Flying with a baby can be intimidating. I was terrified the first time I flew with my daughter. It was direct 4-hour flight from Oklahoma City to Seattle. My husband was staying back to work so I did the flight all by myself with my 2-month old baby. That flight couldn’t have gone better. My daughter slept the majority of the flight and when she was awake she made one noise the entire flight – which happened to be a cough. My daughter is now 10 months old and since then she has been on 3 other trips within the United States, one to Arizona, one to North Carolina, and another trip to Washington. She has also been on 2 international flights, to and from Moscow Russia. Our travel days to and from Russia have been close to 24 hours in total travel time and have been 16-20 hours in the air depending on our route. Even after all of this travel experience I still get a little anxious before flights, wondering how they are going to go. I have learned though that people really are so gracious. They are more understanding than the “worst case scenario” that I often picture in my head, especially when you are with a young baby that people know you can only control so much.
Each time I travel with my daughter I realize the experience is different. The older she gets, the more difficult the trips become because she is wanting more entrainment and wanting to be more active.
Every child is different but I wanted to share some of the tips and tricks I’ve picked up over this past year because I know traveling with a baby can be stressful, especially when you haven’t done it before.
BOOKING YOUR TICKET
The first thing I want to touch on is planning ahead. This comes long before the actual flight but can make a huge difference on travel day. It is important to be thinking about your baby’s schedule when booking your tickets. If at all possible, try to schedule your flight at a time that coordinates with nap time. I’ve found that the noise and rocking of the airplane make for perfect napping conditions. Plus, it makes your time so much easier and less stressful when the baby is sleeping. You can simply snuggle or you may even be able to put the baby down and get some time to yourself. If your baby is able to get a good nap in, it will only help with the rest of the flight or the rest of your day once you arrive at your destination.
Another suggestion when booking your tickets is to book a window seat. Depending on how old your baby is they may love to look out the window! Plus, I’ve found window seats give me an extra sense of privacy when nursing.
HOW I PACK MY DIAPER BAG
When packing and preparing for travel day, I’ve found it is vital to be organized. The easiest thing I’ve found is to use my diaper bag for all my essentials as this is the bag that I keep at my feet during the flight. Anything else, that I don’t think I’ll need I’ll put on my other carry-on bag (if I’m bringing another carry-on at all).
In my diaper bag I have a couple of my essentials, but it is mostly filled with everything I think I may need for the baby throughout travel day.
My essentials include my passport, wallet, phone, headphones, keys, and maybe a protein bar.
The rest of the bag is dedicated to my daughter. Inside my diaper bag I have all of her diaper essentials – wipes, a changing pad, and diapers. Make sure to take more diapers than you think you will need just in case. I normally try to take about a diaper per hour just to play it extra safe on national flights, and on the international flights I pack 10-15. I also take my Munchkin Arm & Hammer Diaper bags to put diapers in so that the smell doesn’t permeate if I can’t get to a garbage can right away. Or, if we have a blow out on the airplane I can put sticky clothes in them.
On the topic of blow outs, I also take some cleaning essentials in case of an accident. I always pack an extra set of clothes for my baby, if you have room it’s also nice to have an extra shirt for yourself. In addition, I make sure to bring, hand sanitizer, a dreft stain removing pen, and Johnson’s head-to-toe baby cleansing cloths. For those of you who haven’t used the cleansing cloths, they are amazing! They are great at cleaning up big messes. If your baby has a blow out on the airplane you obviously can’t just throw them in the bath to clean them up but these cleansing cloths are the next best thing! I love them!
I also bring a couple of blankets with me. I normally bring a heavier blanket as well as a lighter swaddling blanket because you never know what the temperature on an airplane will be. I’ve been on airplanes where we were sweating and other airplanes where we were freezing. These blankets are also great for preparing a little sleeping area for your baby during the flight.
When your baby isn’t sleeping you are going to want a variety of toys to help keep them entertained. I ask myself two questions when figuring out which toys to bring. The first question is, is it small? And the second question is, is it quiet? Some of the toys that I normally pack include books, especially the ones that are more interactive – like touch-and-feel books and flip books. I’ll also bring chewing beads, and link rings. Really, pack any toys that you know your baby likes that meet the requirements of quiet and small. I’ve heard a lot of people find success using window clings and baby inflatable water mats as well.
