Top Tips for Flying with a Baby
Wed, Aug 11, 2010When to Fly
Do you always end up with a nasty cold after a flight? Bear this in mind when planning your trip. Your baby’s immune system is at its weakest in the first 6 weeks so if possible delay your trip until after that.
If you are going long haul then a night flight will help you to stick to your baby’s sleeping routine.
What to Carry On
All the usual nappy/diaper bag essentials:
- Changing: compact changing mat; plenty of nappies/diapers; nappy cream; disposable nappy bags; hand sanitiser. You may also want to pack a small bag with one or two nappies, a few wipes, a couple of nappy bags and a small tub of nappy cream that you can pop in the seat pocket to save you routing in your carry on luggage.
- Entertaining: books and toys (bring them out one by one so that your baby doesn’t get bored of them too quickly)
- Sleeping: a soft toy/comforter, blanket and/or sleeping bag, pyjamas (if you are flying at night) , pacifiers (if your baby uses one)
- Feeding: Breastfed babies – breastpads, a spare top for you. Bottle fed babies – bottles, formula (the ready made cartons are ideal for flights), thermos of boiled water if using powder. Weaned babies – a bowl, spoon, bibs (disposable ones are great) and something to eat. Take more than you need in case your flight is delayed.
- Other bits and pieces: several spare sets of clothes, muslin cloth to wipe up dribbles and sick.
Questions to ask the airline in advance:
Do you give families priority boarding as standard? (You have to pay for priority check-in with most budget airlines)
Can you provide a bassinet? (only really necessary for longer flights)
Questions to ask when you are checking in:
Is it possible to have a seat with additional leg room?
Is the flight fully booked? (you may be able to have the seat next to you blocked out to give you a bit of extra space)
Additional Tips:
Check in early.
Make sure you are nursing your baby or he/she is sucking on a pacifier or toy/sippy cup during take off and descent. This will help to equalise their ears.
Wear comfortable clothes. If you are breastfeeding then discreet nursing tops are great. I always carry a clean pair of socks in my carry-on; it’s amazing how good they feel after a long haul flight!
Try not to let other passengers stress you out. If they are looking at you it’s probably because your baby is ultra-cute, not because they’re irritated.
If your baby has a cold or ear infection then check with your doctor before you fly.
You may be interested in my related post To Drive or Fly when Travelling with a Baby?
Got any tips for babies who suffer with the changes in pressure on their ears?
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your question.
The first thing to note is that pressure change is greatest during take off and initial descent (not landing). Exactly when the plane starts to descend will depend on its altitude but it can be up up to half an hour before landing. Watch out for your own ears popping (if you don’t tend to notice this happening on flights then a good idea might be to ask the flight attendant to tell you when the plane has started to descend.)
Getting your baby to suck is the best thing you can do to help him/her to equalise. Does your baby use a dummy/pacifier? If so, give it to him/her for take off and descent. You could also feed your baby milk or water during these times (bottle, breast or sippy cup). You may also want to try giving your baby your (clean) finger to suck
If your baby really doesn’t want to feed then you could try to make him/her laugh because this can also help. If your baby is old enough to copy you, try to encourage him/her to wiggle their jaw by wiggling yours. Try giving your baby’s ears a rub as this may help too.
If your baby is crying then of course you’ll be doing all you can to comfort him/her but a little peace of mind for you is that crying can also help your baby to equalise so bear that in mind if you are feeling stressed.
I hope this helps to answer your question. Let me know how the flight goes.
Anna
Hi Anna,
My DD will be 10 months when we travel in Oct. It will rougly be a 16 hr flight with one stopover (a 4 hr layover). She doesn’t do well with pacifiers and I exclusively BF. I only pump supply for her daycare. She eats baby food (I offer water to wash down her food) and still BF on demand. We will be staying in a guest house during our stay. My questions are:
Do babies sleep well during the long flight, if not how can we help her sleep? How do babies adjust to different time zone and jetlag? The country will be a 12 hour difference from where we are. If the places we stay in don’t provide cribs how do we keep our baby comfy & safe in guest beds? Are there airport regulations in packing baby food?
