Awesome - Mom Is Detained At The Airport After An Item In Her Diaper Bag Draws Suspicion

 

Even if you love the feeling of a plane taking off and slicing through the clouds, the experience at the airport beforehand can be stressful. Not only do you have to maneuver your way through a sea of busy travelers, but dealing with the strict TSA policies can throw a huge wrench in your itinerary.

When Heather Andi Jones arrived at the Denver International Airport with her three-month-old daughter, Amelia, she was nervous to fly for the very first time with the toddler. However, she had no idea that a crying baby on the plane was the absolute least of her worries...

Colorado mom Heather Andi Jones knew there was a chance her three-month-old daughter, Amelia, might throw a tantrum on the flight they were taking from Denver International Airport to Los Angeles.

She took every precaution she could to prevent a total meltdown. She found that when it came to children and planes, they were either total saints or complete disasters. There really was no in between.

A few days before the 2017 flight, Heather researched the best ways to keep children calm on a plane. She brought along plenty of Amelia's toys to keep her occupied, but more importantly, she brought milk, the ultimate secret weapon.

Amelia was one of the most well-behaved children Heather knew. She rarely made a scene when they were out in public, so Heather was hopeful things would go smoothly. But of course, the two had never been on a plane before.

Milk was always what Heather turned to when Amelia started fussing. It didn't matter whether they were at a restaurant or if it was simply late at night; Amelia would start to feed and immediately calm down.

Heather never had problems pumping enough milk, but in preparation for this trip, she pumped an extra amount of milk for Amelia. She couldn't risk running out of the liquid before the flight was over. That would surely have spelled trouble.

The entire process of physically and mentally preparing for the flight was hard work, but Heather knew being a mom, in general, was hard work. She was mentally prepared to take on her biggest challenge of motherhood to date.

In her research, Heather learned the best way to transport milk and baby formula was freezing it overnight so it would stay cool throughout the trip. It sounded simple, but she did have some concerns.

She packed the frozen bottles on the morning of her flight and headed to the Denver International Airport. Collecting and prepping the milk was a time-consuming process, and she hoped the TSA wouldn't give her any problems.

The airport was packed when Heather arrived. Two lanes of airport security were shut down, so the entire process was taking much longer than expected; it felt like they'd never leave. Heather hoped the milk would stay frozen and Amelia would remain calm.

Finally, Heather reached the TSA agents at the front and they began inspecting her things. Worry wasn't on the new mother's mind when her things were inspected, but that soon changed...

Heather knew she didn't have anything she shouldn't in her possession, so she patiently waited with Amelia. However, once the agent came to the milk, their demeanor completely changed.

Since TSA guidelines allowed for both fresh milk and breast milk, she was confused. Never before had she been pulled out of an airport line by security. She always followed the rules, but now she was getting nervous.

Then, the agent told her that after running the frozen liquid through one of their machines, it tested positive for explosives! The reason? Trace amounts of glycerin. Heather was stunned.

Now, glycerin is a common additive in baby wipes and hand lotions, which are completely safe products. However, the chemical can also be used to make dynamite, which is exactly why the TSA machine picked up on it.

The mother could have easily tainted the milk by mistake after handling wipes or lotion. Even if she washed her hands, trace amounts still could have trickled into the liquid, causing a false positive in the machine.

Because of the traces of glycerin, Heather was asked to stand aside until a female TSA agent arrived to give her a thorough pat down. The agent made her place Amelia in her stroller, and the toddler started bawling. Heather was overwhelmed from the stress.

Finally, the pat down ended and Heather scooped up Amelia, trying to calm her frantic baby. The agents made her dump out all of the milk, so Heather retreated to a waiting area to feed her toddler. If this entire ordeal wasn't enough, a different TSA agent approached Heather and asked her to stop publicly feeding Amelia.

Everything that had happened was appalling. Luckily, she was able to finish feeding her daughter, and they soon caught a plane to Los Angeles. There, Heather found a great nursing room to give her daughter her next meal.

It seemed insane that something as simple as milk created such a stir at the airport. She had no idea her day would turn into such a stressful situation. Luckily, Amelia received her meals, but this was a lesson to Heather: it can be hard for breastfeeding moms to travel.