Food allergies are a pain in the bum at home, much less when you want to go somewhere.  Then add a somewhere that requires flying on a plane with no access to food that you know is safe.  It can be a scary thought.  But, with a little preparation, you (and your child!) will be fine.  I’m sure I’m leaving some things out, but this is our story and what we did.  Hopefully it will help alleviate some nerves.

Which airline to fly?

Depending on what your child’s food allergy is and how severe it is, you might want to research the airlines and find out what their policy is on serving snacks with peanuts and/or tree nuts, if they are highly allergic.  Airlines often change these policies so it’s best to research and not assume, even if you have flown with them in the past.

Not all airlines or flight crews are understanding, so it’s best call ahead and find out what will be served on your flight if your child has a really severe allergy.  I think some airlines will even change what they serve if they know an allergic person will be on board.  However, they cannot guarantee a peanut or tree nut-free flight since they cannot monitor what other passengers bring on board.

Packing safe food for the flight and time in the airport

Now, if you are just flying domestically, you will probably only need to pack enough food/snacks/drinks for a short time….maybe six or seven hours, if you include time at the airport.  Granted, this can still be nerve racking if you’ve not done it before.

It’s when you start taking those long haul flights that you really need to think things through.  For our flights to Australia, we have to consider all the time at the airports and time on the plane, which for us is nearly an entire day.  A lot of that time is spent sleeping, but when my son is awake, he is always wanting to eat.  Hollow legs I tell you.  We need to be prepared.

Here is the food we took with us on our last trip to Australia:

• Two Sunbutter and jam sandwiches (in a container so it doesn’t get squished, cut into squares for ease of eating)
• safe savory snacks, like allergy-free pretzels or crackers
• safe snack bars (like Enjoy Life or homemade if you are so inclined)
• fruit (often you can get fruit at airports and on International flights though)
• dried fruit (apples, apricots, raisins, banana chips)
• gummy candy (for when the plane is taking off/landing to alleviate popping of ears)
• powdered soy or rice milk (only needs added water)
• mini blueberry muffins

I can’t imagine being trapped on a plane and your child freaking out about being hungry and not having anything you can feed them.  I shudder at the thought.

Ordering special meals on International Flights

You can order special meals on International flights.  I usually order a Vegetarian meal for myself.  They also have kid’s meals.  However, if you have food allergies, this would not be safe.  I ordered a fruit bowl for my son, then gave him one of the sandwiches we brought for his meal.  This worked out really well.

They also usually have vegan, kosher and other types of meals.  They do not have ‘allergy-free’ meals, so make sure you understand what you are ordering.  The flight crew will not know the ingredients of these meals.  The safest choice is food brought from home.

The other great thing about ordering special meals is that you get served first.  So, since I order a special meal, I can eat while my husband is helping our kids and then by the time his meal comes, we are done and he can eat in peace also.  Makes it all run a lot smoother for us since eating with kids in such a tiny space is not easy.

Packing medications

You will want to take your Epi-pen and Benedryl on the flight with you.  You might even want to take more than one syringe, depending on the severity of your child’s allergy.

I have always taken a letter, written on letterhead, from my pediatrician stating that due to my child’s food allergies, we must carry on an Epi-pen, Benedryl and special food for him.  The letter states my child’s name and my doctor’s contact information.

We have never had a problem and honestly, I’ve never even been asked for this letter.  But, I have it just in case.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) has a sample letter on their site that you can download.

How will I carry all this food and all my other stuff too!?

I am in no way affiliated with Baby Sherpa, but their backpacks are the bomb.  They have a ton of room for toys, diapers, clothes, a dvd player, dvds AND an insulated food compartment!

Other things to consider

If your child is severely allergic, take wipes with you to wipe down the area he/she will be sitting.  Wipe the seat, armrests, food tray, anything they might be in contact with.

You can also buy seat covers called PlaneSheets.  You can get disposable (recyclable) ones or ones that can be washed and reused.  Actually, these would be nice for anyone to have…

Still Nervous?

Call the airline you are flying and ask them specific questions.  I confirmed that there was no soy or rice milk on board Qantas flights.  So, I knew I needed to find something that was portable.

I thought of those little juice box type milks, but they are heavy to carry and I got worried over how many I should take.  So, I found powdered soy milk (you can also get powdered rice milk) which was perfect.

