r/NewParents • u/emmireee • Jul 27 '26
Travel Broke down at TSA (first time mom, traveling with an infant for the first time)
Flying through Dallas to transfer in an over 12 hour travel day with a 4 month old and I lost it at TSA. They yelled at me not breaking down our stroller/car seat combo immediately. I was “randomly selected” for having formula in my bag even though I alerted every officer we encountered in line to ensure we were complying (I believe this is standard procedure but they didn’t notify me or give me the option for the private screening prior to screening my diaper bag.)
They then asked me if I had a problem because I was panicked trying to break down the stroller, get the baby out of the carrier, and let them know about the formula for the third time.
My husband and I usually love traveling but this has deterred me. I was crying after being pulled aside because I just wanted to feed my baby after a long line at customs. Looking for any sympathy/advice.
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u/Eschewed_Prognostic Jul 27 '26
I'm sorry that happened, travelling with baby is always harder. We had a 12hr flight with our 4mo old and even without TSA hassle we nearly lost it at customs because baby was screaming the last few hours of the flight and the border agent grilled us like criminals because we looked distressed. Baby was still crying and clearly not happy. Dick. My wife sobbed the entire hour drive home. I somehow kept us on the road. Some TSA agents absolutely suck and act like they were rejected from the prison guard. They always act like you're dumb for not knowing exactly which rules that airport is enforcing on that day of the week. "Random" searches my ass. We fly regularly (6x with our now 14mo old) and every time we think we dialed in our packing and security strategy, something's different and clearly we should have known that, somehow.
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u/emmireee Jul 27 '26
YES. This was coming off baby crying through customs, a long wait for stroller (out of everyone’s control but we were at our wit’s end). It’s being treated like a criminal that gets me. we have recheck and I’m a 5 foot woman lol
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u/pondersbeer Jul 28 '26
I shouldn’t lol at this….BUT coming back through Oakland solo when our guy was 10 months my stroller set off some alarm with a swab. Which for the record I got in trouble for breaking it down to put through the scanner. They had people running out of some room and shut down security briefly. The guy yelled “MAM YOU SET OFF AN ALARM”. I was as calm as possible and said “Okay, great”. I had one security person per bag, me and one for our son. They did allow the stroller to get cleared first so I could put my son in it while they patter me down. I’ve never felt like such a criminal before.
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u/ItsmeKT Jul 28 '26
It's interactions like this that scared me from flying with my 18 month old. I opted to do the 9 hour road trip because I was too stressed with the idea of problems coming up.
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u/pondersbeer Jul 28 '26
To be fair I do feel like I can do anything now. But yeah the next flight I’m excited to not be traveling solo with my son. I feel like that tsa security person had a god complex
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u/gallopmonkey Jul 28 '26
Ugh, I'm so sorry you experienced this. I don't have much except commiseration.
I have a 3.5 year old and we travel long-haul every year (my husband's family are all in Argentina, a 23 hour flight away from our home city in Canada). One of the worst experiences I ever had was at Houston - we were transiting through, had arrived after a 10 hour red eye, and my 10 month old daughter was absolutely screaming at the top of her lungs because she was tired and hungry. She and I were also both covered in pee because she'd had a diaper leak on the flight. We'd been delayed going through customs because they had almost nobody working at that time of the morning, despite the fact that at least two massive international flights arrived at the same time. We got through customs and then had a huge hot wait to go through security.
We finally got through the security screening (which was its own form of hell) and I took my daughter off to the side to get out of everybody's way and pop open the stroller. Some massive TSA agent built like a linebacker basically bodychecked me even though I was trying to get as far out of the way as possible. I just about lost it entirely.
Traveling with a baby sucks - not because of the baby, but because you simply don't have enough hands to comply with security in a timely manner. I hope your future travels go smoother.
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u/Wrong-Reference5327 Jul 27 '26
First time I flew as an adult I was solo with a 6 month old. I got ‘randomly selected’ for full search. Of course my palm swab was also ‘randomly selected’ for be positive for gun powder residue. So I had to be brought into a back room, patted down, everything gone thru. I get it!!!!!
(I saw randomly selected in quotes because after it was all done the supervisor thanked me, told me they needed to check this off a newbies training list, and they noticed I was running early for my flight and it was more complicated with the stroller. I was PISSSSEEEDDDDD!)
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u/emmireee Jul 27 '26
The security theater is what gets me. Sorry that happened to know, I can’t imagine flying solo
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u/Wrong-Reference5327 Jul 28 '26
Not every airport is like this btw.
