STM question - flying with baby

GonePhishing

We live in Chicago and my best friend is getting married in Colorado in October. DH and I are trying to plan out trip with our 4 and a half month old Baby. If we drive, it will take two days each way, plus hotel stays on the way there and back. I'm nervous to fly because I'm thinking about how much we would have to bring. I'm also afraid that Baby will be uncomfortable and fussy on the flights. Has anyone flown with their infant? Does it work? What would you do?

lindsladle15

We flew with our four month old last October. Even had a layover. Was super easy to bring the car seat and stroller, or you can rent a car seat at your destination, which is probably even easier!
I bet it's the easiest to fly with one that little vs. a toddler....ours nursed/slept most of the time, on 3 out of 4 flights. The worst/most nerve wracking part was always just before boarding. We chose to get on close to last, minimizing cramped time on plane.

kaila8

We live in Arkansas and everyone in my family besides my mom and grandma are in Virginia. We are planning a trip to VA in September with LO (she'll be about 3.5 months). We decided to drive, it's 21 hrs one way so we will be splitting it up into a two day drive with hotel stay also. We figured it would be easier with packing and were also nervous about how she would do on the plane and didn't want to be those people with the screaming baby that everyone hates haha.

I'm curious to see what STM have to say about this though, because it's still not too late to change our minds! It would definitely be a lot quicker to fly.

lindsladle15

Oh, also, see if your friends/family at your destination have "stuff" you can use, like we borrowed a pack n' play from friends and a Moses basket, thus really minimizing what we had to pack. They also bought us diapers and a few other things so we didn't have to bring it.
Don't not fly because of the baby...you can do it! And don't even worry about other people being "annoyed." It's hard not to have that feeling, but they and you will get over it.
If you like to drive and prefer that, go for it, but we had traveled an 8 hr car trip with DD at 3-4 weeks, and I thought it was almost worse! Kept having to stop for one reason or another...nurse/diaper/etcetera.

britneythebridexo

My husband and I flew with our son when he was 4months old. He slept the whole way. We co sleeped where we were staying even though someone provided us with a playpen and we used a front carrier instead of a stroller. We also bought the diapers and a can of formula at a store when we got there and carried enough formula for the plane ride plus one extra feeding.

NotISaidtheCat

Road trips with infants are horrible. The drive is always significantly lengthened by stops for diaper changes, nursing, and at times just needing to hold baby. It's so much more convenient to fly.

sschwege

Fellow Chicagoan here   FLY, FLY, FLY!

Flying at this age is super easy!  They sleep so well on planes.  We flew with DD from Chicago to Colorado to go skiing when DD was 5 months old.  I nursed her at take-off and she slept all but the last 45 min or so.  Then we just pulled out toys and kept her occupied.  Easier than flying with an older child for sure!  

You can check car seats and strollers for free.  Some say don't check car seats because they can be damaged we have never had a problem though.  The hotel should be able to provide you with a pack n play. 

laurendutch

I've stayed at a Marriott that had play n packs to use. It was actually super clean! I was really impressed.

Sammy K

We flew to Alaska with our 6 mo. old. We used cribs provided by the hotel and rented a car seat with our rental car. We skipped the stroller and used the Ergo instead. Flying with an infant is soooooo much easier than a toddler.

staceyfern

GonePhishing said:

We live in Chicago and my best friend is getting married in Colorado in October. DH and I are trying to plan out trip with our 4 and a half month old Baby. If we drive, it will take two days each way, plus hotel stays on the way there and back. I'm nervous to fly because I'm thinking about how much we would have to bring. I'm also afraid that Baby will be uncomfortable and fussy on the flights. Has anyone flown with their infant? Does it work? What would you do?

My best friend flew with her 6 week old baby from Chicago to jersey for my wedding. She had been contimplating driving verses flying for months before. They wound up flying and had no problems!

Serenamarr

My main concern with flying wouldn't be bothering other people or how the baby would do on the plane, it would be having baby closed in tight with all those people and all their germs before baby has all his vaccinations. There is no better cesspool for airborne viruses and bacteria than a tiny closed cabin filled with over a hundred people. But that's just me. I know I'm paranoid.

MaliKaela

sschwege said:

Fellow Chicagoan here   FLY, FLY, FLY!

Flying at this age is super easy!  They sleep so well on planes.  We flew with DD from Chicago to Colorado to go skiing when DD was 5 months old.  I nursed her at take-off and she slept all but the last 45 min or so.  Then we just pulled out toys and kept her occupied.  Easier than flying with an older child for sure!  

You can check car seats and strollers for free.  Some say don't check car seats because they can be damaged we have never had a problem though.  The hotel should be able to provide you with a pack n play. 

I was wondering about this. Do you know if all airlines will check car seats and strollers for free or if different airlines have different rules? Maybe I just need to check southwests website.

Frogger5

We are taking the train from Seattle to the Midwest this summer when baby's probably two months old. We had your same reservations about driving or flying, and the train seems like the best of both worlds. We got a sleeper car, meals are included, and it should be beautiful scenery. The price was really not much more than flying in the end. I'm really excited about it! Maybe you could look into it for your trip (I think it really depends on the route obviously if it's even an option).

jesicabrennan

Sammy K said:

We flew to Alaska with our 6 mo. old. We used cribs provided by the hotel and rented a car seat with our rental car. We skipped the stroller and used the Ergo instead. Flying with an infant is soooooo much easier than a toddler.

