Traveling with Baby

carleym93 · September 2015

Mamas!

LO and I will be flying to Florida to meet up with DH next week. She will be just shy of 10 weeks old. He flies there a few days before the we do so needless to say, I'm scared shitless of navigating a 7 hour journey alone with her and all our stuff. Any tips to make this journey a little easier on both of us?

Kelsie07Ulmer · September 2015

I felt like traveling with my son when he was that small was a breeze compared to now. I wore him the entire time and he mostly slept. I wouldn't stress too much, you've got this.

mlindon · September 2015

I'm going to be flying with mine when she is 8wks and also nervous. I have TSA precheck which I recommend to help get through security quickly. If it is in your budget consider getting a day day pass to an airline club. They are great places to escape the noise and grab a snack/drink or even a nap. I'm also going to limit carryon and plan to wear the baby. most airline credit cards allow you to check a bag for free, board the plane sooner, and discount the cost of the club access. That's the only reason I carry delta Amex.

Ambermom043 · September 2015

We're driving (with baby) seven hours to my BIL's wedding Friday, and the thought of her having to be stuck in her car seat for seven hours is torturing me! Also, having to stop to feed her every 2 hours will probably be rough, since she takes at least 20 mins to feed..:/ She'll be one month. Gonna be a long trip...;)

Baby2HG · September 2015

Ambermom043 said:
We're driving (with baby) seven hours to my BIL's wedding Friday, and the thought of her having to be stuck in her car seat for seven hours is torturing me! Also, having to stop to feed her every 2 hours will probably be rough, since she takes at least 20 mins to feed..:/ She'll be one month. Gonna be a long trip...;)

Omg, major good luck.

I would wear the baby also. The less the better.

jesselayne8 · September 2015

if you are BFing then it should be a breeze. the baby should either nurse or sleep the whole time. Once these babies are crawling it's a lot trickier.

tarheelgirl8 · September 2015

Ambermom043 said:
We're driving (with baby) seven hours to my BIL's wedding Friday, and the thought of her having to be stuck in her car seat for seven hours is torturing me! Also, having to stop to feed her every 2 hours will probably be rough, since she takes at least 20 mins to feed..:/ She'll be one month. Gonna be a long trip...;)

We have two road trips planned this next two weekends and I'm terrified. I think either she's going to be terrible during the drive and it will take forever, or she's going to sleep the entire time and be a nightmare once we get there. Wishing us both good luck!

Starynightsky24 · September 2015

We're driving 7 hours with DD when she's 8 weeks old. I'm DREADING it. She hates car rides right now... So hopefully she'll change her mind by then.

We took DS on a 7 hr drive when he was 3.5mo. It wasn't terrible, but I could sit in the back with him and entertain him. I can't do that now because with two car seats there isn't room

.

abmommy15 · September 2015

Ambermom043 said:
We're driving (with baby) seven hours to my BIL's wedding Friday, and the thought of her having to be stuck in her car seat for seven hours is torturing me! Also, having to stop to feed her every 2 hours will probably be rough, since she takes at least 20 mins to feed..:/ She'll be one month. Gonna be a long trip...;)

We just did a 10 hour drive with DS (4 weeks) to visit my dad. He usually eats every 2 hours but in the car he only made us stop every 3-4. I also saT in the back with him so when he did get fussy I was there rather than having to stop. It will definitely take longer but it can be done!!!

kettlekitten · September 2015

I found that a backpack with loads of pockets was really handy, it frees up your hands when you're holding the baby and keeps all the necessary items close to hand.

Feed LO on the way up and the way down again to help with any ear pain. With any luck that will send baby off to sleep as well....

It is quite stressful travelling with a baby. We have managed about 15 flights with DD with varying degrees of success - flying from Australia to Hawaii with a 13 month old is something I don't want to repeat any time soon - I can say flying with a small baby is much easier than flying with a toddler! First flight with two kids coming up in a couple of months...

jesselayne8 · September 2015

@kettlekitten we flew to Hawaii with a 2yr old and a 7 month old. That was not something I want to do ever again!!

mlindon · September 2015

I made what was supposed to be a 3.5 hour trip with our one month old LO and our 14 yr old 50 lb dog by myself yesterday and it took me five hours. One hour was lost due to wreck on the interstate. It was a challenge and I came a cross a lot of things I didn't think of trying to care for the needs of the baby and the dog. Our dog is blind, diabetic and is losing control of her back legs. It's hot so I can't just leave the dog the car. It was tough but we managed.

tarheelgirl8 · September 2015

@mlindon, any tips?

hclzmm14 · September 2015

You can totally do it! Make sure you check your bags so all you have is your diaper bag. Better yet, if your DH is flying and has to pay for his bag anyway, just have him take your suitcase if you can so it's already there for you. Then you won't even have to wait to check your bag. Baby will probably sleep the whole time, and I agree with PP advice about feeding on ascent and descent, swallowing helps with ear pain. Good luck! But like I said, you got this. The smaller they are the easier they are.

mlindon · September 2015

tarheelgirl8 said:
@mlindon, any tips?

1. Check the traffic on your phone using maps before you leave
2. Make a list on your phone or paper of everything you need to pack. I did it while breastfeeding to pass the time.
3. If possible know where resturants or good gas station or rest stops are along the way. mcdonalds usually has good baby changing stations even though I don't care for there food.
4. Bring something so you can "wear" baby into the resturants or store. I hate the idea of putting her car seat on the bathroom floor.
5. Bring a Boppy pillow or similar so you can breast feed in the car if it becomes necessary.
6. I wish I had those mirror things that go on the seat so you can see the baby in your rear view
7. Be very prepared for nasty diapers. The car seat seams to push the pooh everywhere.
8. By the head rest insert for the car seat. LO was much happier with it.
9. If you have a pet with you... Bring a retractable leash so you can let them pee while you watch the baby. A bowl for water for them is important too.
10. I went through the driven through so I didn't have to leave the dog in the car alone.
11. Have a portable changing pad in case you need to change the LO in the car.
13. Have some premade formula bottles available. Similac makes some that are specific for supplementation and even come with a nipple. I have on previous trips been an areas where we couldn't pull over to breastfeed and baby was hungry.

KallieAnne · September 2015

Recently flew with ours at just shy of 3 weeks (I was in a wedding) and it was SO much easier than I expected. Security was a breeze and it seems like every worker is offering to help if needed. We woke her up to nurse taking off and landing and had no issues despite having to change planes due maintenance. We left the car seat and stroller plane side, and made sure our bags were easy to carry on/off the plane. Good luck, you'll be great!

Wering · September 2015

Definitely use your carrier to navigate through the airport and on the airplane. Feed at takeoff and landing to keep their ears from popping. Frankly, I nursed my daughter (at 14 months) the entire way from Ohio to Florida. I had the window seat and my husband sat beside me - and we flew an airline that specifically supported breastfeeding in their policies.

As for navigating the airport, etc. with your stuff - I'd suggest that you either fedex your stroller/car seat/etc ahead of time so you don't have to worry about them. You can also look into a rental service for that kind of stuff depending on where you're going.

aveline8 · September 2015

Check ahead online to see if there are nursing/baby rooms at the airports you will be at. Most have them and are a nice quiet space you can change your LO and feed them if needed.

def agree with pps that baby wearing is the way to go, esp through security.

Pack a big empty ziploc in your diaper bag in case you end up with soiled clothing - on that note, an extra outfit for LO and an extra shirt for you in the diaper bag may come in handy. As well as plenty of diapers, more than you think you need.

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