Traveling with your baby can create some of the most precious memories you’ll ever make. After traveling for 5 months share my tips to make your flight a little smoother.
1. Choose Your Flight Strategically
For our flight to Japan, we chose to have the bassinet and it did work out well for us. To book this seat, you either have to pay for the bulkhead seats or phone ahead and request them. Please note not all flights offer this, and not all arm rests will raise in these seats. There's a lot of debate on if these seats are useful so do your research. Kymani didn't sleep the night through but he did have long naps in it which allowed us to get some rest as well. We did not find being near the bathrooms were disruptive, and enjoyed the extra space.
If you know your baby will sleep well in their car seat, booking them their own seat on a night flight might be best for you instead. At the point of our departure, Kymani hated his car seat so we choose to keep him as a lap infant. If your baby is easy to overstimulate and new places are highly interesting and you know they won't sleep well then a day flight might be best so they can be awake.
2. Bring Snacks
Even if your baby is not eating yet, I think snacks are necessary for your own sanity. Airport and airplane food is outrageously priced and I tend to get extra hungry on flights. You can make your own food at home to bring with you if you which is what we usually do, or grab it from a local restaurant on the way. If you're child is over 2 years old, they cannot bring anything liquid through like pouches.
If you're travelling with a baby or toddler who is eating then this is an easy way to entertain them. Make sure to bring their favourites and I wouldn't set any limits like I would at home. We did baby led weaning with Kymani so for us this didn't mean bringing anything special, we let him help himself to all our food. If you're going to bring anything messy - like crackers - try to lay down a blanket first to minimize the mess.
If you are worried about the pressure change on landing or take off effecting your little ones ears then this is the time to have them snacking. Don't worry if your baby seems happy at this time, however, if they're fussing make sure to offer nursing, a bottle or something to suck.
3. Bring Things to Play With
It's important to note that this doesn't have to be a toy! Kymani would often chose a water bottle or his wipe package over his actual toys while we were travelling. We made sure to have antibacterial wipes with us so he could also play with the information packets and dinner trays.
This can get trickier as your baby ages, new toys will be the best at that age. We love shopping our local thrift stores for new toys, but the dollar store is also good before a trip. If you don't want to buy anything new, hide a few of their toys a few weeks before the trip so they will still feel new and exciting.
We have not introduced screen time yet, Kymani was 4 through 9 months for our travels so it really wasn't necessary. However, while travelling, especially on long flights, I do believe you should do whatever you need to get through it. Downloading shows to your phone in advance just in case would be a great last resort if they're done with all the toys and snacks.
4. Pack Strategically
This one seems fairly straightforward, but when you have so much else happening with your trip it can get easily over. It is essential that you have everything for diaper changes and cleaning up messes easily accessible.
For us, we would often put the wipes in the seatback - they're good for disinfecting, cleaning snack residue and grabbing for bathroom trips. Since we primarily cloth diaper, we use wet bags and they have two zippered pockets. I would keep the clean and dry diapers in the front zipper with the changing pad, and maybe a spare onesie too. I could easily slip this out of the diaper bag at our seats and put it underneath.
On our first few flights we would leave the diaper bag in the overhead compartment. When it was time to change him, we could just grab what we needed. However, this can get tricky if other people put their bags in after of it's a really full flight. I did find that having a smaller 'grab and go' bag was much easier. I have heard that a fanny pack works great for this too so you don't have to set anything down in the bathroom.
Beyond diaper changes, you want to consider what else you might possibly ever need on the flight and keep that in your carry on. It's also good to be prepared in case a checked bag is lost (we had almost 30 flights on our trip and the only delayed bag was when we got home!) A few more of my essentials would be;
Spare clothes for the whole family
Portable white noise machine (or use your phone!)
Portable battery packs
Medicine (Tylenol, teething gel, etc.,)
5. Dress Them Comfortably
It's important to dress your little one so they are comfortable, and so you can easily change them if needed. We really like footed pyjamas for flights so they are warm and we can change their diaper efficiently. Airplane bathrooms are tiny and you don't want to be fighting 3 or 4 layers off and back on. You can easily add or remove a sweater with pyjamas or wrap them in a blanket.
Make sure you also have the appropriate clothes for when you land. For us, Canada was quite cold when we left so we had fleece pyjamas. However, most of south east Asia does not require fleece pyjamas so we made sure to have lighter and more breathable clothes to change into.
6. Board Strategically
The majority of airlines we have flown will allow families to board first, they fall under those who need more time. However, whether or not you take advantage of this will depend on several factors.
The first factor is to consider the mobility of your baby. If you are flying with a newborn or a calm older baby then boarding early would be fine. You can ensure your bags are in the cubby above your seats, the flights attendants have an easier time informing you of safety policies, and you can get yourself settled. However, if you have an older or more mobile baby boarding early can mean an additional 30+ minutes you are sitting on the plane.
The next factor is to consider the mood of your baby, especially when it comes to sleepiness. If your baby is getting fussy as it's almost nap time, an extra few laps around the gate would be time better spent. If your baby is already asleep, then you can go get comfy!
If traveling with more than one adult, you can also consider splitting up. One parent can board early to get the bags put away and car seat installed. This lets the other parent tend to the baby and avoid extra time sitting still.
7. Move Around
We all know that you have to stay seated and buckled when the seatbelt lights are on. Once they have been turned off though, you should get up and move around. This goes for everyone, even if you are not traveling with children. There are significant health benefits to walking around while in the air, especially on longer flights. Looking around can help stimulate your baby, or sooth them to sleep. We prefer to keep our soft carrier with us and use it to walk him around for entertainment or to fall asleep.
Bonus: Ignore everyone else!
We have thankfully never encountered someone who had an issue with a baby on a plane. I am sure you have heard many horror stories like we have, but it's the rarity not the norm. I do believe it is very much an American mindset to find babies crying on flights annoying. Everyone we came across in our travels was extremely supportive and loved having him there. Most people behind us would play peek-a-boo with him and people walking by would stop to say hi.
You do not need to bring ear plugs or gift bags for other passengers. You have paid for your tickets the same as them, and it is a public place. If an adult is annoyed by a crying baby, they have the skills to emotional regulate themselves and find something else to do. They are responsible for bringing noise cancelling head phones or booking a first class ticket. You owe them nothing :)