All of this. We did London when ours was 4 months old. It was so easy. Wore him through security and all through the airport, nursed on take off, he slept most of the way. Didn't take anything extra like strollers or car seats. We borrowed a car seat and he slept in bed with us. I much prefer and recommend flying over driving. They really don't need all the "stuff" and what they do need you can borrow or rent at the destination.

lindsladle15

mcknzzee said:

sschwege said:

Fellow Chicagoan here   FLY, FLY, FLY!

Flying at this age is super easy!  They sleep so well on planes.  We flew with DD from Chicago to Colorado to go skiing when DD was 5 months old.  I nursed her at take-off and she slept all but the last 45 min or so.  Then we just pulled out toys and kept her occupied.  Easier than flying with an older child for sure!  

You can check car seats and strollers for free.  Some say don't check car seats because they can be damaged we have never had a problem though.  The hotel should be able to provide you with a pack n play. 

I was wondering about this. Do you know if all airlines will check car seats and strollers for free or if different airlines have different rules? Maybe I just need to check southwests website.

I'm pretty certain (99%) that all airlines check those things for free
We just put some padding around the car seat when we wrapped it up, and it was just fine!

MaliKaela

@lindsladle15 thanks!

Maggie0908

I have lofty plans of flying to one of my best friends weddings on June 12... First time
Mom here but all my friends with little ones say she'll just sleep through anything. Planning to strap her to my chest to keep anyone away. At that age she should also still have all my immunity as well. We did book refundable tickets, refundable hotel, car, etc on the chance we back out after birth. Will let yall know how it goes! And if there's extra room on the flight you can just stick your car seat in a seat for baby to travel in.

henrytviii

Yikes when are you due? And keep in mind most FTM are late, mucus plugs and dilation aside

henrytviii

henrytviii said:

Yikes when are you due? And keep in mind most FTM are late, mucus plugs and dilation aside

Sorry that only posted a tiny fraction of my post and won't let me edit on mobile. I think my insomnia is subsiding so I am not going to type it out again but go easy on yourself. Recovering from L&D is hard, so is getting used to parenthood. Flying with a baby IS easy once you are comfortable with your baby but so early seems to ambitious. Just getting out the door once with the diaper bag is a solid week 1 goal!

Maggie0908

June 1. I really don't plan to let anyone else deter my plans either-we will just see how we're doing. Hence the refundable everything.

virginiaunicorn11

This has been discussed in many places - so do some searching for more tips and ideas.  I am flying transatlantic when LO is about 6 weeks old.  My doctor said it is not a question of baby's health, but my own (if baby is at least one week old).  She said I should not consider flying unless I am at least two weeks post-partum, for a vaginal birth - longer for c-section. 

In general, I am a big fan of flying vs. driving and in your case, OP, would not even consider the drive.

seannemairi

Hey y'all! FTM but flight attendant here. I find the really little ones are actually the best ones. Even so, don't worry about being "that passenger" with a screaming baby. You're entitled to travel too, and everyone was a baby once. Everyone else will get over it. My best advice is either nurse or have something for them to suck on during take off or landing. They're more sensitive to ear popping during pressure change. Don't over think packing, you'll just make boarding and deplaning way harder than it needs to be on you. Essentials only and buy everything else at your destination. You can gate check/valet any stroller or carseat at any airline. If you are planning on baby wearing, keep in mind during taxi out, take off, and landing you have to remove the baby from the carrier and hold them either in a nursing or burping position. If I think of anything else I'll letcha know

poppyL84

I'll be taking my baby from Australia to the UK alone at four months. Can't say I'm excited about the flight, but there's no way I'd miss out introducing him/her to family just because of the flight.

Maggie0908

Update: flew with my two week old. We had a wedding we absolutely would not miss and left the day she was 14 days old-last Thursday. Baby did wonderful! She did want to eat most of the flight-not sure if it was her ears or just being out of her element but it wasn't a big deal, but I guess it could be if you aren't comfortable bf-ing in public. We held her on the plane and gate checked stroller/car seat combo. Had a baby bjorn on the flight there as well but didn't really use it bc she's so easy to just hold-checked it on the return. In addition I did a bit of research and baby still has measles antibodies from mom until 1-2 months which eased my mind a little and I had lots of hand sanitizer for us.

virginiaunicorn11

Maggie0908 said:

Update: flew with my two week old. We had a wedding we absolutely would not miss and left the day she was 14 days old-last Thursday. Baby did wonderful! She did want to eat most of the flight-not sure if it was her ears or just being out of her element but it wasn't a big deal, but I guess it could be if you aren't comfortable bf-ing in public. We held her on the plane and gate checked stroller/car seat combo. Had a baby bjorn on the flight there as well but didn't really use it bc she's so easy to just hold-checked it on the return. In addition I did a bit of research and baby still has measles antibodies from mom until 1-2 months which eased my mind a little and I had lots of hand sanitizer for us.

And how did YOU feel?