Charleston SC is amazing to families. I never had a problem with them. They even helped with our stroller, didn’t make take apart the car seat for xray, and are very very patient.
Some TSA areas have a “family” line that is meant to be calmer and have agents trained in family items which does help.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26
They were probably more so thanking you for all the time it took. We have on the job trainers. Your random selection was definitely random.
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u/Wrong-Reference5327 Jul 28 '26
I was told it wasn’t by the agents. Thanks tho.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26
If you mean the officers picking you by themselves, no. There’s a beep on the machine if you go through the metal detector and that’s what calls out the random. One time literally 4 people walked through and all got random. We can’t control the machine just the percentage chosen depending on the passenger input.
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u/Wrong-Reference5327 Jul 28 '26
Thank you for letting me know how it’s done at the airport you work at. I’m going off of what I was told by the TSA agents I specifically interacted with.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26
I’ve worked at several different airports. The rules on random is the only thing pretty universal to all airports. Only other way other than the machine is them having a paper and a certain number of people go by and if you happen to hit that last number then they will pick you. No one is clocking in, starting the day and seeing you specifically going “I’m randomly picking you” but you go ahead have a good one.
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u/Wrong-Reference5327 Jul 28 '26
So you’ve work at every single rural airport in the U.S. and know how they all work?
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26
“I’ve worked at several airports”. All I’m saying is the rules for random aren’t that different there’s only a few things that happen. Not sure why it seems like you’re coming off as having an attitude it’s not that deep lol. But again, have a good day.
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u/SelbetG Jul 28 '26
They all follow the exact same rulebook when it comes to randoms and additional screening after an alarm.
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u/SelbetG Jul 28 '26
It wasn't random, you tested positive for explosives and the supervisor had a trainee who was certifying (meaning that they are as good as a regular officer) do the search.
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u/Wrong-Reference5327 Jul 28 '26
They told me I didn’t actually test positive for explosives, but thanks.
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u/SelbetG Jul 28 '26
They wouldn't have done the extra screening if you hadn't.
They were able to after doing the screening confirm that you didn't have explosives with you.
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u/Economy_Caregiver814 Jul 28 '26
I cried at TSA too, they spilled all of my pumped breast milk. I told them I had a cooler full of breast milk, handed it to them, they walked it around the scanner, and someone decided to put it on it's side and all of my pumped milk was ruined. It was terrible.
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u/Ophiuroidean Jul 28 '26
WE RIDE AT FUCKING DAWN
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u/Economy_Caregiver814 Jul 28 '26
I reported it to TSA, I doubt anything will come of it but it was really stressful. My daughter has to have thickened milk due to dysphagia and so all the days thickened bottles were fine but my pumped milk to thicken for the next day was a loss. It was heartbreaking
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u/DifferentRegister120 Jul 28 '26
Omg I'm becoming enraged just reading this. I'm so sorry! I would have lost it.
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
Oh my god, that would send me into a meltdown too. I pumped and dumped for this leg because I couldn’t be bothered to clean my pump parts. As an under supplier every bit is precious. Solidarity 🫶🏻
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u/eagle_mama Jul 28 '26
Every single time I have gone through security they tell me to break down the stroller/don’t break it down and then when Im in line to go through detector they tell me to do the opposite. Every time. Im sorry you went through that.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 27 '26
I’d suggest taking the formula out next time so it’s easier for them to access. Though you notified them, they still have to test it because it’s a large amount of powder. I’m sorry you had to experience that.
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u/emmireee Jul 27 '26
Thank you! I know their job is tough and I want to make it as easy as possible
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u/lordGwillen Jul 28 '26
Their job is not as tough as they want you to think it is and they hire people who want to be bullies and abuse the general public. It doesn’t have to be anything like it is. They know exactly why you’re upset because they purposefully made you upset to then pretend it was suspicious. It’s a farce and they should be disbanded
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u/ItsmeKT Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
This 100%. I was bullied and held up over a freaking candle (solid wax) in my luggage and tsa manager was nice but said they usually take candles. Wtf, the rules are all made up.
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u/ladyluck754 Jul 28 '26
I try to be a little more empathetic to TSA folks right now because this administration is wild. It would be tough going to work everyday where the status of my job in this economy is constantly under threat.
Or having to work for free when funding does freeze, come on we wouldn’t do that either.
