Being the Restless Explorer, I am constantly on the go and love travelling as much as possible. Having a baby didn’t change that, it just changed the style of travel. There is no skipping the baggage carousel or winging it anymore. Travelling with a baby involves being prepared and thinking about a few more things now. Our baby Daniella loves travelling, she likes to break the bedtime rules, car seat rules and seeing lots of people and different things. Daniella has already been on two big road trips and has flown to the Philippines and Japan for a 5-week vacation. With that being said, here are some tips for flying with a baby.
Bassinet
Now I’m not going to tell you to get a bassinet like many people told us, you have to determine what’s best for you. Bassinets are provided for “free” by the airline, but the seats where you can use the bassinet, a bulkhead row, will cost you $100 plus per seat. Is it worth it? Well, we had a very long journey to the Philippines with multiple flights; because they cancelled and redirected our flights they provided us a bassinet and bulkhead row for one of the flights. It was nice when we eventually got our baby to sleep, but even at 6 months she was getting a bit big for it. I’d recommend if you have a long/multi-flight journey, book it for the longest flight on your journey.
Baby Carrier
If you don’t get a bassinet, and even if you do, you’ll probably want to bring a baby carrier. If you brought the car seat and stroller you will check it at the gate, so you can either hold you baby while you’re hauling your carry-on luggage or strap her to your chest in the baby carrier.
Car Seat
Depending, where you’re travelling to, you may or may not need a car seat. In the Philippines, Japan and even Chicago, we didn’t use the car seat once. It’s a pain to carry but it’s better to be safe than sorry, bring the car seat and buy a bag for it. You can check the car seat for free and if you have the car seat bag you can stuff it full of things like jackets and miscellaneous items to save some room in your luggage or carry on.
Check Luggage
Don’t be cheap, yes it costs to check a bag now a days but you’re travelling with a baby. You need formula, diapers, toys, books etc. and you don’t want to cram this all into the diaper bag or your carry on. You have a baby now, your days of skipping the baggage carousel are over.
Toys for the Plane
I’m not talking about regular toys that are checked in your bag, but you should bring some small ones on the plane to keep your baby occupied. Try toys that she can play with on the tray or spinny toys that stick to the window.
Sanitary Wipes
The baby will be touching everything on the plane, bring some sanitary wipes to wipe down the tray, the arm rests and window.
Lightweight Stroller
You’re going to be hauling around a bunch of luggage and don’t forget your baby. Buy a good lightweight stroller that’s easy to fold and push around the airport. We have the Summer Enfant 3D Pac CS which was cheap and is light and versatile.
Aisle Seat
Depending on whether you get a bassinet, this may change your decision on an aisle seat. But if your baby is on your lap and it’s only you and your partner, you don’t want to have to constantly wake up the stranger next to you or ask them to move when your baby starts acting fussy or needs a diaper change. You may spend some time walking the aisles or going to the washroom lots, the aisle seat will make this easier for everyone.
Ready to Feed Bottles
We brought lots of the 59 ml Enfamil Ready to Feed Nursette Bottles. They are under 60 ml so there’s less hassle going through security. Bring some disposable nipples too and have them ready for the flight. Even if you’re baby drinks 180 mls, be ready and switch the bottle when she’s done.
Plan the Milk and Bottles
You should know roughly how often your baby drinks milk and how much. With that being said, plan for this, plus a bit extra in your carry on. And if you have multiple flights, keep enough within reach in the bag under the seat. When changing flights, or if there’s an emergency and you need more, then you can reload your personal bag/diaper bag from the carry on that’s stored in the overhead. But again, plan how much you need and pack a bit extra. There is also no need to bulk up your carry on with an entire weeks’ worth of milk, keep some in your checked baggage.
Time for Feeds
In addition to planning how much milk you need you should try your best to plan your baby's feeds for take off and landing. This will keep the baby occupied and help with the pressure in the ears.
Don’t Change Formulas Before/During Flying
We were in the Philippines and Japan for 5 weeks and we couldn’t quite bring that much formula so researched ahead and planned to buy some there. We had our Enfamil formula for the plane and part of the trip and the Ready to Feed Nursette Bottles. We saved some of our Enfamil Nursette bottles for the flight home… bad idea. For the couple weeks prior our baby girl had been drinking the Philippines’ version of Enfamil. We switched back to Canadian Enfamil in the airport on our way home and what a mistake that was. Luckily, we had an aisle seat because we were back and forth in the washroom changing diapers constantly.
Bring Extra Outfits
A continuation from the last one, make sure you have extra outfits in case there are any explosions or accidents. Luckily, we had lots of outfits ready to go.
Expect Delays
Make sure you have planned well, and then expect delays. Our flights to the Philippines were delayed, rerouted and cancelled. This added a significant amount of travel time. Plan for this and bring extra supplies and take this into consideration. Even if your flights aren’t cancelled, now a days they are very likely to be delayed so make sure you have extra formulas, diapers, and toys to keep your baby occupied.
Some of these tips are common sense, but some are things you won’t think of. But again, the most important thing is to be prepared and plan everything. You have a baby you can’t wing it anymore. Calculate the amount of milk and diapers you will need, plan your luggage carefully, etc. It’s a lot of work but travelling with a baby is a lot of fun, so just be ready and prepared and go out and do it!
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