Make sure that you also pack a copy of the baby’s birth certificate, airports will use this as their form of ID. A couple other random essentials include a nursing cover, and an extra binky. I always use a binky that has a clip to attach to my daughter’s clothes on travel day. But, it is important to travel with an extra just in case!
Depending on the age of your baby you are also probably going to want to pack some food in your diaper bag. When my daughter was younger I didn’t worry about this as much but this last trip we just took I brought a lot of food with us. I had three requirements when packing food for this last trip. I wanted to make sure that 1. It kept well unrefrigerated 2. That it wasn’t too messy and 3. That my daughter likes it. I didn’t want to have to fight her on eating while on the airplane. For us, some of the things that met these requirements were tortilla, sweet potato, banana, pureed food pouches, and teething wafers. Along with her snacks I packed a bib and her sippy cup that I could put water in while on the airplane.
There you go! Those are my diaper bag travel day baby essentials! It is a lot, but I found it’s nice to have all of these things at easy access down by my feet.
IN THE AIRPORT
I have a couple tips to take into consideration while you are in the airport as well. When checking in I always like to check my stroller because they check for free and can sometimes be a hassle to push around a busy airport. My preference is to use a sling to carry my baby around the airport instead. I find it to be easier to walk around the airport this way. Also, depending on the type of sling you own you may not need to remove it before going through security making it a breeze to get through, especially when you are by yourself. If your sling has metal on it though they will make your remove it.
If your baby is walking around a little bit, I’d highly recommend walking around the terminal before or between flights. This helps to keep your baby awake, waiting to sleep until the flight and helps them to get out some energy. It’s also a great way to introduce your baby to the other people on your flight before you get on the plane. This way they can see and build a little relationship with your baby giving them more understanding and sympathy if things don’t go well on the flight.
If you are traveling alone and have time before boarding, I’d also recommend to go up to the desk at your gate and ask the attendant if there are empty seats on your flight. If there are two empty seats together tell them you are traveling alone with a lap infant and would love a little extra room if they could move you to those seats. I’ve found the attendants to be very accommodating to this request. It’s always worth asking, and the worst thing they can say is “no”. If they can move you though it really is so nice to have a little extra room.
My last airport time recommendation is to remember to change your baby’s diaper shortly before boarding, it always nice to start the trip with a fresh, dry diaper. You will appreciate not having to change it so soon and your baby will be more comfortable.
DURING THE FLIGHT
My last few recommendations are for during the flight. When you first find your seat on the plane I would recommend using a baby wipe to sanitize your seats. Wipe down the window, trays, the armrests, and seats themselves. It is so easy to get sick on airplanes but this helps to protect you and more importantly your baby a little bit. Another recommendation is to nurse both at take-off and landing. The air pressure changes during these times causing a little bit of ear pain or ear popping. This can be painful for babies. Nursing or sucking on something during this time helps drastically.
When it comes to the flight itself I will entertain the baby using the toys I packs, by walking around the aisles (the other passengers normally love this making faces, talking to, and smiling at the baby), or by using technology. People may have mixed emotions on that last suggestion, but to me, I don’t mind using technology to entertain a baby on a flight, especially on a long flight. I may use the screens on the seats to play a cartoon, or a baby app on my phone that can be used in airplane mode. Fisher Price has some good apps for babies that can be used on airplane mode – my daughter loves their Laugh & Learn Games.
When I am not entertaining my daughter she is normally sleeping.
If I have an extra seat for her I normally will put together a nice little bed for her and lay her down. She normally sleeps pretty well on the airplane.
While the things I have learned typically help my daughter when it comes to travel day, the reality is you can only prepare so much. You never know exactly how the day is going to go but people are normally gracious and if they aren’t you are doing your best and that is ok. They will soon forget about the crying baby on the flight and chances are you will never see those people again. Ultimately, your job is to love on your baby and take care of them to the best of your abilities. If you’ve done this, whether they scream the entire flight or don’t make a peep you have done your job.
Good luck! And Happy Flying!