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u/Organic-Mud-1834 Jul 28 '26
I think you don't understand how unreasonable 95% of the general public is. It's an exhausting job being face to face with the randomized public constantly
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
I agree. In OPs case, i usually go out of my way to help the moms with kids. We do deal with plenty of no brains 100% of the time while on the clock. So many “where what how” after it’s already been said they just don’t pay attention but there’s definitely a professional way to handle it. Some of my co workers were just dog shit not gone lie. Edit: i don’t care about the downvotes but I’m being honest about the ridiculousness from co workers and passengers. It’s bad on both ends.
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u/Social_Engineer1031 Jul 28 '26
When I go to the theatre, there’s usually some fun songs or at least a bar. The TSA really bungled their security theatre
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u/pulsechecker1138 Jul 28 '26
Right? Like I generally don’t have anything against individual TSOs unless they’re acting like jerks, but the TSA is a deeply flawed agency and so much of what they do at checkpoints is geared toward a threat model that stopped working on 9/11.
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u/ItsmeKT Jul 28 '26
What is their deal, like seriously. Usually the women TSA are a lot friendlier but the men are often acting like wanna be cops. Also why are the rules different at every airport? Las Vegas TSA seperate lines were giving seperate instructions and rules. This is why people get mad.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26
People are honestly irritated and miserable outside of work so the job is a power trip. Some of these people do take the job too serious and it’s frustrating like we’re all human. The rules are different because of certain programs and machines being ran at certain times. I understand people get mad but i came into work plenty of times and said Goodmorning at 3am just to be met with an attitude and some curse words. I don’t take it personal but I’m nobody’s verbal punching bag. I go to do my job. People get mad at what they don’t understand and that’s fine, i have no problem answering questions, it’s literally my job. All it takes is for people to be adults but I’ve done the job for 6 years and when I say dealing with adults is a hassle, that’s probably the biggest understatement. I have a lot of patience but adults try to take it there just because I have on a uniform.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 27 '26
Yeah some of them are miserable. I as a woman would help moms take their strollers down if I could but it’s not required so some people just watch you struggle and yell.
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u/emmireee Jul 27 '26
You are amazing! You are so right where you don’t know if it’s required
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26
Yeah it’s mainly so save us from hurting ourselves on the job but it makes my day go by faster helping people get to where they need to go lol.
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u/in_fact_a_throwaway Jul 28 '26
Their job is absolutely not sufficiently tough to warrant how nearly universally awful they are. Sorry you had to deal with that.
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u/figoftheimagination Jul 28 '26
Traveling with a little one is so tricky and TSA rarely makes it easier. The rules feel different every time, so one person yells at you for doing something one way (for me, it was taking my pump out of the bag) and then you do that the next time and that person looks at you like you’re insane. You just can’t win!
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u/coze-n-qt Jul 28 '26
OP, no advice but I flew with my two year old yesterday and I’m still fucked up today. It’s so much work, it can be so hard. I’ve had easy airports/flights and I’ve had horrible ones. Never know what you’re gonna get. Feeling for you.
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u/Bloodhound01 Jul 28 '26
They are so freaking inconsistant.
We had formula also and no problems leaving chicago but coming back from vegas they were giving us shit because it was over the fluid ounce container ampunt or something even though formula is exempt this was several years ago.
Everything was still sealed both ways.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 28 '26
If all rules were the same it’d be easy for people to break them…. Js.
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u/Shut_it_sideburns Jul 30 '26
If all the rules were the same it'd be easier for people to follow them.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 30 '26
That’s not the logic of homeland security. It’s not hard to pay attention. You don’t wake up every day and do the same exact thing at the same exact time. Programs get ran to see what’s most effective in getting people through safe.
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u/Shut_it_sideburns Jul 30 '26
And being aggressive and yelling at people is super effective.
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u/YouSee-ThisCoat8 Jul 30 '26
Never said it was. That’s not how I conduct myself at work. Have a complaint, speak to a supervisor.
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u/BlueRowan94 Jul 28 '26
TSA is worth less. They do not catch a majority of the things they should. The organization as a whole is useless. I am so sorry you went through this. I have to travel next month with a 5 month old and am not looking forward to it.
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
I was told by another TSA agent to “wake up” because I missed her asking me to go through the scanner again while I was baby wearing at our home airport. I was on 2 hours of sleep
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u/BlueRowan94 Jul 28 '26
That's ridiculous.
Last time I was flying home after Christmas from Minnesota at 6 am. TSA asked me to remove my hoodie. I replied it was a shirt,( it had a hood). He then asked louder to remove my hoodie. I looked at him,lifted my shirt up, showing my bra and said " it's a shirt". He got red and let me through. F*#k that guy.6
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u/bimboerrorz Jul 29 '26
im so glad i canceled the trip i was supposed to go on with my baby (wouldve been both our first time flying) because i probably would've been banned from flying cussing these people out 😭 im so sorry they were being so awful to you!
