Less is More: Flying With a Baby

Travel is one of those things that can cause extreme anxiety for new moms. My daughter and I traveled when she was just 6 weeks old. My husband was unable to come so it was just the two of us. We were going to wait a few more weeks but honestly, I just missed my family too much.

The night before we were set to fly, I had a complete meltdown. I was so nervous and overwhelmed by all that could go wrong.

How would I manage all my stuff? What if the flight was late or canceled? What if I ran out of milk? What if my daughter cried the whole time? What if I had to use the restroom?

Obviously all of these things were legitimate concerns. Really what new mom could hold her bladder for 6-7 hours total?

So once I got through with my pity party the night before, I organized and really thought of solutions for all my concerns.

How to manage all the baggage that goes with flying

·         Curbside check in. Have someone drop you right at the counter. Tip the handler with a smile and $5. You’ll be golden!

o   Also consider buying the diapers and wipes you’ll need when you arrive at your destination or have someone pick them up for you if you are visiting family.

o   Same thing goes for your stroller and carseat. See if you can borrow from a family member or rent one. But traveling with them looks like a hassle.

·         Make your carry on light… Only the necessities make the cut. We rolled on board with small diaper bag and my girl in the Baby K’Tan. My diaper bag included:

o   3-4 diapers

o   A travel wipes case and changing pad

o   A receiving blanket

o   Extra outfit for baby

o   Extra t-shirt for me

o   2 toys (Note: NOT the whole toy box)

o   wristlet with all my "stuff" (lotion, tissues, credit cards, cash, phone, etc)

o   (2) 4 oz bottles of breastmilk

o   My nursing cover

o   AND THAT’S IT

·         Have someone there when you land to get a hug from and help with luggage. This is when you really should pay to park at the airport.

The Essential Diaper Bag

Changes in schedule

·         Unfortunately it happens. And it happened to us. On the way there, we were golden. On the way back, at 11:00 pm the night before our flight was canceled. We were rescheduled but not until later in the afternoon. Fortunately, we had that notice the night before. Once we got to the airport, we were delayed but we used the time to walk around, take in the sites, get a snack… get another snack… and another snack.

·         Always try to talk to an agent and see if there are options for you with a baby. Sometimes they might let you into their presidents club or find you a seat on another flight that’s leaving earlier.

Food Supply

·         If you are nursing, you are able to take as much breastmilk through security as you need. I don’t mean that as a joke. I mean if you pump and put milk in bottles, they will scan it and let you through. BUT feel free to have your boobs as full as you need too. ;)

·         Pack some snacks for you too. Sometimes those flights are long and the pretzels and nuts are stale.

·         Also when they come by and ask if you want a drink. Get yourself water. No use in dehydrating yourself so the chances you have to go to the bathroom are less.

Crying babies on a plane

·         I think there are few people who have not been aggravated when sharing the plan with a crying baby. As a new mom, I remembered those times when I wanted to sleep but a fussy baby kept me up. I figured it would be just my karma coming back on me to have THAT baby.

·         The night before I thought long and hard about what automatically calms my girl down at any given moment. There were the obvious: nursing and pacifier. But my daughter LOVES to snuggle. I was already bringing the baby carrier so we would be nice and cozy the whole time.

Using the ladies room

·         If you are traveling on your own, this is a big one. So I encourage you… to get to a yoga class and do chair pose. With the baby carrier, I could go hands free but the tricky part was sitting low enough and back enough. Sounds funny but seriously I took a deep inhale, and exhale sat back in “chair.”

·         I will also say this. I didn’t want to have to go on the flight so I went to the bathroom before boarding each and every time regardless of it I had to go.

·         I also changed my girl prior to boarding so that I didn’t feel like I needed to change her multiple times on the flight. I also changed her right after we got off the flight.

Most important of all:

·         Laugh when things go wrong. Our first flight, I boarded the wrong plane. I was so nervous I misread the gate sign. WHOOPS. The gate agent came running after me and no harm was done but I had a good laugh… as did the rest of the people in line. It happens. J