We are also looking for good umbrella strollers to use throughout the trip, what would you recommend?
Thank you.
Hi Maria,
Thanks for your questions. Here are my thoughts:
Do babies sleep well during the long flight, if not how can we help her sleep?
As you know, all babies are different. Some sleep as well as at home on long flights, others not as well and some sleep even better! Saying that, there are some things you can do to help.
Give your daughter plenty of opportunity to exercise before the flight. Get to the airport in plenty of time and play games with her or let her crawl around if she’s at that stage. This way you’ll have a tired baby when it comes to boarding!
Well in advance of the flight try introducing some things as part of her bedtime routine that will be easy to do on board a plane. For example you could read her a story or give her a comforter or favourite blanket for naps and at bed time. She will come to associate these things with sleeping so will know it’s bed time when you go through this routine on the plane. If bathing is part of your bedtime routine that will be more difficult when flying but you could always wash her face and hands with a warm cloth and change her into her pyjamas.
A full tummy will do wonders to help your daughter to sleep. Avoid sugary foods because these will boost her energy levels rather than make her sleepy. Above all your daughter will enjoy the comfort she gets from breastfeeding and is likely to drop off to sleep cuddling in while feeding.
If your flight is at night it will be easier because the cabin lights will be dimmed. If not you can close the window blind and turn out the overhead lights.
Choose a good time to start putting your baby to sleep. Take off works well because the noise of the engine is at its loudest and this will be soothing for your baby (my son loves white noise, he has been known to drop off to the sound of the vacuum cleaner!) Don’t worry if she’s not tired at this time though, the plane will be a new environment for her and she might want to look around and take it all in. It’s much better to let her do this; she’ll feel happier about sleeping in a place she’s had a look around. You’ll know your own baby’s signs of tiredness (it may be rubbing her eyes, yawning etc). Watch out for these and start your routine then.
Above all try not to worry. Your baby will pick up on how you are feeling; if you are calm she will be too.
How do babies adjust to different time zone and jetlag? The country will be a 12 hour difference from where we are.
Most adults take a few days to properly adjust to a different time zone so you can expect this to be the same for your daughter. She will probably wake in the night for a few nights but there are some things you can do to help her adjust:
During the day:
Make sure she’s exposed to plenty of sunlight. If she is napping in your accommodation try keeping the curtains/blinds open.
Don’t try to cut out naps because she’ll become over tired and won’t necessarily sleep better. Instead, enjoy the long nap time!
Encourage her to play so she’ll be tired at night.
Offer her food at normal meal times.
At night:
Keep the lights low
Speak in a quiet voice
Your baby will almost certainly adjust after 3-5 days. Try to get some rest yourself and take advantage of her longer day naps while she does.
If the places we stay in don’t provide cribs how do we keep our baby comfy and safe in guest beds?
It’s well worth getting in touch with your accommodation in advance to find out if they can provide a crib and you’ll probably find they are more than willing to do this. If not you may want to invest in a travel cot or borrow one from a friend. At 10 months your daughter will be too young to sleep in a big bed by herself because she could wriggle or climb out. We often co-sleep with our son but if you choose to do this then make sure you do so safely. If you would like me to post guidelines please let me know.
Are there airport regulations in packing baby food?
You are allowed to carry on as much baby food and milk as are required for the flight. The security staff have the final decision about what is deemed an acceptable amount so rather than go overboard on jars it might be wise to bring mashable foods like bananas as there are no limits as to the amounts of those you can bring!
You are expected to declare the baby food to the security staff before it goes through the scanner. Make sure any baby food over 3oz (100ml) has been put in a transparent bag. Regulations have changed so you are now unlikely to be asked to taste your baby’s food. A few years ago my friend’s husband was asked to taste the milk in the bottle (which happened to be expressed breast milk!)
We are also looking for good umbrella strollers to use throughout the trip, what would you recommend?
The best umbrella stroller I have seen is the Phil and Ted’s Sport Buggy. The Sun/Insect Mesh completely covers the buggy, blocking out all harmful UV rays.
