Tuesday Talk - Travel Tips for Flying with Baby
I absolutely love to travel, so it was a big and fun milestone when baby and I took our first plane ride last month! It was a cross-country trip from Las Vegas to D.C. and she was the perfect little traveler. These tips really helped the trip go smoothly and now that they are tried and true, I want to share them with you as I plan to keep using them to travel more with my sweet little jetsetter!
Traveling by Air With Baby, Some Helpful Tips:
1. Pack Efficiently
Awhile back, I did a post about my favorite travel tips, and that included how I pack. I use packing cubes and roll my clothes. I stuck to that method on our trip, and did the same for baby’s things. She had her own little packing cubes and I rolled up her outfits, bibs, accessories, burp cloths and she and I still only had to use 1 large suitcase between the two of us. Packing cubes are still the best space savers. Click here to see that full post on packing.
A change of clothes is always needed with an infant, but even more important when you’ll be traveling all day with the potential for extra diaper blowouts, spills, etc. I read a tip somewhere that came in handy for me. I packed two outfit changes for baby and put each complete outfit in a Ziploc bag – romper, socks, diaper, and diaper trash bag. So, when I had to change her, I just had to grab out one of the Ziploc bags rather than having to fish around the diaper bag for each needed piece. This was super easy and really didn’t take up much space. I also packed a change of clothes for myself (yoga pants and a t-shirt which were super thin to pack) in a Ziploc bag and threw it in my purse. I didn’t end up needing it, but I thought this was a good tip in case my own outfit got caught in the crossfire of infant mess too.
3. Go Hands Free
Not even just for flying, the best thing I did was switch to a backpack diaper bag. This is an easy way to be hands free. Although I loved my designer shoulder diaper bag, things got so much easier when I switched to a backpack. It’s so much lighter and organized. Here’s also a tip – my designer bag was lined in black and that just made everything dark and hard to find. My new diaper bag is a beige lining and I’ll never do a dark lining again. So easy to see everything inside. My mom gifted us this backpack in grey (my favorite color), but it comes in tons of colors. I find it roomy and the various pockets and pouches keep me really organized. It’s also so affordable.
I also bought this baby carrier for the trip. You can’t wheel the baby through the security lanes in a stroller, because TSA must inspect the stroller. I had to put her car seat and diaper bag through the x-ray belt, and wheel the empty stroller through the lane. Doing all of that was just so much easier while wearing baby, and TSA did let me wear the carrier through to the other side of the scanner with her on me.
4. Car Seat and Stroller Covers
I think there are mixed opinions about whether these are needed. I checked in our stroller travel system (stroller and infant car seat) on the jetway right before boarding (rather than at the ticket counter). Before leaving it on the jet bridge for them to be loaded, I put on a car seat cover and a stroller cover separately. The covers are large, easy to spot (bright red), have a space to write my name, have carrying handles, and fold right up to be compact when not in use. I opted to use them because I didn’t want our stuff getting banged around or dirty. The bags held up, and after the trip there were a couple scuff marks that I didn’t mind because I’d rather the bags be scuffed than my stroller and car seat.
5. Feed Baby at Takeoff and Landing
The change in altitude at takeoff and landing makes ears pop, and I heard lots of stories of babies with popped ears who cried the entire flight as a result. They say to give baby a bottle at takeoff and landing so the sucking motion helps baby to not get plugged ears, or to help unplug ears that might be affected. Timing is important for this tip. If you give the baby a bottle right when you board or when taxiing begins, or before the flight attendant’s safety speech, you may run out of milk before the altitude change which is when it’s best to have baby eat. So, the key is wait until the safety speech is over and when flight attendants are asked to take their seats. Begin feeding when the plane is ready on the tarmac to take off. Then again when the Captain says the plan is now descending to the destination. This seemed to work great, there were no signs that baby’s ears got plugged or that she was uncomfortable.
6. Be Prepared
I prepare for most major events by visualizing how everything will go step by step. Preparing for our cross-country trip was no different. I tried my best to be prepared for any situation on the trip. I even made little “survival kits” for the people sitting closest to us on the plane just in case baby was uncomfortable or wouldn’t stop crying. The survival kits read, “Our baby’s seated nearby and it’s her first flight so we’re not sure how she’ll do. Just in case, here’s a little kit to make things easier for you.” Each little goodie bag contained chamomile calm tea, hard candies, and earplugs! Turns out no one needed to use them (baby was the perfect traveler), but they were a great conversation piece with the people.
7. Bring Extra Hands if You Can
The secret to success for our trip, and really in most all my life endeavors, is my supportive parents. Flying was no exception. My parents flew with me and baby, which meant I had two extra sets of hands on the trip which came in handy. Certainly, traveling with baby can be done solo, but boy is it easier when there’s help nearby. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
That wraps up today's Tuesday Talk. I hope these tips were helpful for you travelers out there. Happy and safe travels!
Comments
Post a Comment