting him to fall asleep. Thanks again!

 

[NotUrsula]

Here's another opinion: think twice about giving him milk on the plane at all, especially if it is his first flight.

Milk in the stomach makes airsickness about 20X worse than it needs to be. (It does NOT cause it, but dairy in the stomach can sometimes make the difference between just feeling queasy and miserable, or throwing up uncontrollably.) Cleaning up vomitus that contains milk is much nastier than cleaning up that which does not, and the odor is much nastier, too.

I would advise you to steer clear of dairy during and just before flight until you know how he handles flying.

 

[ZPT1022]

Shelf stable milk would be room temperature instead of cold, and you could possibly entice him by trying something new like Silk soymilk's vanilla milk, OR you could try powdered milk- I think it might be easier to find warm water than a way to warm the milk. Even if you wind up with hot water like for tea, you could mix it with cold or room temp. water and get warm. That would work if you need it with you during the day at the parks too

 

[monkey30]

Not sure if you had tried these before but I know some formula makers have a milk like subsitute in a indvidual package. I know with DS2 we kept these in the diaper bag as sometimes it was easier to find water then more milk.

I feel for you, my son will not take formula at all and expressed breast milk has to be warm... I would try to do what I could to make him happy especially on a plane it can be scary for a kid, not to mention a screaming kid is not the way I want to start vacation! so if u need to warm it up to calm him down hopefully someone can help you.

 

[shoney]

I didn't read through all of the replies so this could have been suggested already, but buy the parmalat box milk and then ask for a hot cup of water (like you were ordering tea) put the box in the water and let it sit for 5 minutes or so.