Advice for airplane travel

APrice

Hi Ladies,

We are heading on our first vacation as a family next week and I'm starting to get slightly anxious about flying with an almost 8 month old. Any tips for those who have done it before?

Thankfully, he's not totally mobile..he basically turns and scoots around on the floor so he isn't going to want to be on the floor crawling around the plane. He is however getting to that point where he is like "put me down" and doesn't want to be held a ton. We also don't have a layover anywhere and the flight isn't too bad, only 3 hours. 

Any tips would be helpful....especially for takeoff and landing!

TIA! 

Ladiebug710

We flew at 3 months, so he wasn't quite a squirmy as an 8 month old will be.  I used the baby carrier through security.  It was great, I didn't have to take it off.  I fed him on the way up and he didn't even seem to notice the pressure change, I had a bottle ready for the descent, but it didn't phase him a bit and he didn't need it.

It is a bit uncomfortable and you definitely get lots of evil looks while boarding, but don't sweat it, it isn't as bad as you think.  For the most part he was very content to look around.

That said, we are flying again when he is 10 moths old, and I won't lie, I'm strongly considering a little bit of benadryl before the flight.

baloneydisc

We flew with DD for the first time at 11mo.  I wore her thru the airport and let her walk around near the gate.  We nursed during take off, let her play with a couple of new toys, gave her some puffs and then she fell asleep.  She slept about half the flight and I nursed her on landing.  Our flight back was at night, she nursed and slept the whole time.  

mamayo26

you are allowed to check the car seat for free, def get a car seat bag so that it doesn't get dirty in the cargo hold, plus you can stash extra stuff in there if you need to and they won't charge you (Amazon has a lot of great options and prices).

You can also gate check the stroller, which is really nice, it made it super easy to get through the airport (except when it had to go through the x-ray machine, but DH handled that).

Bring extras of everything (diapers, wipes, formula-if you FF, and toys). You may not have a connecting flight, but you may be delayed. also if you can plan nap time around take off I found that helps. DS took a little bit of water during take off and then slept the who flight (until we got to baggage claim at our destination).

On the way home the flight was earlier and he wan't quite ready to take a nap, so he was really fidgety until his bottle and then DH finally got him to take a nap. He woke up right before landing and took his nuk like a champ and didn't have any issues. if you are concerned that the pressure may still be uncomfortable you can give a little tylenol to help. 

GL! 

APendola

I flew with her when she was 3 and 4 months old.  It wasn't so bad...but they do sleep a lot more at that age. 

Nursing or a bottle during take off or landing will help them with the ear pain.  A pacifier works for some babies too.

Try not to bring too much on the plane as it gets difficult to carry everything.  A diaper bag is really all you need.  But if your hubby is flying with you, an extra carry-on is okay.  Bring some toys and comfort items.  I liked dressing her in sleepers for plane rides because that way her feet are warm without the risk of socks coming off.  An extra set of clothes is a must too.

 Oh, and all the flights I have been on had other babies and young children that were making lots of noise.  So no need to be embarrassed.  It's not likely that you'll be the only one with a young child.

catmtl

We just got back from a short trip to Florida with our then-almost-8-month-old (4 hour flight).

Mums were a lifesaver and kept him occupied.

As PP suggested, bring some NEW toys. DS wasn't interested in any of his usual favorites.

We didn't have any problems with takeoff and landing so I didn't bother feeding him (and he doesn't take a paci). It's really hard to time this, especially landing,  since you typically descend for a good 30 minutes before actually landing and it's the descent that's problematic on the ears.

We asked the flight attendant if she could possibly reassign the person in our aisle seat to another free aisle seat (if there was one) and she did!! We ended up with a free seat and this helped tons as we could lay DS down. You never know unless you ASK!

catapult32

We flew for Christmas when DD was 5 months.

1. Dress baby in overalls and clip toys to them to avoid losing/dropping them. 

2. Bring a stroller!! Most airlines will allow you to have the full-size collapsible ones as an extra carry on, even if their websites and representatives tell you they won't/don't. We had an umbrella stroller and a carrier and it was awful.

3. Bottle/pacifier/nursing for takeoff and landing, if baby will do it. DD wouldn't and had not problems. Your Ped might have extra advice if baby has a stuffy nose or cold before you fly. 

It will be easier than you think and any unpleasantness will be over before you know it.