A the ripe ‘old’ age of 9 month little miss Jellybean has been to the east coast, west coast and Midwest! Pretty well traveled baby don’t you thinks?!?! Between the age of 3 and 9 months we’ve flown with Jellybean a number of times and taken two long car trips. During each trip I learn of something new I should pack as well as what not to pack. Finding the balance between enough and not enough stuff has been challenging.
The ability to wash clothes at the grandparents’ houses was clutch! When we were in Seattle clean clothes were hard to come by and, yeah, we totally ran out of diapers … the trip was only 4 days. The husband admitted (after the fact) he thought I over packed, and was completely befuddled when he had to hand wash a onsie and go buy more diapers on the last day of the trip!
Let me put my cards on the table here. Traveling with a baby isn’t as bad as I thought it would be! Do I want to travel with her weekly or even monthly?! No, not really. But all in all flying with an infant isn’t all that bad — even when taking into account the blowout we experienced on Mother’s day.
Traveling with all of the baby’s STUFF …. now THAT, THAT my friends, that is another story. :) For such a little person Jellybean’s suitcase and carry on bag {aka diaper bag} is overflowing every time we travel.
I did my share of Googling and surveying friends when planning how to best travel with our infant. While I am clearly not an expert when it comes to traveling with a baby I did want to share what I’ve learned so far!
Tips to make Flying with an Infant Easier
- Gate check the stroller and car seat. It’s free so there is no reason not to bring them with you. Yes they are clunky, but the ability to put JB in her stroller/carseat and walk through the airport was amazing. While a baby carrier is great I find carrying the baby plus carry-on bag to be a bit much! If you little one is out of the car seat already you can check it for free after obtaining your boarding pass. Not shlupping that thing through the airport is SO nice.
- Change baby’s diaper just prior to boarding. Even if the diaper is just a tiny bit wet it’s best to start fresh.
- Boarding early . When able, that is, apparently United doesn’t do early boarding for families, boo! It’s nice to get on and get settled without having to navigate around others … or hold up the boarding process. Better yet, when traveling with another adult, have one person get on early with the gear and then other board last minute with the baby.
- Allow for extra time to go through security. TSA is super chill about carrying on formula/pumped milk, and purees/food. TSA does do an extra check so it adds a tad bit of additional time for them to do the check.
- Place the diaper bag and ALL baby related items under the seat in front of you. Inevitably something I thought we would not need became a MUST HAVE RIGHT NOW item during take off or landing – clearly if it’s in the overhead one will need it when we can’t access it. :)
- Bring a baby carrier. For most it seems like the baby carrier and stroller are an either/or travel item. For me, BOTH are a must. The carrier was clutch when we were flying to Seattle. It was the only way I could have my hands free and allow Jellybean to take a nap. I wouldn’t ever travel without it again.
BONUS TIP! Cheerios and/or Puffs are great for entertainment and containing the little one in tight corridors.
Here is Jellybean on her maiden trip to the Midwest :)
Any travel tips? What is your must have items for baby when traveling?
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These are some great tips! I’ve got two girl’s aged 7 and 2, as my family live abroad we’ve flown quite a few times too. We’ve had some very good flights…and some very bad!! Hardest years to fly? Definitely 18 months-3 years. I recommend lots of little fiddly snacks (packs of dried fruit, satsumas, grapes, chocolate buttons), colouring and an incredibly thick skin!!
Worst flight was 4 hours to Canary Islands, my very excited 18 month old ran and laughed up and down the aisles, bashing into everyone and everything for 3 and a half hours, screaming if we tried to distract or hold her. Finally fell asleep by my feet on the floor half an hour before landing. When my parents met us at arrivals they said we looked traumatised!
Xx
Why is it that children fall asleep 30 minutes before landing? It’s almost like they are teasing us :) Thanks for stopping by!
Great tips and am so jealous of your baby! I was a jet setter baby but haven’t been on an airplane in 5 years and am going through withdrawals! LOL. Love your blog, so beautiful. Your What You Wish neighbour. x
Thanks Jenny!
Fantastic tips for flying with an infant. My two have flown so much its like second natural to us and all your tips are just perfect for those that haven’t done it before. it can be quite nerve racking what to pack, what to do and when and how. Great post. thank you so much for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
I hope we get to the second nature point soon as we have a lot of travel plans coming up. What to pack seems to change as the kiddo gets older. Thanks for stopping by!
Great tips, I agree with them all wholeheartedly! My Bean was only 3 months when he first flew, and since then he’s done both long and short haul so many times. He’s 21 months now and definitely at that tricky stage where sitting still is just horrible for him. Sticker books are my saviour!
When it comes to travelling with infants though, the one tip I would add is to check out your airline carefully before you book. Flying with one that is sympathetic and helpful to families makes a huge difference, especially on long haul. We flew AA when the Bean was 6 months, and they were truly horrible to us. Alitalia staff, on the other hand, are always very understanding.
I’m making a mental note of the sticker book and will give that tip a try when Jellybean is a little bit older! And, yes I totally agree traveling with family friendly airlines an make all the difference when it comes to a good vs. bad flight!!!