Tips for Flying with Babes and Littles
Taking your first flight with a baby can be really stressful, especially if it is a long one. I wasn’t concerned about a two-hour flight with my three- month- old I knew she would breastfeed and it would be fine. When I took eight- hour flights with her at ten-months and 21 months and I was alone- those were anxiety provoking!
Free Before 2!
The big perk of flying with your littles is that they are free until age two but they won’t have their own seat. I definitely tried to get in a bunch of flights when my daughter was still free and I came prepared so each one was great. Here is what I learned!
Request a Bassinet for Infants
They are free and usually have to be requested at the gate upon arrival. I don’t think they will let you reserve one ahead of time. There are two or four per flight so request as soon as you get there. The bassinet was a life saver when we took my ten-month old from NY to Paris. She was able to sleep most of the flights to and from and it gave us a rest from holding her the entire time. At that age she was almost at the limit for size.
Request Empty Row
You can ask when you arrive at the gate or just move to one if you see it when you board. Lately, every flight I have been on has been fully booked but sometimes you get lucky. When going to Amsterdam I was supposed to hold my daughter and sit in a row with two strangers. I asked if we could move and they wanted to accommodate me because trust me everyone wants a happy baby on a flight! With a whole row my daughter was able to lie down to sleep and have ample floor space. You can also buy an inflatable bed that goes in the foot space in front of the seat for a toddler to sleep on. I’ve never seen one in action but it makes sense as long as your toddler has their own seat.
Use the Floor Space!
Let your child stand on the floor in front of your seats. This one depends on age and if you are in a row by yourselves but it helped tremendously that my daughter at almost two could stand and jump around as much as she needed to. She was playing a game of throw her toys on the floor and pick them up over and over. She also liked lying down and pushing her toys under the seat then reaching for it. She was entertained and I was happy!
Things to Suck!
Make sure you are prepared with things to suck for take- off and landing. We all hate that pressure in our ears and sucking helps a lot. If your baby is breastfeeding, perfect! If not this is the time for bottles, sippy cups, lollipops or chewing gum if they are old enough.
What to Bring!
Chloe is almost 6 and this is a list of what we have brought with us to keep her busy at airports and during flights:
Reusable Foam Puffy Sticker Window Clings- #1 pick for toddlers!
Buckle toy
Triangular crayons (don’t roll)
Coloring books
Crayola Color Wonder
Melissa & Doug Water Wow!
Melissa & Doug Reusable Sticker Pads
Paper with holes punched for lacing
Scissors
Stickers
Gluesticks
Kids’ headphones
Imagine Ink
Paint with Water
WikkiStix
Magnetic Materials
In addition to what we brought anything magnetic is a great idea! They make magnetic puzzles, pattern blocks, dolls, story pieces for retelling and drawing boards.
Timing
We always try to get to the airport as late as possible to avoid sitting around for unnecessary amounts of time. At the airport we settle in to a spot and start some play or crafting and then we take a long walk to get some movement in before the flight. Of course, age is a factor in all that you do but if you are traveling with a baby put a blanket down on airport floor and give baby movement time before boarding.
Stroller/ Luggage
I also only pack one carry on that holds both of our clothing. I pack a tote with the toys for the flight and my pocket book. This way I avoid waiting at baggage, losing luggage, and I can easily manage all of our things. It was still tricky when my daughter was in a stroller I had to kind of loop my carry on around a stroller handle. Now that my daughter is at that in between age when she can’t really handle all the walking an airport requires at a fast pace I have her sit on the carry on and I pull the handle (much easier for my husband to do!).
Go Book a Trip!
I hope this post gave you lots of ideas for making travel as smooth as possible! There are always inconveniences out of our control, late flights, turbulence etc. but what we can control is how prepared we are to keep our kids busy and comfortable. Check out some of these tips in action HERE and more of my travel posts HERE. Happy travels!