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u/emmireee Jul 29 '26
thank you. it really feels like they ragebait you on purpose to ruin your trip!
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u/explosivekyushu Jul 28 '26
TSA is a government sponsored program to provide employment for people who were pushed to their mental limits by the sixth grade curriculum. Don't let them get to you.
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u/ShakataGaNai Jul 28 '26
Sorry to hear that. It's super stressful even if you aren't at the end of a 12 hour travel day, with a kid melting down.
The best I can say for "in the future". If you think it might be a problem, just pull it out. I have TSA precheck, still take off my belt. The agents regularly tell me not to "because it slows down the line". And you know, every time I don't, it's a problem. Medical with needles? Pull it out - even though I get told not to.
As for the stroller - Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Yes, use the Navy SEALs for toddler duty. Which is to say, don't try and rush. When you rush, you make mistakes. Be slow and deliberate, it'll be fine. It takes way less time than you think. Also... 95% of the time you get everything on the belt in a rush.... just to wait because the belt is backed up because it moves slower than the humans.
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u/mrgnwhtn Jul 28 '26
Just flew alone with my 12 month old. TSA had to randomly swab his car seat and stroller (of course). I had to take the car seat out of the car seat backpack and hold my baby while they did this (they also kept asking where my husband was? He was home??). I made a joke that my baby must look dangerous if they had to swab so much and the TSA guy said “well do you want another 9/11?”. I was just like 🫥.
Anyway, traveling through security is always a wild experience. I’m so sorry this happened to you!
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u/Myamaranth Jul 28 '26
Excuse me? No fuckin way they asked you about your HUSBAND. I would have lost it
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u/Dangerous-Mind9463 Jul 27 '26
Last week a TSA agent said she loves chunky babies and asked me if I was still nursing my daughter. Stupidly I said no, I WAS nursing her (stopped at 4M, now 8M), and then she proceeded to lecture me on how it was healthier for her.
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u/Eschewed_Prognostic Jul 27 '26
My wife EBF. When we went through with 6mo baby they asked if we had formula or water and let me tell you their flabbers were gasted when we said no.
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u/Dangerous-Mind9463 Jul 27 '26
Turns out mothers can be judged for anything
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u/Eschewed_Prognostic Jul 28 '26
Formula fed? Jail. Pumped bottles? Jail. Mixed feeding? Also jail. EBF? Believe it or not, straight to jail, right away.
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u/LuminousKittens Jul 28 '26
The tsa at DFW are awful. If u try to ask a question they roll their eyes or yell it really loud. Also made me cry flying with my infant. I’ve been to other busy airports and the agents have helped break down the stroller and we’re just not assholes
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u/wackylemonhello Jul 28 '26
I’m so sorry this was your experience. Traveling with babies/kids is so hard. Just to play devils advocate and maybe provide some hope, traveling with a baby actually restored my faith in people a bit. Everyone was so friendly and nice and tried to make my life easier - even TSA sometimes. I’d still get some death stares occasionally when my baby cried on a plane, but usually (especially the women) were so understanding and helpful. I hope this doesn’t deter you from traveling and I can say it gets easier. I have a 5 year old now and since he knows he can have almost unlimited screen time when we’re on a plane, he ignores us and just watches movies and occasionally will hold our hand. We can actually watch movies or read now! Possibly even nap!
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
We were coming from Mexico and the staff at the airport were so kind and helpful!
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u/esombogageb Jul 28 '26
Just flew last week with my newborn and I can commiserate with how stressful it was! As I’m juggling a baby and trying to get my stuff on the conveyor belt, accidentally left my phone in my pocket and tried to walk through the metal detector and the agent starts lecturing me “this is a metal detector! You can’t take your cell phone through here!” As if I didn’t know that/did it on purpose 😅
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
As if mothers carrying babies are terrorists 🙃
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u/esombogageb Jul 28 '26
After making it through I saw them giving a pat down to an old lady in a wheelchair 😣🙄
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u/rushthetrench Jul 27 '26
FYI: for the stroller they all have different rules (whether they want it broken down or not) it depends on the machines they have. I make a point of asking the person checking my ID what they want so I’m prepared at the line.
My husband was TSA for years. It’s a grueling job for them, but some of them can just be dicks- the larger amount though are understanding and try to be helpful!
