Flying domestic with a 9 week old

tripledaggerWed95976

hi ladies! I'm traveling from Chicago to LA in a couple weeks.  Jonas will be 9 wks old and will have had his vaccinations.  I'm flying on united airlines.  I purchased a seat for him (since my husband won't be with me to help).   Any advise on making this as smooth of a trip as possible??

Bltbear82

I did NYC to LA solo, it's not terrible I promise. Buy disposable changing pads for the airport and plane (I like Munchkin), baby friendly sanitizer (babyganics) to wipe down everything, bring ziploc bags for dirty clothes, a change of clothes for baby and you, two swaddle blankets (one for baby, one to keep over the car seat to keep people away and light out for sleeping.

I found it easier to wear baby and carry the empty car seat sometimes but you'll figure out what works for you. Usually if you're wearing the baby they allow you to go through security without taking the baby out. But you'll have to put the car seat through the x-Ray anyway so I found it less stressful to have baby strapped to me. Gate check your stroller too, it's more cumbersome but it ensures it's handled with more care. 

Feeding on take off and landing to keep baby happy has always worked for me and make sure you have an aisle seat too so you can easily get up and down since you're on your own. 

I can't remember if you're ebf but if you have bottle questions just shout! Security will want to check breast milk or liquid formula but there's no limit on those liquids. 

Good luck!! I swear once you have the first flight down they're way less stressful...until they're toddlers!

tripledaggerWed95976

Bltbear82 said:

I did NYC to LA solo, it's not terrible I promise. Buy disposable changing pads for the airport and plane (I like Munchkin), baby friendly sanitizer (babyganics) to wipe down everything, bring ziploc bags for dirty clothes, a change of clothes for baby and you, two swaddle blankets (one for baby, one to keep over the car seat to keep people away and light out for sleeping.

I found it easier to wear baby and carry the empty car seat sometimes but you'll figure out what works for you. Usually if you're wearing the baby they allow you to go through security without taking the baby out. But you'll have to put the car seat through the x-Ray anyway so I found it less stressful to have baby strapped to me. Gate check your stroller too, it's more cumbersome but it ensures it's handled with more care. 

Feeding on take off and landing to keep baby happy has always worked for me and make sure you have an aisle seat too so you can easily get up and down since you're on your own. 

I can't remember if you're ebf but if you have bottle questions just shout! Security will want to check breast milk or liquid formula but there's no limit on those liquids. 

Good luck!! I swear once you have the first flight down they're way less stressful...until they're toddlers!

Wonderful advice!! Thank you so much!

Bellodomani

Honestly, at 9 weeks it should be a breeze. Due to various life circumstances I ended up having to fly solo with my son like 4 times before he was 3 months old and it was a breeze. I never even bought a seat for him, always just wore him in a wrap and he slept through basically every flight. If your baby is prone to spit up/ blow outs, pack more outfits than you think you need- my son once went through FOUR outfits between Boston and Portland, but he was a pretty gross baby. 

Definitely gate check your stroller, it's super helpful to have it with you to carry all your baby gear thru the airport and esp if (God forbid) your flight gets delayed or you miss a connection, it's nice to have a place for baby to sleep that isn't in your arms. 

nikkinbonnie

I just flew alone with my 6 week old. I was nervous but it went great. I didn't get her a seat, I wore her and she slept almost the entire time. I checked everything except a diaper bag so I didn't have to lug much around. It was a breeze and the other passengers were very friendly and helpful. I was able to wear her through security and board the plane early. No problems at all.