It worked great because I didn’t have to worry about keeping it cold or spilling.  I just added water in a sippy cup and then had milk that my son liked and could drink.  I took enough, in a small container, for the plane trip, then packed the rest in our checked luggage for the trip back.

The Transporation Security Administration (TSA) website is also very helpful.  I also called them and asked questions, which helped to clear things up that I was confused about.

Here is a great article from Allergic Living magazine with all sort of tips.   Find even more tips here and  here.

Also, Food Allergy Buzz is a great site for keeping track of what is happening in the food allergy world in terms of flying (and everything else!).  And in finding out how to have your voice heard.

Do you have any tips or tricks for flying with food allergies?

I have been reading quite a few blogs lately, either from expats or from families who travel extensively or of people wanting to become expats.

I love this sort of thing. The rush of doing something new and different.  The challenge of pushing yourself and your boundaries.  The excitement of constant new surroundings and of meeting new people and eating new foods and being outside of your comfort zone.

It always makes me want to start packing my own bags! But, since that won’t be happening for a while for this fly away family, I have decided to blog about living/working/travel overseas instead.  I will have several travel posts coming over the next weeks.

So this post is about how I was able to live and work in a country outside of the U.S.  How, after I graduated from graduate school, I was able to move to Edinburgh, Scotland.

It was super easy to do this.  And, if you are American, between the ages of 18 and 30 and have graduated high school (with no dependent children), you can do it too!

You can apply for a working visa through BUNAC (British Universities North American Club).

Through BUNAC, you can work in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Ireland or Canada.  You can also do volunteer work in Cambodia, Peru and South Africa.  Each country has an agreement with the US and a maximum limit on how many months you can work, ranging from 3 months to 12 months.  Also, the age requirements vary as well.  For example, if you are over 30, but not over 35, you can still work in New Zealand!

You pay a fee for BUNCAC to acquire a working visa for you, and for other support resources (for both before and after you arrive where you are going).  Each country’s program has specific savings requirements and other recommendations, so be sure to read about each one to see which might suit you best.

I just read that the Work in Britain program is currently closed.  They are in negotiations to hopefully get another one going sometime this year.  So, if you are interested in Britain, keep checking the BUNAC site for updates.  This is sad to me since that is the program I participated in when I lived in Edinburgh.  I’ve written about that move before and how it was one of the best choices I have ever made to spend my money and time.

I will write soon about what happened after I arrived in London, by myself, in a foreign country for the first time, and how I found work and a place to live.

Would you be interested in living in another country?  Or maybe you have?

I am going to tell you a story about why you should always carry a back-up source of money while you travel.  This happened to me while I was overseas, but could easily happen while traveling domestically as well.

When I was living in Scotland, I went traveling through Europe & Ireland for a couple of months.  I had some travelers checks (in British Pounds), but I was mostly getting cash out via my ATM card from my bank in the States.

I was using my American bank ATM because I had already used all of my money from my Scottish bank account.

While in Brugges, Belgium, I went to a Money Changer to get out some cash.  I was going to France the next day and wanted to get some Belgium Francs for that day and some French Francs so I could be ready for the next few days.  Plus, I was always forgetting my PIN (I know, total ADD) and it would lock my card for a day…oh Lord, that is another story altogether.

I now never go to money changers.  This site has some stories on how they sometimes try to cheat you, plus you get a much better exchange rate if you use either your ATM or credit card.

Anyway, when the woman went to process the transaction, she informed me that she would need to cut up my card because it had been reported stolen.  WHAT!?!

This was my card.  I begged her to wait until I had contacted my bank so that I could clear up this obvious mix-up.  She could hold onto the card…just let me make a phone call!  Nope.  She whipped out her scissors and cut it up while I stood there, incredulous.

Needless to say, I cussed this woman a blue streak.  Probably not the nicest thing to do, but considering I was young, traveling on my own and had BEGGED her to hold onto the card until I could get someone to contact her….I was pretty pissed, to say the least.

So, after I left that office, without my ATM card or any money, I wandered around waiting until it was morning in the U.S. so I could call my parents.

My Dad got the bank on three-way calling and it turns out that someone did report their card stolen, but they put in my bank card number instead.  They would get it straightened out and mail me a new card.  But, they had to mail it to where I would be.  I was traveling, so they had to mail it to my Scotland address.  I was not going back there for another 3 weeks.  I was going to France, then taking a ferry over to Ireland to meet up with with some friends.

I had to figure out another way to get money.