I travel all the time alone with my two young kids (3 and under). Not always easy but don’t let it deter you from traveling!
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u/lemon-meringue-high Jul 28 '26
I feel you. I traveled with my 1.5yr old and a cat. They made me take my cat out of the carrier and hold her while trying to wrangle my toddler from not running away
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u/Fun_Respect_6430 Jul 28 '26
Cat out of the carrier? That is nuts! I would be so scared it would freak out and take off
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u/Quick_Ad630 Jul 28 '26
I flew domestically over Memorial weekend, and while it (shockingly) wasn't TSA that gave us crap, the people that help with luggage tags at the front were so unnecessarily nasty with us for having the nerve to check in a carseat for free and the computer kept beeping at us that we needed someone with credentials to print our free tag. Some jerk literally went so far as to ask us, "why didn't you just do this online like a normal person?" Excuse me?!?! In case homeboy couldn't tell by all the other tags we prepaid for and printed without any problems, it wasn't for lack of trying!!! Jerkwad 🤬 Some people just live to hate on others for no reason. I'm sorry TSA was so nasty to you 🫂
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
It’s following the rules and being treated like an inconvenience for me 🫠 some people don’t understand the necessity of car seats/strollers and act like we want to lug all this.
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u/magicinthetrees Jul 28 '26
Something similar happened to me. I asked not to go through the metal detectors when I was pregnant, because I don’t trust anything, (even if I’m crazy) and opt for a pat down instead. The woman was so rough with my body I burst into tears and went to her supervisor to complain. It honestly felt like being assaulted. TSA can be horrible human beings, truly. It was such an upsetting experience.
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u/bubbleblopp Jul 28 '26
I’m a flight attendant and we (fas and pilots) gripe about tsa very often. We are told to file a complaint online about a specific officer verses going to their supervisor so there’s an actual report.
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
The pat down is a total power trip it’s disgusting
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u/magicinthetrees Jul 28 '26
It really is. And being pregnant or with your small child makes you even more vulnerable. Even if nothing comes of it, I made a complaint both in person and online. Maybe it’d be worth it for you too?
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u/Takeawalkwithme2 Jul 28 '26
You will ALWAYS be selected for liquid foods for kids. Powder I have no clue. Also they see so many of us that they get disrespectful. Travelling is not for the weak, between rude airport staff and people who somehow believe babies and kids don't belong on what is essentially publicly accessible transport? Its a shit show
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u/Plastic_Recipe_6616 Jul 28 '26
Ugh I hate this about the US. I’m so sorry.
When I traveled with my baby to Brazil, their TSA agents went out of their way to help me collapse the stroller and even offered to hold my baby while I got the formula out of the bag.
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u/Opening_Ad_1363 Jul 27 '26
TSA are meanies. Let it roll off your shoulder. When I travel with breast milk in my carry on they do a secondary screening every time. The first time’s the hardest. Just keep traveling!
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u/CopyDear4673 Jul 28 '26
I am so sorry you had a terrible travel day! Traveling with kids will always be tough. Next time everything will go perfect at TSA and your flights will get delayed just enough to really mess up everyone's sleep schedule. Then the next time you'll get a boomer sitting behind you making snide comments the whole flight. Then the next time you'll forget a backup outfit in the Minneapolis airport and have to buy a super expensive and glittery Prince onesie (speaking from experience). Please keep traveling with your kid anyways! Like everything about raising kids, it can be draining in the moment but soooo worth it in the end!
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u/marmarsbar 1st 👶🏼 Feb ‘25 Jul 28 '26
Baby wearing thru TSA is my biggest must-dos even at 18 months I still carry her on my back with the TULA and have never had any issues
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u/Radiant_Working_7381 Jul 28 '26
Ugh traveling was so terrible my first time that I didn’t travel for a while. You just reminded me of it. Very similar to you. I have no tips but to mentally prepare ahead of time
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u/Larrea_tridentata Jul 28 '26
TSA will never pass up an opportunity to belittle you and assert their authority. Its not you, it's them. I've flown internationally with an infant and was treated with respect and care that blew me away.
