tips for flying w/ baby

AndieTessie · February 2016

I'm taking baby girl on her first flight next week to meet DH'S family and was wondering if you guys have any good tips? It's a short 2 hour flight so that's great but not sure if I should bring anything special for LO. I'm hoping to just BF for most of the flight to keep her happy but she gets distracted easily now so in not sure that will work anymore! Any advice would be great!

MW5280 · February 2016

Thanks for starting this - LO and I are flying in April and I'm looking for suggestions as well.

MiromiM · February 2016

I flew with my LO at 4 months. My BIL flew with his LO at 9 months. Both of us agreed that if you can, getting LO their own seat helps. Note- if you do have a separate seat then they must sit in it for take off and landing. You'll want to bring a pacifier or something for them to suck on to help with their ears. For us, LO was more interested in strangers than any of the toys we brought or with nursing. After a while, thanks to the noise of the engine and the turbulence she fell asleep.

I think it's similar to going out to eat only you can't leave the restaurant early.

ForeverEverAfter · February 2016

Planes are great white noise machines! DD1 was usually asleep before the seatbelt sign turned off

I wore her through security and for boarding to have hands free for bags and boarding passes. They make you unbuckle the carrier for take off/landing because of an FAA rule, but you can wear them during flight. They also insist you hold baby upright for those times, but I just smiled and nodded, then BF baby during those times for her ears. They don't care, they're just required to tell you. DH is a pilot and always encourages moms to feed babies for take off.

We haven't flown with this baby yet because it's hard to get seats together on passes, but DD1 was on my lap for 30 flights between 8 wo and 2yo. I wouldn't bother with toys. If she is awake there are tons of things to occupy her (other people, windows, safety cards, etc). My other tip is to use a diaper cover over disposables. They aren't expensive, they double as a swim diaper, and it'll save you from blow outs! You can wipe it out if it gets dirty and rinse in a sink. Much easier than changing a poopy outfit in a tiny plane bathroom. This is my favourite: https://www.kellyscloset.com/Rumparooz-One-Size-Diaper-Covers_p_4257.html I normally use cloth diapers at home, but for air travel, disposable takes less space in the carry on.

mriandabusto · February 2016

I flew with LO at 4 months and he did great. I played with his pacifier so his mouth was open wide during take off and landing so his ears didn't pop. He slept for both flights

hakettler · February 2016

I've flown twice with my LO and this last time she was a bit fussy on our last flight. But my experience is people were really nice! There's usually a lot of moms/grandmas on plane and they're always very compassionate if you're LO does have a hard time. definitely agree with the baby carrier! That's a life saver. And the eating on takeoff and landing. You'll do great!

booksandcleverness81 · February 2016

They didn't even ask me to take him out of the carrier on takeoff, so I kept him in it since he was sleeping. If you're bfing don't hesitate to keep LO on your boob a lot if they're getting fussy, it also always got mine right to sleep. Sucking is more important on descent, but if they are sleeping don't worry about it. Mine was asleep through 3 landings and never even woke up. Also check with your airline, most don't count diaper bags as carry on and let you check carseats/strollers for free. Good luck!

kanga915 · February 2016

booksandcleverness81 said:

They didn't even ask me to take him out of the carrier on takeoff, so I kept him in it since he was sleeping. If you're bfing don't hesitate to keep LO on your boob a lot if they're getting fussy, it also always got mine right to sleep. Sucking is more important on descent, but if they are sleeping don't worry about it. Mine was asleep through 3 landings and never even woke up. Also check with your airline, most don't count diaper bags as carry on and let you check carseats/strollers for free. Good luck!

That's weird. My mom is a flight attendant and she says its FAA regulations that you can't wear a baby during takeoff and landing.

Nehouston · February 2016

I've flown twice with my LO. My biggest pieces of advice are to use a baby carrier throughout the airport, and to wear shoes you can slip on without tying or using your hands. The toughest part would have been juggling everything to get through security had it not been for those two things. My daughter slept a great deal of both flights (one trip was a 3 hour flight, the other was close to 5). She nursed several times, we sat in a window seat. Also I tried to change her diaper right before we boarded since it's so hard on the plane.

I took all the extra unnecessary stuff out of my diaper bag and just took essentials to help its weight. Remember your breast pump, if you're bringing one, is a medical device and does not count as a carry on. You can bring as much breast milk or formula with you as you need in your carry on (the typical 3 oz or less liquid rule does not apply).

i think flying when they're little is pretty easy - you'll be fine

bnwillia3 · February 2016

So - took LO on his first flight at 6 weeks and my dad is a pilot, so I got all the scoop

Here we go -

*If possible, consider your baby's routine and schedule when booking flights. For example - we flew early morning and early evening to match his sleep schedules. The result was that he slept nearly the entire time!!