Thankfully, although I did not have enough traveler’s checks to get me through the rest of my trip, I had enough to get me to Ireland.  Then, I also had my credit card. A couple of times I had to go into an Irish bank and get cash, charged to my credit card.  This was my only source of money.

This was the only time a balance has ever been carried on a credit card by me.  I paid it off a couple of months later after I moved back to the U.S.

When I arrived back in Scotland, my ATM card was waiting for me.   I still get super riled up whenever I tell someone this story.  I know I could have had my parents wire me some money, but I have always been a very self-reliant person.  I knew I could take care of myself and I did.  Nevertheless, I am very thankful that I had a back-up source of money other than my ATM card.

My husband reminded me that it will also depend on where you are going.  You might be going to a small town without an ATM or one that won’t change the currency that your traveler’s checks are in…so also do your research if you are traveling overseas to more remote areas.

What kind of money do you travel with?

Although we may not fly as often as some, we fly for very long periods of time.  We have already been on a plane for five hours by the time we get to Los Angeles.  Then, the flight from LA to Brisbane is another 14 hours long.

When you are somewhere over the Pacific with about 9 hours left on your flight and your toddler or preschooler tells you he “wants off the plane now“, you’d better be prepared!

When traveling with kids there is so much stuff that you need to take to be prepared “for anything” it seems like, that there are just certain items that are good to have.  Some are necessities (like diapers!), some are to make the travel itself easier, and some are for on-board entertainment.

Everybody who travels has their ‘must haves’ that they always pack for a trip and it will vary from family to family.

Here are our 10 Things that we do not leave without when we fly to Australia.

1.  A great carry-on bag to organize everything.

We use the Baby Sherpa backpack and I cannot say enough good things about it.  It holds a ton of gear without getting to hard to carry or get in/out of the overhead compartment.  It has an insulated food compartment, a padded DVD player compartment, a changing pad, and all sorts of other little places to stick things.  What more could you want?

I will say though, I probably wouldn’t use it for everyday use as it’s a bit overkill, but for travel, it’s fantastic.

2.  Your child’s comfort blankie/toy.

Oh my word.  I don’t even want to think about what would ensue if we forgot our son’s blankie.  Good lord.  We actually have an extra one that we pack in the checked luggage “just in case”.

3.  Favorite snacks.

A hungry child is an unhappy child.  Don’t rely on the airline to have anything your child likes.  We pack dried fruit, savory snacks like pretzels or crackers, sunflower butter/jam sandwiches (again, it’s a long flight), and snack bars.  On international flights they usually have fresh fruit, so that’s often an easy one to get on board.

4.  Two changes of clothes for your child(ren).

And at least one extra shirt for you.  Accidents happen.  ‘Nuff said.

We also take jammies for our son to put on before boarding the flight to Australia, because it’s an overnight flight.  We want him to remember that it’s night night and time to sleep, even if it’s on a plane.

5.  Books/activity books/stickers/toys.

Any small, entertaining thing that might keep their attention for a while.  Take new things they haven’t seen before and some old favorites.  Some people suggest wrapping them as presents for them to open, but that just seems like a waste of paper to me.

Some ideas that have worked well for us are:

• A few crayons in a ziplock bag and some blank paper or single sheets of pictures for drawing/coloring
• Stickers – last year I got some car stickers and we drew a racetrack and decorated it with stickers.
• Paperback books (lightweight and thin)
• Mini board books (I like to find mini lift-the-flap books that he hasn’t seen yet)
• Small travel games or card games – I found a mini, wooden memory game in the $1 section of Target last year that I played with Big D for ages.
• Brainquest - these are great for travel because they are small and they have them for nearly every age.
• Nesting/stacking cups – these worked great at 18 months.
• I Spy books – these can take up all sorts of time looking for things

6.  Cares Kids Fly Safe Harness.

This harness rocks and is so much easier than taking your carseat (we rent or borrow a carseat at our destination).  Because our son is used to a 5-point harness on his carseat and stroller, this was no biggie for him to wear.

7.  DVD player and your kid’s fave shows/movies.

When all else fails, pull out a movie!  This is a lifesaver on a long flight.  Sometimes they will just fall asleep while watching…one can only hope, right?  We bought a player with a 12 hour battery, but you can also find battery extension packs if think you need it.  The international flights we fly on always have children’s channels on the tv’s, but sometimes our son wants to watch one of his faves.  Whatever works, I say!