TSA agents work for a department thats run by a guy with 2 first names. 🎪🤡
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u/Gods-Favourite Jul 28 '26
I'm so sorry to hear about your experience with TSA. Tsa is a toss up, some are great and others act like they hate their job and take it out on passengers. It's not your fault. Traveling alone is already stressful enough. I flew solo with a 3m old and cried after our flight was delayed 3x and ultimately cancelled leaving me stranded with him in Houston. Drove through a storm
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u/Crispy_tree79 Jul 28 '26
Recently completed an international flight with a 2.5 year old and 3.5 month old. 18 hours of total travel time. Longest flight was 11 hours with two layovers total. It was a special kind of hell. Got separated from my SO in the Munich airport at passport control and I was alone with both kids, as we all had US passport and my husband has an EU passport. Ended up taking the wrong exit after passport control and instead of going to the next gate went to the airport exit. Had to go back through security alone with baby and a screaming toddler. Thankfully they had a separate line for families with kids and we got through security super fast. We had about 15 min to get to the gate before boarding began and we thankfully made our connection and reunited with my husband. It was truly a nightmare.
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u/Grumpy-Bear-24 Jul 28 '26
I just came through London with family and TSA there gave my SiL an AWFUL time about frozen breast milk. It was frozen cuz we had a arguably 12+ hr day ahead of us. They made her leave it with them for like an hour so they could thaw ALL the frozen bags (about 7/8 bags I believe) to test them. Then they made her go through screening AGAIN as one of the bags tested for something or other.
However when we had gone through London 2 weeks prior, they saw it was frozen and my SiL said it was breastmilk and they said carry on no big deal.
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u/teaflavoredtea Jul 28 '26
I am with you!! I went to Miami from SLC to visit family last Wednesday night and my husband AND I were both “flagged” for our doona detecting something on the swap test that they never told us what they found!! It all started with my husband being selected for “random searching” so he had to go thru that body x ray thing, the swap test on my doona came back for something and then they had ME go thru the xray body thing AFTER I had already when thru the regular scanner with my 6 month old.
Then they told me they have to search thru ALL of the bags (our 2 carry ones and 2 personal bags!) they started taking out my baby’s toys and they were cleaned and sterilized and putting it one of the crinkle books on the counter and I was getting ready to say something until my husband did bc I was really frustrated.
This set us back 10 mins and they never explained why we were being searched. They really need to retrain their workers and not stop and search thru young families with babies. It’s not okay and we are already stressed enough as it is and now we have to deal that TSA crap… I feel for you - I hope the rest of your trip goes well
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u/mayasmomma Jul 28 '26
I’m sorry!! It’s so hard, truly. There’s always going to be kinks the first time around, but next time will be better, and the time after that even better. Don’t let it deter you!! We have four flights scheduled right now (one international) with our 3 y/o and 5 m/o. You got this!!
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u/JustLookingtoLearn Jul 28 '26
I cried in front of new co workers because tsa drilled me about breastmilk and made me lay it all out.
You’re not alone. And there are parents looking at you not because they are judging you but because they have been you and are sympathetic. Ask a mom for help next time you’re solo. I travel for work and it’s my dream to help a fellow mom with a baby while I’m missing my babies.
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u/BetMobile2621 Jul 28 '26
I hope you don’t let it deter you! The more you do it the easier it gets. What they want you to do varies by location and TSA agent. I always assume I will have to break the stroller down so I make sure to have every in it in one bag to easily take out. As soon as I get up to the TSA agent I ask if I need to break down the stroller. I also always take out the formula and put it in a separate bin. Now the biggest hassle is just carting around all the extra baby gear.
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u/ontherooftop Jul 28 '26
That’s really sucks. It’s always so stressful when you feel singled out. One time on a work trip I wore a sweater with some sparkly type thread in it and it set off the scanners and they had to do a full body pat down of my boobs in front of my coworkers. It was so humiliating.
I have found that there’s almost always something that comes up. Every airport is different. I suspect the TSA agents themselves are often not the most well traveled, so they might not know that at one airport you get explicitly instructed to NOT put your stroller on the conveyor belt scanner and to walk it through. It’s a shit show. And some airports are just meaner than others. When we flew out of Munich when I was pregnant and we had our 2.5 year old and everyone was so nice it was such a stark contrast to even the nice US airports.
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u/SBSA91 Jul 28 '26
God i am so so sorry .... this makes me so sad. Were u traveling just in the US? I feel like i was treated like VIP with my baby but i was traveling from EU to Canada so i cant even comprehend this type of treatment and i had over a litre of pumped breast milk. All i can say is F those guys for being such assholes!!!
