A couple weeks ago we headed out of town for a much needed family vacation which I followed up by taking Eloise to Las Vegas for the ABC Kids Expo. Eloise and I were gone for ten plus days, took three flights including two that were more than three hours and hotels stays at each of our destinations. With the holiday travel season around the corner, here are some helpful tops for air travel with an infant. If you are more the road trip type, check out our tips on packing for a road trip.
1) To purchase a seat or not to purchase a seat?
When it comes to air travel, the first decision you have to make is whether you are purchasing a seat for your child. Praveen did a great job providing the details on the options/regulations on safe air travel with an infant here. Basically, you do not need to purchase a seat until your little one is two. If you do decide to purchase a seat you are not required to bring a carseat on the plane. You can use purchase a CARES harness or simply use the provided, standard safety belt. Surprisingly, there are no FAA mandated regulations on restraint systems for little ones.
Our choice: We bought Eloise a seat. With a 3+ hour flight and a busy, wiggly, curious 16 month old we thought it worth it to purchase another, full priced seat (we flew Southwest and their “wanna getaway” fares were cheaper than the small discount they offer for children on regularly priced tickets). However, check with your airline if there are cheaper fares for a child. My orignal plan was to purchase the CARES harness for her. However, when I realized the CARES harness was about $70 I rethought my plan. My thinking was I could find a decent, lightweight convertible carseat that we could travel with, use at our destinations (saving rental car fees) and then use at for Tyler’s car at home since we currently only have a convertible carseat in my car.
We ordered two seats, the Cosco Scenera
2) Flight timing
Sometimes you don’t have very much flexibility in the realm of flight times. The chance that your schedule, your child’s and the airlines is going to work together in your favor is slim to none. BUT my advice would be time it wisely. If you are not purchasing a seat and your child doesn’t like to sleep on you, choose a flight outside of nap time. If you do have a seat or your child is the sleep-anywhere-type then try to overlap with naptime. Obviously, most of this is common sense but survey your various options before booking and make the best call.
Our case: We were able to get pretty agreeable flight times to our schedules BUT then on our outbound flight to Phoenix we sat on the runway for over an hour. Luckily, we had brought breakfast on board which killed a bit of time but our “perfect” nap time flight was pushed back and we ended up with an impatient little lady who wasn’t about to nap on a hot, non-moving, boring plane. Luckily, we got off before a total meltdown and she got her nap in. But it just goes to show that even if you think your plans are great sometimes the airlines have other plans…
3) Activities
So maybe you kill half the time on your flight with naptime, maybe you have zero shut eye on the flight – what are you to do with an infant during the flight? Here are some ideas:
Toys. You’ve probably heard it before but bring few “new” toys that may be extra interesting. Don’t pick anything with small parts that could easily get lost or dropped and try to avoid anything with too many sounds that could upset less than friendly passengers.
Books. Books are great for the plane (if your little one likes them). They aren’t easily lost and could provide lots of entertainment. The board books are still our favorites and any with interaction like Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? or Where’s Spot? pack a little extra punch.
Bottles/snacks/sippy cups. Have a few snack options, in easy travel cups like these as well as full sippy and a bottle, if you still use them. Get on the plane with milk and a full sippy. You never know how long beverage service could be (or if you are delayed on the tarmac) and would hate to have a meltdown when you know exactly what could’ve stop it.
Electronics. We try to not watch too much TV or use too many electronics in our house but travel is one place I am okay with electronic use. Eloise is obsessed with Elmo and no matter what he can occupy her time. We have a Kindle Fire loaded with Elmo movies and she will watch it for hours. I have a few other movies on the Kindle, like Happy Feet which usually lulls her to sleep. Where Elmo is wayyy to fun and actually keeps her up (which is helpful sometimes too). A new movie or two may buy you a couple hours. Word of advice… be conscious of when you hand over the electronics. Even during our one hour, at the gate delay we did not give Eloise the Kindle knowing that once we pushed back she’d have to turn it off. And I don’t even have words for what kind of meltdown that could’ve brought on…
4. Diaper Changes.
The title should be diaper changes on planes are no fun. They aren’t but they happen. I always try to change Eloise’s diaper right before we board but sometimes you have to have a mid-flight change. Ask the flight attendant which bathroom has the changing table. Of all the planes I have been on, it has always been the front restroom. The flight attendant is usually nice enough to go in and “set it up” for you. If they don’t ASK. Seriously, ask. It is so small in there it would not be possible for you to do while holding your babe and supplies. We always love the Pronto but it is especially helpful to have everything you need in a handy little case and the changing pad is beyond a must.
5) Positive attitude.
You can do everything right and still have a not so great flight but what is going to be is going to be and your best bet is to remain calm. I know easier said than done. Like way easier but seriously, the flight will end, the meltdown will end and all will be okay.
6) Gear for your destination…
Eloise brought her own medium sized suitcase and which was mostly full of her “gear” since her clothes take up minimal space. Here’s what we brought and why:
Baby Einstein Sea Dreams Soother – this Soother was not necessarily designed for travel ie, it is big and bulky but I won’t leave home on an overnight trip without it. I made the mistake of doing that once and it was a badddd idea. I swear Eloise hears the music and gets sleepy. It is a must to keep up our routine.
Bath cup/toys – speaking of routine, a bath is part of our nightly routine. In addition to a few toys, our sponge, body/hair wash and our bath wrap I also lugged our no tears shampoo rinse cup. Eloise hates water in her face and I have tried to achieve the same no-water-in-face results with other cups on past trips but nothing does the trick like this bulky, once again, not designed for travel piece of gear.
First Aid bag. Mallory put together a dynamite baby First Aid kit for us earlier this week and I brought a Ziploc packed with Tylenol, a thermometer, her vitamins, travel sized Dapple soap, Neosporin and nail clippers. Luckily, only the vitamins and Dapple soap got used but it gives peace of mind knowing you have some essentials should you need them.
Wipes, wipes and more wipes. I am not talking of the diaper kind. You may have seen this pic on instagram but I had four different kind of wipes in my carry on: Purell sanitizing wipes, Wet Ones santizing wipes, Johns face wipes and pacifier wipes. Yep, that is probably overkill but they came in handy the entire trip. I was that crazy person who wiped down the row window/surrounding plane as well as the crib in the hotel room – just to name a few.
As far as diapers and wipes go I brought one package of my Costco wipes (100ct) in addition to the plentiful supply I had in my Pronto. Diaper wise I brought about 10-15 in my checked luggage and about 6-8 in my carry on. I knew that since we were renting a car and would be stopping at a local Target or Wal-Mart for milk I would be able to pick up a larger package of diapers and some additional wipes in Phoenix. However, if you aren’t going somewhere with easy access to diapers/wipes or other essentials consider having them delivered to the hotel via Diapers.com or Amazon.
There are my wordy tips for air travel with an infant – do you have any tricks to share that make your travel/stays away from home go smoothly? DO TELL!
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