8.  Gummy candy.

I know, weird.  But after our son started screaming because his ears hurt on a flight and we couldn’t get him to drink anything or eat the raisins we had brought, now we always take gummy candy.  He will always eat those.  We reserve them for take off and landing times only to help with ear popping.

9.  Scented disposable diaper sacks.

There is nothing worse than being trapped on an airplane with a bad smell.  So, for the benefit of the other passengers, we carry these scented diaper sacks to put our soiled diapers in (we use disposables on planes) before we put them in the bathroom trash area.

They also came in very handy when we had to change our son’s diaper at our seat because he used to freak out on public changing tables and wouldn’t stay on them.  These bags mask any smells quickly (they smell like baby powder) and are super convenient to just stuff into your diaper bag.  I got mine at Kmart.

They are also great to have if you are changing a diaper at someone’s house who doesn’t have young kids (or a great place to throw away a disposable diaper) and for storing soiled clothes on the go.

10.  A recent photo of your child.

God forbid you lose track of your child in a busy airport, but just in case, have a recent photo of your child with you, preferably with the clothes he has on that day.  We take our digital camera on board with us, so this is easily done.

So, those are our 10 must haves…what do you always take when you travel?

This post is linking to Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family.

Okay, so we just booked our flights to Australia for a trip over Christmas.

I know.  Crazy.

We’ve never booked this far in advance before, but just couldn’t pass up the current sale that Qantas is having.

Flights to Australia over Christmas are usually at least double the normal price and even the agents kept commenting what a great deal it was that we were getting.

This leads me to the first tip on how to save, which is to watch for sales for the airlines on which you travel. We always travel on American and Qantas.  Many airlines have an RSS feed for their sales information.  Knowing that Qantas was having this unreal sale prompted us to start making some decisions.  They also posted their fares for the next 12 months, so we knew this was going to be the best deal for the dates we wanted to travel.

Also, although you can often get some great deals online, we nearly always book through an agent.  This time we saved quite a bit by booking through an agent instead.  Sometimes agents can let you in on rules (i.e. tricks!) that you may not have known.  We learn something new from an agent almost every year.

Note that booking through an agent sometimes comes with a fee ($15-$20), but the savings in this instance more than compensated.

Here are our tips regarding booking with an agent instead of online.

Online Fare Quotes. We were looking online last night and it was quoting us $400 more than what we were quoted by an agent and the flight home wasn’t direct.  We got a direct flight going through an agent and for less money.

You can play around with dates. With an agent, they can easily tell you what dates are available around the time you are looking.  We were originally looking at different set of dates, but were able to get something that worked even better with the agents suggestions.

You can put flights on hold. This is one of my favorite features of speaking with an agent.  I hate when I find a fabulous deal online, only to go back a day, or sometimes even an hour later only to find out it’s gone!  Most international flights can be held for 3 days.  Usually domestic flights can be held for 24 hours.

Award Travel. You have to book with the airline that you have the award travel with.  So, we had to book our award flights to Los Angeles, return, with American, then the International, Los Angeles to Brisbane return, portion through Qantas.  This way, we could use our award miles, which saved us about $900.

Did you know this about award miles? We learned that adults earn more miles when flying than children do (at least on American Airlines).  Which is dumb considering the flights cost the same (i.e. no discount for kids).

So, my husband and I had enough points for two award seats.  But, instead of using them for us, we used them for me and Big D.  My husband’s seat is a paid flight, so he will earn points…more than what Big D would have earned for the same seat and cost.  I had no idea.  I also didn’t know that we could even use our points to buy flights for someone else.

Tips on saving money with kids.

Infant with Seat. This is a new offering on Qantas, apparently.  This is the same price as the child fare (which is 75% of an adult fare from ages 2 to 12) but the taxes are less.  This doesn’t make much sense to me as to why the cost of the ticket would be the same but the taxes less, but whatever.

So, check with the airline you are flying to see if they offer discounts for infants or children.

Holding an Infant. Since there are only three seats together on domestic flights (rather than the four you can get on the larger International aircraft), we decided to hold Little C on the domestic flight.  It’s five hours, but we figure we can manage (we hope).

We could not book it like this online, so going through an agent and booking the flights separately, saved us $456 since we opted to hold Little C.

So, all in all, we got an unbelievable deal!  Just over $3100 for four people to Australia return.  And we learned some new tips to go into our repertoire for next time.  And even better…we didn’t even use half of what we budgeted for!

What are your tips for saving money on flights?  Do you know any tricks for earning/using award miles?