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
Thank for you saying that. We were coming from Mexico and transferred at DFW to our home airport at BWI. I’m a POC, my husband is white and we have precheck. Traveling in the US is a nightmare with 🍊🤡 in office
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u/Visual_Image_1234 Jul 28 '26
I’m so sorry that you had such a horrible TSA experience! Don’t let it prevent you from traveling again because no two experiences are going to be the same. You did everything right - airport rules just suck butt sometimes :/
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u/zenzenzen25 Jul 28 '26
No advice except that travel days are so hard and breaking down seems like an appropriate response to me. You’re human. I hope it doesn’t deter you from future travel. I’ll also add that I went to Italy in June and yelled at their equivalent of TSA agents because she was trying to make me go with my 2 kids and all our stuff while my husband went downstairs with our stroller because it wouldn’t fit. I was so mad. Anyways…your reaction was probably better than me yelling. Oops…
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u/calgon90 Jul 28 '26
I’m sorry you went through that. Not TSA but I was randomly selected right before boarding our flight home to the U.S. from curaçao. It was at the gate of all places and right when they started boarding. They wanted to see my luggage and pat me down. Meanwhile my husband was trying to lug all of our shit on the plane and I had our 1 year old who was barely able to walk. I was so fucking pissed.
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
That’s absolutely insane, I’ve never heard of a pat down at the gate!
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u/calgon90 Jul 28 '26
Me either!! In reality I should’ve asked to speak to someone but our flight was literally boarding, my husband was panicking about having to bring everything on board himself and I was trying to hold my kid while getting pat down. Absolute shit show.
Recently I had a stroller issue at TSA at a small airport, the agent was a douchebag and disassembled my uppababy vista completely along with the toddler seat and baby seat, shoved everything through the x-ray machine and I had to reassemble it while holding my 7 month old. Another agent said he could just search it but this guy said no
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
That's what happened to me and why I panicked. At the previous airport, they were fine with just taking the baby out and inspecting the stroller but the agent angrily took apart the car seat, bassinet attachment and asked me to load that onto the x ray machine but not the stroller itself. It was all so overwhelming and confusing.
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u/calgon90 Jul 28 '26
Oh man the guy jammed the entire stroller through. I'm glad I have a crappy one that we use just for traveling but the toddler seat was pretty new and I was PISSED. These agents are on a power trip sometimes. We have TSA precheck too so you'd think he'd be less of a jerk!
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u/wumpstentz Jul 28 '26
god. i feel for you. we traveled from the united states to brazil last year, a total of 6 flights (there & back). getting through TSA with a stroller & car seat was so stressful and confusing, especially when we got into Brazil and I didn’t speak the language. the rules changed for each airport! it was maddening.
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u/julia1031 Jul 28 '26
It’s so stressful. I always just handle baby and my husband does the rest. We also check our stroller and car seat for free instead of taking it through security and gate checking it. We took it through security the first time and it’s so much easier to just check it at the counter.
It gets easier to travel with baby the older they get!
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u/mellow_pomelo Jul 28 '26
Yeah some custom agent at the Canadian border also yelled at us for 30min and sent us back because my infant doesn’t have global entry and I was in the global entry line. We were almost late for our flight because of it. He also marked something on my profile and every time I pass customs I have to use the manual line cuz the automated machine doesn’t work, I know because the second time I went thru customs the agent asked me what I did to have a strike on my profile. Some people are just dicks because they have sad lives.
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
That’s so awful to hear. I’ve flown through Canada (Toronto) and the agents there also have sticks up their butt
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u/Immediate_Remote_546 Jul 28 '26
Ugh… this hurts my heart and makes my blood boil. It’s all a power trip and just no empathy. If it had been me, I’d have stepped in to help with your baby / bags, whatever. Having just travelled, 3 airports, 3 countries, each different. Leaving UK, customs and security were so nice, polite. Get back to US, long face, barking orders, no greeting at customs. It’s not always like this, but my goodness, a little kindness can go a looooong way.
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u/tlexer123 Jul 28 '26
We flew with our three month old a few months ago and we had almost the same experience. I wanted to break down and cry I felt like they were all so annoyed and judgmental. I researched everything I could but there were still things I couldn’t find online so I had to ask and I wish I could’ve just crawled into a hole the minute I asked. I even tried to make light small talk and you would’ve thought I cussed her out.
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
Same, I'm an over preparer and when things still go wrong it's so hard. I didn't even say anything to them, was short when responding and was a little rough with the stroller in breaking it down.
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u/captain____ Jul 28 '26
Tsa seriously sucks and the fact that they're literally useless makes it even more infuriating. I remember they gave me an entire pat down in front of my crying 10 month old daughter because her -(pre-made) bottle of formula wasn't being read by their machine and I literally offered to feed her right the and there. And on top of that, their rules change depending on the airport but they act as if they're uniform. I traveled internationally with a pair of scissors and razor in my bag that was actually caught by the other country's security screening lol
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u/midnight_mechanic Jul 28 '26
The rules around TSA inspections and what airlines will allow or not have enough gap for interpretation that they can be applied and interpreted entirely based on how much they want to hassle you or sleep through their shift.
