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Need some reassurance/advice re: flying with a baby

bklyndadbklyndad member
in Dads & Dads-to-be
Flying with our 5mo daughter tomorrow for the first time (NY to LA). Because we'll be visiting family for an extended period we decided to haul the car seat along, and because we bought the tickets with points we managed to secure a seat for the kid as well. Besides being nervous about having to install the car seat on the plane (it took me forever to get it right in the car) I'm a little freaked out about the whole airport/plane thing with our daughter in general. She recently discovered this incredibly horrendous whistling high scream thing, which she loves to do. She'll just sit there smiling and screeching away. It's like mermaid language. Should I bring earplugs to hand out to other passengers? And what about other issues... My head's swimming with nightmarish possibilities, what to bring, how to handle it if she freaks out mid-flight, etc. 

Any advice on flying with a baby? Thanks in advance.
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Re: Need some reassurance/advice re: flying with a baby

  • PrimePrime member
    We flew with our guy when he was 1 month old.  That was very easy because all he did was eat and sleep at that age.  We will be flying again when he is just shy of 5 months.  I wouldn't bring ear plugs for other passengers.  Do your best to schedule the day around the flight.  Plan to feed during takeoff and landing and hope they sleep in between.  Be ready with an activity if they wake up.  And a backup activity and perhaps a backup for the backup. 

    Just do your best to stay calm and deal with situations that arise.  I think as long as you are making an earnest effort to calm an upset child mid-flight most people won't mind as much.

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  • Sandy CohenSandy Cohen member
    Good luck man!

    I would be terrified too.
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  • WulfgarWulfgar member
    When I was flying to and from Germany on Air India, there was a decent amount of young children.  It seems that if the parents are relaxed the child should feel that and it helps the child.

    I also agree with the try to feed your LO at take off and landing.  Others have done this multiple times and even the passengers should be tolerant.  I would forget about the ear plugs though.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker


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  • bklyndadbklyndad member
    Thanks for all the advice everyone. Much appreciated. I'll give you a full report after we get to LA.

    And polooo26, this line — "Worst case scenario it's going to be the worst day of your life, but will probably survive" — made me laugh, and it also put me at ease somewhat. Thanks for that. Absolutely right.


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  • bklyndadbklyndad member
    In a word: "hell."  And here I need to pause and thank palooo26, because his pre-flight comment about "worst day... but you'll survive" played over and over in my head like a mantra during the near five hours of screaming that I, my wife and the other 180+ passengers and crew on the flight from NY to LA endured. We tried nursing on the ascent, but knew we were in trouble when DD refused. After we reached cruising altitude, the flight was divided into 20-minute segments: 20 minutes of fussing that ran the gamut from whimpers to full-on howler monkey, and 20-minute naps that ended all too quickly.

    The crew was amazing, and offered that it was obvious to them our DD was having massive ear issues. Sure enough, she didn't really get in a good nursing session until the last half hour or so of the flight, at which point things cleared up and she calmed down — just in time to smile and giggle at passengers as they de-planed ahead of us. 

    It was an early flight so we couldn't really offer to buy drinks, but we did offer to purchase surrounding passengers cups of nice breakfast teas, snacks, etc. S'all we could do. Not a great day, but we survived.
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  • Sandy CohenSandy Cohen member
    Sorry to hear about your long trip man.

    Do you have to fly home? Or is it all behind you now?
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  • bklyndadbklyndad member
    Headed home on the 10th and we're not thrilled, though then again we've survived one flight so I suppose we'll take what comes. I'm hoping it's an acclimation thing and that the next flight won't be as bad. There was another kid on the plane who occasionally let out these crazy shouts, which helped mitigate the impact of our DD somewhat. We'll see...

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  • PrimePrime member
    Sorry it went down like that.  Hopefully the return trip is better.

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  • bklyndadbklyndad member
    Thanks guys, and you're right about people being understanding. There was a couple behind us who were upset, but who can blame them? Anyway, they mostly kept their grumblings to themselves, and like I wrote, we offered to buy snacks or [morning] drinks for the people around us. S'all you can do.
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