As a new mom I was extremely stressed about taking our first flight with our little one. The anticipation and planning of a trip can sometimes cause more anxiety than most moms like to admit, especially this mom. Our immediate family is scattered across the US and Western Canada, so I knew we had to learn quick how to travel with our little one.
In the past year we’ve done countless road trips from 1.5 hours to 8 hours, so we felt somewhat ready to take our first flight. The nice thing with road trips is you can stop if you need to or pick up things along the way, your child is contained in a car seat and most babies like to nap in the car. You aren’t disturbing other, and you can take your time. Flying is a slightly different ball game.
Within the first year of our little one’s life, we’ve done three cross-country flights as a family, including international travel and one solo cross-country flight, just me and the baby. There were many hiccups along the way and some crying (on my part and the baby’s). I promise it gets easier the more you do it, you just need to have the courage to get on your first flight.
Here are some helpful tips that I’ve gathered along the way to ease your stress and build confidence in flying with a little one.
Make sure you have some type of ID for your little one!
To board a flight with your little one you will need some type of identification. For domestic flights most airlines allow you to use a birth certificate, but if you are traveling international you will be required to have a passport for your child.
Tip: When getting a passport for you little one it can be challenging to have your child’s photo taken at the post office or wherever you go to complete your passport application. Before you go take your child’s photo at home to save some time and tears. Use a blank light-colored wall to hold your child in front of or a solid white sheet to lay your child on, make sure their face is unobstructed, crop the photo into a 2×2”square and print on photo paper. Click here for examples and guidelines for US Passport photos.
Mark you are traveling with an infant on your ticket
You do not have to pay for a child that is under the age of 2 when traveling, unless you want them to have their own seat. If you want the extra room and a seat just for them, you will need to purchase an additional ticket for that child.
Tip: After you have booked your ticket and it has been issued, you will need to log back in with your confirmation number and mark that you are traveling with an infant in lap.
I was not able to do this during the booking process, but once my ticket was issued, I was able to add my little one to my ticket. If you are unsure if it worked, you should call the airline to confirm. By marking you have an infant in your lap you get the free checked items and usually priority boarding. Some TSAs even let you skip the line if you have a baby in a stroller and you are lucky!
Condense Your Bags! The less you need carry through the airport the better.
The first flight I took with my little one we carried on 5 bags, not including gate checking the stroller. We had a weekender bag with baby’s clothes for the trip, diaper bag full of snack and toys, a personal item for me, personal item for my husband, and his carry-on suitcase. We were drowning in bags, while trying to carry a 6-month-old who didn’t want to be in her stroller any longer. We quickly learned that less is more and it’s easier to get on and off the plane with just the necessities.
Tip: Pack a weekender bag for your baby and put it in your larger checked back. This keeps their clothes separate from your and organized. I love my Skip Hop weekender bag, it has so many pockets, compartments and if you want to carry it on you can also slide it over the handle of your suitcase.
Diapers
If you are unsure how many diapers to pack bring stick to the rule 1 diaper for every hour you’re going to be traveling. On an 8-hour road trip we’ve gone through 2-3 diapers, on a 3-hour road trip that included a 2-hour doctor’s visit we’ve gone through 8. You never know if your baby is going to have a day when they go through 2 diapers in one changing. It’s always better to have extras!
Tip: Put your baby in a nighttime diaper when traveling. Nighttime diapers are designed to hold more liquids, so your baby stays nice and dry. When you’re traveling your baby is sitting for long periods of time and there are times you can’t stop and change them right away. Save yourself from the mess and put them in a nighttime diaper that may last a little longer. My favorites are Pampers Overnights.
Carry on at least on change of clothes for you and baby!
Throughout this blog post my rule has been less is more, which is true, but you also want to be prepared. Accidents happen, especially on long flights. Your baby could be taking an amazing nap, and that diaper didn’t hold, or they may have gotten an upset stomach and spit up. It happens.
On one of our cross-country flights my little one was taking a nap and it was a struggle to get her to sleep this flight, and when she woke up, she was soaking wet. I was so happy that I had packed her a change of pajamas and got her cleaned up and changed right away. What I didn’t realize was that my entire lap was wet as well. I had nothing to change into and sat in dirty wet clothes for the remaining 3 hours of the flight.
Tip: Pack at least one change of clothes for your baby (two to be safe), incase things happen, and you need to change them out of their dirty travel clothes or pajamas. Also, have a change of clothes available for you, your lap may get wet, and you might get spit up on, it’s also nice to be able to change out of your gross clothes too.
Invest in a lightweight or umbrella stroller
Jogger strollers and convertible strollers are amazing for so many things, traveling is not one of them. They take up a lot of room in your car, they are super heavy and honestly you do not need all the bells and whistles to get around an airport or even on vacation.
We have a 4-in-1 convertible stroller that I love, it has a huge compartment in the bottom to hold all your things and when traveling I thought this would be fantastic to hold all our bags. It was until I got to the gate when traveling solo with my little one and I had to figure out how to hold her, fold the stroller up, stuff it in a bag and carry it down the loading ramp all while holding my baby. A diaper bag, personal item, 25-pound baby and a 40-pound stroller is tricky to carry down the ramp, I managed, but it was not pretty, and I will know better next time.
Tip: Invest in a small lightweight or umbrella stroller to travel with. They are easier to collapse at the gate before boarding, navigate through large crowds and they get the job done.
I hope these tips help you to prep for your first flight with your little one. Be on the watch for Part 2 where I share what to expect at the airport and handy inflight tips for you and your little one!
Happy traveling!
Blog by: Dianna Towns – Neuhoff Communications, Inc.