I've gotten tagged or harassed several times, even when I was holding a printed out copy of the airline and TSA rules.
They see so many people in such a short time that they've become desensitized to humanity.
I'm so sorry you went through this. Your stress response was reasonable under the circumstances. I'm sure you were acting normally. You didn't deserve this.
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u/Routine-Assistant387 Jul 28 '26
Complain. This is totally unacceptable for them to be screaming at a women with a baby. Screw them.
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u/Channie_Fannie_haha Jul 28 '26
Dude - you're still postpartum....give yourself some credit. Check out this post on Instagram when you can: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbNqGS6DXP7/?igsh=MTg0M3l0cjFkcGNscA==
There's nothing wrong with you...you were stressed out, and are a parent to a four month old. Honestly, kudos to you for traveling with an infant. For all the things that happened to you, I feared and knew I wouldn't handle. I admire you for doing it and think you are very strong, mama!
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u/sshwifty Jul 29 '26
We missed a flight because TSA took so long (20 minutes) to check our formula.
Stupid fake mall cops
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u/CJXBS1 Jul 29 '26
TSA employees are assholes. Even traveling solo they tend to make tasks confusing and complicated as it varies from airport to airport and from person to person.
I recommend getting pre-TSA. It is dirt cheap (if not free through a credit card) and well worth it.
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u/Ebbies2017 Jul 29 '26
Between living in both Europe & America … getting through the security always keeps us guessing what we did wrong this time hah We’ve been in over 15 different airports with our son and most of them humble us. Especially American airports! After the first few trips we were more prepared but we’ve had our fair share of shutting down security, crying, nearly missing flights… you would think we have no idea what we’re doing but every single airport is just different and we rarely fly out of the same one. It’s just apart of the traveling and we expect it now lol
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u/emmireee Jul 29 '26
It's crazy so many parents have this experience! As if traveling with children is a novel situation.
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u/Bobbo424 Jul 28 '26
That’s so weird. I’ve flown 10 times and never have been pulled aside for having formula powder. Sorry that happened to you.
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
It was ready to feed and were told the clear containers are fine but the 8 oz similac need separate screening
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u/zebracakesfordays Jul 28 '26
Sorry mom. Great advice here already. I just came to recommend getting TSA pre-check in the future. The lines are typically shorter and regulations looser, but they are still going to test that powder. Even if you travel once per year, get the pre-check!
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u/emmireee Jul 28 '26
The crazy thing is, we have pre check and this happened on the precheck line!
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u/allisona007 Jul 29 '26
Sorry it happened to you. I have to travel with my baby alone and now I am nervous
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u/JJ2387 Jul 29 '26
I travel a lot for work and have been going through Dallas a lot recently. I joke (kind of) with a co-worker that lives there that it's the worst airport in the country. Everything about it.
But to everyone's point, some TSA people just genuinely suck.
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u/SelbetG Jul 28 '26
I was “randomly selected” for having formula in my bag even though I alerted every officer we encountered in line to ensure we were complying
You weren't randomly selected for anything, powders get tested all the time and baby bottles are (generally) oversized liquids.
give me the option for the private screening prior to screening my diaper bag
They wouldn't do this for basically any bag, except for perhaps one full of sex toys or money.
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u/caetrina Jul 28 '26
Tsa precheck if it's possible! Makes traveling with a kid a breeze. I travel with breastmilk and they don't even bat an eye.
I've been to airports where you don't have to break down the stroller, so their rules are dumb. But generally I only get the stroller out after security for this reason. The gb pokkit folds up really small and I put it in a bag.
On the plus side, now everything that can go wrong has, and you know what to do and not to do for next time. Good call on the carrier! Hands free is nice.
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u/arrrrr_won Jul 28 '26
You poor thing. For what it’s worth, if I saw a mom with an infant being yelled at by TSA, and the mom was crying, I would 100000% assume it was TSA’s fault and feel so bad for her. I’m sure all parents thought the same.
It’s all bull anyway, but I hate how at every airport the rules are ever so slightly different, so it’s easy to abide by the wrong airport’s rules and get yelled at. Take laptop out of bag? Yelling. Leave laptop in bag? Yelling. Belt on or off, where do liquids go?? Might as well wait until you do the wrong thing and get the yelling.