Before having a baby, I was definitely the person who rolled their eyes when the baby cried on the airplane. Well now I’m here to formally apologize to all the moms I rolled my eyes at because now I can say, I GET IT. Recently, we traveled for the first time with our infant, and for those of you that do it frequently, my hats off to you, because man it was exhausting! From everything there is to pack, to getting all your bags through the airport, and then trying to keep baby content so I wasn’t “that mom” with the screaming kid on the airplane. It was A LOT more overwhelming than I imagined it would be. You see, in my mind I thought he would be the perfect baby and would just sleep the minute we got on the plane….well we did about the opposite of that.
Now I’m not anywhere close to being an expert on this topic, I have friends that definitely are, but today I want to share some quick tips for flying with an infant after our first airplane trip. I’m sure I will have many more to come over the rest of the year as we continue to take trips and maybe I’ll do a V2 of this after a few more trips. But for now, these are my top 3 tips for flying with an infant.
Tip #1: Bring a travel partner
Traveling solo with an infant is NOT for the faint of heart. The checked bag(s), carry-on bag, diaper bag, stroller, car seat, oh and the baby all need hands to be carried. Between all the things you need to bring, and trying to keep your little one content, having an extra pair of hands goes a long ways! On our first leg of the trip I traveled solo with Theodore and it was ROUGH trying to try and juggle it all. Thankfully my husband helped us get all our bags in and checked before going through security which helped.
But if you are flying with a baby under the age of 1 years old, I would highly recommend brining someone with you (at least for the first trip so you can learn the ropes and not be as anxious). This doesn’t have to be your spouse/partner, I actually saw a lot of families traveling with their own moms to help with the kids, so bring grandma along if you can afford to! Your mental sanity and arms will thank you for having an extra set of hands to manage everything.
Tip #2: Check the dang bag(s)
I’m talking your luggage, strollers, car seats…. Check it all. As someone who LOVES to try and cram everything into a carry-on because I don’t want to pay the checked bag fees, I can’t recommend this enough when traveling with an infant. Yes, there is always the fear of the airline losing your baggage and it not getting to the end destination. But condensing everything into one bag and checking it was extremely helpful when it came time to board the plane.
Did you know you can gate check your strollers and car seats for free!? But word to the wise, have a bag to protect your stroller and your car seat. Not only do they get thrown around with everything, think of everywhere they are going, you don’t want that stuff on your baby’s car seat or stroller. Also, don’t be afraid to ask your gate agent if they are gate checking carry-ons, nine times out of ten flights are jam packed these days and they will have to do this anyways because there won’t be enough overhead space for everyone. So once you get to your gate, ask the gate agent if you can gate check that carry on and free up those hands as you board your flight with your infant. All you should try and have is a diaper bag with you when you board, this will eliminate trying to find overhead bin space and trying to lift a bag overhead while hanging on to a little one during boarding
Pro tip: Have an infant carrier to wear baby in as you board the plan to make carrying your little one easier, and free up your hands if you may need them. Some of them will have a fanny pack to make stashing essentials close to you easy, but if yours doesn’t have a fanny pack I HIGHLY recommend having one to keep your phone, wallet, boarding pass, and any other essentials at an easy reach.
Tip #3: Stick to your routine / schedule as best you can
Now I know you may be thinking, if I keep the baby awake, maybe they will sleep the whole flight. Unfortunately that is not how infant sleep works and if you try to keep them up, you will just end up with an overtired and likely overstimulated baby from everything going on, making it that much harder to get your little one down for a nap.
Also, do your best to feed your little one at take off and landing to help with their ears popping due to elevation changes. Now if your baby is asleep at one or the other, don’t feel like you have to wake them up, let them continue their nap and they will be ok
Let’s Wrap This Shit Up
I know that traveling with an infant may bring lots of anxiety or stress, for me it definitely did. Focus on the things that you can control, and know that your baby may get fussy because they are in a new environment and there is a lot for them to take in. People are usually extremely kind and understanding, especially if they have kids of their own. To finish, I want to (again) formally apologize to every mom I have ever rolled my eyes at on an airplane for having a fussy kid. I didn’t understand, but now I get it.
With love,