*I brought two diaper bags for him - one with toys, blankets, and bottles with pumped milk (we breastfeed) and another with diaper stuff. That made it much easier for changes - less to dig through!

*The plane pressurizes on the ground and when they close the cabin door. Give your little one somethings suck on - be it pacifier, boob, or bottle - at that point to help heir ears. Don't wait for take off - it will be too late. That being said - my LO fell asleep before then and so we didn't do anything and didn't have a problem.

*Walk those aisles! When baby was awake we spent most of the time walking the aisles and meeting the flight attendants! They were SOOOOO nice and helpful - and gave us a round of free cocktails to help our nerves!

*Give yourself some extra time - maybe thirty minutes - in case security takes longer or baby had a blow out. On our flight there security took an extra twenty minutes to screen my breastmilk, so the little extra time was nice!!

*Pack an extra set of clothes for baby and dress then in something easy to change and wear - we did footed pjs. Bring yourself an extra tshirt in case of spit up!

*We bought a seat because we wanted him in his car seat, but he was hardly in it. It was nice to not have anyone else in our row though, so we would likely buy him a seat again if possible. If this isn't an option, just ask if it might be possible to sit away from other people when you get to the gate. If there is room, they will accommodate you. And if you are by people, they might be really helpful! My good friend just flew next to a mom traveling alone with a 6 month old and he helped sing songs to entertain her for the three hour flight and he loved it!

*Take lots of deep breaths and force yourself to be calm

I was sooooooo nervous, but it was all okay! In the end it is just a few hours! I promise most people will be incredibly kind - just in case you encounter a jerk, know that you and your baby have every right to be on that plane and babies cry because they are babies and can't communicate otherwise. Jerky adults have no excuse

*Take lots of pictures!!

babyFearon · February 2016

What they said! My LO has been one 12 flights before she was 4 months.

Nurse/bottle/paci takeoff/landing
Change diaper right before you board
Board early so you feel situated
Try to get a window so you don't have to worry about someone bumping baby
Easy to nurse clothing for yourself
Light Muslim blanket for baby
We always dress her in footed pjs and a hat to limit germ exposure and keep warm

Good luck! As long as your calm they should be too

jcra7212 · February 2016

We took our girl from Hawaii to Missouri (12+ hours!) and back for the holidays. I had so many fears but it was not bad at all! The plane noise was perfect for her napping and she pretty much slept the entire time. I agree with all the other post. I wouldn't worry too much about toys and such...just nurse or give a bottle during take off and landing unless baby is asleep then we didn't worry about it! And wearing baby thru security made life soooo much easier. We had so many carry ons on our way to St Louis and my poor hubs was carrying all of them so on the way back we condensed everything. Bring extra outfits in case of an explosion! Don't stress too much!!

eah325 · February 2016

I recommend trying to protect the little one's ears during take off and landing- here's what we did and it really helped.

eah325 · February 2016

booksandcleverness81 · February 2016

@kanga915 it's definitely a regulation, but I waited to see if they would ask me and they didn't so I just went with it since he was sleeping! If there were an accident, a baby outside of a car seat has a higher risk for injury whether in a carrier or on your lap either way so if you are really concerned have them in a car seat. And of course be prepared to take them out of the carrier should they require it.

Oh- I also highly recommend footie pants or pajamas. No way was I messing with socks and shoes while in the airport!

AndieTessie · February 2016

Thank you guys! I'm planning on wearing her through the airport, good call on putting her in footie pjs and me wearing easy shoes, I didn't even think of that. The last thing I want is searching for a missing baby sock in the airport. Glad to hear you guys had mostly good experiences, I am mostly nervous about getting death stares from a bunch of other passengers. Wish us luck!

Mewkie · February 2016

Everyone else gave great advice. I flew with DS1 when he was about 3 months old and it was much easier than I had anticipated. It was a quick flight though, only 3 hours. Definitely wear when you can and feed/nurse for takeoff and landing if baby isn't asleep and change before boarding. We tried to pack diaper bag with only the necessities so we weren't lugging extra stuff around. Oh and we gate checked stroller and car seat. That made it super easy to get through the airport and both were waiting for us when we landed. A few extra minutes for security checks but worth it to me. This was almost 2 years ago though so not sure if you can still do that?

tips for flying w/ baby

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