I hope this answers your questions, Maria. Please get in touch with any more and to let me know how the trip goes.
All the best,
Anna
Hello again, Anna.
I read somewhere that if a parent is travelling with the child, he/she should bring a notarized letter from the spouse stating that they allowed their child to travel – is that true?
My husband may not be able to go with us on this long trip. I’ve never travelled with our 8-month old on a long flight… or on an airplane period. Just imagining me having her in my Moby wrap, with one suitcase in one hand and a travel stroller in another and then the diaper bag on my shoulder – kinda freaks me out on whether I will survive the flight on my own.
Thanks for the recommendation on the stroller buggy. Any other suggestions at a reasonable price?
~ Maria
Hi again Maria,
I think it’s quite unusual to be asked for a notarized letter. However some countries are particularly vigilant about child protection and do require a letter so if you’d rather be safe than sorry then it may be a good idea to have one. You should be able to get a letter signed by your bank for free or for a small charge. You’ll find an example letter here: http://gomexico.about.com/od/entryrequirements/qt/parent_autho.htm.
Regarding the travel buggy one option would be to buy a universal sun canopy that would attach to your existing stroller. If your current stroller is too heavy or bulky then this looks like a good one: Chicco Ct0.6 Capri Lightweight Stroller, Tangerine. I’ve not used it but Chicco are a good brand and it looks lightweight and easy to fold. There are lots of good customer reviews so have a look at those.
I can understand your anxiety about travelling alone with your baby. Remember you know her better than anyone; as long as she’s got you she’ll be happy and you’ll manage just fine. You could use a backpack instead of your diaper bag to give you one less thing to carry and try to get to the airport early so that you don’t have to wait in a long queue at check-in. Once you’re in the lounge you can grab a seat and let your daughter crawl around and burn off some energy!
All the best and once again please do get in touch with any questions.
Anna
a couple of comments for maria – we have a little life arc 2 travel cot, which is the (rare) kind that you could actually consider travelling with – it weighs just under 3 kilos and would fit in a large suitcase. to make it take up less room we split the components, rather than packing it in its bag, and take a 3/4 length thermarest instead of the mattress that came with it – obviously we do this at our own risk as the manufacturers naturally say that you shouldn’t.
re umbrella fold pushchairs – what about some kind of maclaren? the original umbrella fold… we have had a techno xt since the birth of my dd nearly 5 years ago and it has been great. you can get smaller ones though, that don’t recline flat and so are not suitable for newborns, but that would not be an issue for you. a very small one seems to be the volo, although i’ve never used one, only admired from afar…
something that can be really useful is an inflatable booster seat, as it is surprising how many places don’t have a highchair. the one we have (similar to this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ON-THE-GO-BOOSTER-SEAT/dp/B0000A11ZQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=baby&qid=1283690559&sr=1-4) fits neatly under the pushchair, so is always available.
Jane
Great advice, Jane. I like the look of the LittleLife cot, very compact!
All the best,
Anna
Hi Anna,
What a great blog! Travelling with little ones can be pretty tricky and you have some great suggestions. I would certainly recommend getting your baby to have a bottle/suck on a dummy/breastfeed at take off, this really does help reduce the pressure building up in their ears.
I thought you and your readers might be interested in our new company; The Little Concierge Company. The Little Concierge Company http://www.thelittleconicerge.co.uk is a premium service delivering baby essentials; nappies, milk, food, toiletries and much more to holiday destinations all over the world. Parents can choose superior quality baby products and with one click of a mouse, their items will be shipped to their destination and waiting for them on arrival. The Little Concierge also takes care of Mum & Dad, offering a large selection of parent’s essentials and luxuries. The Little Concierge Company saves families time, effort, stress and money. When availing of The Little Concierge, parents no longer need to pre-pack bulky baby products and pay excess baggage, are no longer reliant on unfamiliar and overpriced nappies, formula or baby food. The Little Concierge offers a professional, yet friendly service, enabling Mum & Dad to relax safe in the knowledge their children will be looked after.