Flying with a Baby

FLYING WITH A BABY

 

 

 

I am not a flying expert. I still lose my cool. I yell at my husband because there is no one else to yell at. Lord help us all if I ever fly alone with my babies. I would probably complain to the flight attendant or to the person next to me. They would be in for a real treat.

All this to say, I am not an expert. But we have flown quite a few times with babies and children. We have done short flights and long flights. Twice we have flown internationally (13+ hours one way). We’ve flown with babies, toddlers and preschoolers. We’ve flown in sickness and in health. And somehow, we survived.

As I said, I am not an expert. But here are a few tips on flying with babies/toddlers/kids.

 

1.   Attitude

This is definitely the most important. As I write this section on attitude I have probably made at least 5 sassy comments in the last 10 minutes. Some of them under my breath.

Regardless, to fly with children and/or babies, you have to be unflappable. Decide that you will not be rattled. Nothing will break you. You are unbreakable. The TSA agent may be on a major power trip? Who cares. Car seat lost? You got this. You will make it through this. You can handle anything this airline or child throws at you. And if you freak out, take a deep breath and promise yourself a treat later. Or maybe then. Mine is starburst. I get a starburst anytime something goes wrong. Can’t be mad eating a starburst. You can’t unwrap it if your fingers are shaking.

Babies and children sense tension. When I cry or get upset, my three year old starts wailing. If I get upset, my body is so tense. Babies sense that, too.

 

2.   Baby wearing.

I absolutely love baby wearing. And when traveling it is a MUST. It makes things so much easier. Hands are free, and baby gets to see if you have a great carrier that they can face out in. Or they can sleep facing in. My carrier pick is the Beco Gemini. But do your research and wear what works for you!

 

3. Plan, plan and then stop planning.

Depending on what age you are traveling with, you will need an assortment of gear and activities. Think what your child loves. For my daughter, she loves to color and play with stickers. Go on amazon and find books about airplanes and traveling. Make sure you have a paci clip if you are the paci type. My son needs some sort of rattle and he’ll drop it a bazillion times and he is happy. Do some google and pinterest searches for airplane toys/activities. Have a few surprises up your sleeve.

 

THEN, you stop planning. You just hope. You pray if you are the praying type. You hope that you have packed enough goodies. And when all else fails, let them draw on you.

 

4. Emergency Bribery

Have an emergency stash of suckers and candy. You are not a bad parent. For me, when traveling, all bets are off. I refuse to let my daughter have unlimited sugar, because if I completely change her diet, then we will be in the airplane bathroom all day. But I do have a sucker stashed in my bag.

 

5. Make Friends

Make friends with your other captives, I mean, co travelers. Don’t be afraid to walk the aisles.

I have found that MOST people don’t care you have a baby there. Most people don’t mind and most people just want to talk about their grandson/granddaughter/neighbor’s kid/dog-walker’s third cousin. I have heard some pretty random stories. Almost everyone has a baby in their life somewhere. Some want to talk about said baby. I indulge them.

 

Now, about the others that DO care. You know, the stink eyes. The people glaring at you as you try to try to calm your kid down or struggle to nurse your baby. For me, my policy has always been I don’t care. I am going to do my best to keep my baby/toddler/kid quiet, but I make no guarantees. I am not going to apologize for my baby acting like a baby. I am sorry they are screaming. Trust me, it is harder on me than you. I have to DEAL with it. It is ON ME. I promise to do my best, just like everyone else is doing their best. And if you don’t have kids, and you think that you’ll never bring them on a plane, you are straight delusional. You never know why kids/babies are on that plane. They could be going to a funeral. Let’s all be nice.

 

Well, there you go. Those are my thoughts. Take them or leave them. Love them or hate them. Share then or hide them from your newsfeed.

 

Safe travels!