Hello fellow Dopers. This board has been great to me regarding questions around our pregnancy and then labour. In fact, I was so impressed by all the feedback I got I renewed my membership as a thank you for these forums being available.
Our little guy is 2 months old. We’re getting his first round of shots on Thursday and then two weeks later we are flying from Chicago to Dublin.
We’ve gotten three seats on the flight over and back on American. Sadly. we were not able to get a bulk head and frankly American were quite unhelpful generally.
So, any tips or suggestions on traveling with a newborn?
Thanks!
Bulkhead is generally not really worth it for small children for two reasons. 1. There is often a BIG TV right in front of them and it is really distracting, 2. there are often other crying babies in the bulkhead and 3. They are next to the bathrooms and are often gathering places for people to go the bathroom so there is too much activity. However, with a 2 month old, it shouldn’t be a problem but heed my warnings for an 8mo - 3 yo. That all being said, the best place to get the bulkhead is at the airport. Go a little bit early and ask at the counter and then most likely at the gate. We have also found that asking on the plane has almost always worked as well. If you have 3 seats together including a window and an aisle you often have a lot of negotiating power.
Gate Check everything possible (car seat, stroller), you can’t leave the airport without them so don’t let them put it through regular baggage. And know where it will reappear, we’ve had trouble 3 times in Ireland with strollers going to the wrong area (either the gate or the baggage claim) when we were told otherwise.
One parent should get on the plane ASAP and get everything squared away with seats (negotiate for bulkhead?) and luggage. The other is the last one to get on the plane with the baby (it can easily be 30-45 minutes between the two and you want to minimize the time for the youngin’ as much as possible).
Lastly, one of you is designated as the care-taker and awake when needed on the plane, the other must sleep. The first day in Ireland, the roles are reversed. Arrange it beforehand and stick to it. Having two parents awake the whole red-eye and miserable upon landing is not fun for anyone.
We haven’t travelled with Widget yet, but my mother, who did a LOT of travelling with little ones, says the main secret with a really small one is (assuming you or your other half is breastfeeding) boobies. The second the plane heads for takeoff, and again when it starts the descent. It’ll help stop the baby’s ears getting bunged up.
All good advice so far. I’d definitely recommend the breastfeeding and split-boarding.
Another option, if it is 747 the very back seats at the sides are excellent for shoulder and leg space. If one of you is going to sleep on the flight you might like to get two seats in one row and one in front. Then one can sleep without distraction. It can be very difficult to “switch off” when you have a little wriggly bundle next to you. (it also makes the division of labour a lot easier and by swapping over you may each get some sleep or a movie)
The other bonus is that sounds at the back of the plane don’t seem to be quite as disturbing, perhaps something to do with engine white noise.
Oh, and get rat-arsed, that always helps.
And I’ve just seen that you are flying American, so probably a 777? I don’t know what the rear seats are like on those.
All the practical advice has already been offered, so let me just chime in with the feel-good squishy part: RELAX, it’s going to be fine. Traveling with a toddler is harder; babies are easy, especially if there are two parents involved. (I know what I’m talking about, as CairoSon did a prodigious amount of worldwide travel in the first couple of years of his life.)
Also, despite the occasional controversies that erupt, on this board and elsewhere, over whether or not it is morally reprehensible to subject fellow travelers to the presence of an infant, actual human beings on airplanes tend to be kind and helpful.
Two month olds are pretty easy to travel with. They don’t want to go anywhere, like an older baby or toddler would; they’re immobile and happy to hang out with Mom and Dad.
Definitely make sure the baby is sucking on something during take-off and landing to ease the pressure on his ears. If he has a lovey, something he needs to have in bed, make sure to have it handy - many babies don’t at this young age, of course. A few toys to dangle in front of the baby’s face to distract him can be good, too.
Take more diapers, clean clothes, and formula if you use it, than you think you will need. Take a clean shirt at least for each of you as well. Take plastic bags to wrap dirty and wet clothes in if necessary. Something about sitting in a pressurized cabin at 30,000 feet seems to inspire truly astonishing poops and some interesting spit-ups as well, or at least it did with my kids when they were babies. (Ask the cabin crew, before you need it, which lavatory or lavatories have the pull-down changing tables.)
Remember it will be cooler on the plane than outside, so plan clothes and blankets accordingly.
If you’re prepared, it really isn’t all that bad. Boring, and tiring for the parent on duty, but not hellish. With luck he’ll sleep most of the way over at least.
Get some good kiddie tranks from your pediatrician.
I’m not kidding. The last plane flight I was on lasted about 2 1/2 hours with a screamer all through the trip. The passengers were about to pry open the cabin door and toss the little bugger out. If the parents could have drugged the kid to sleep, life would have been so much better for everyone.
Tranquilizers for a infant who is less than 3 months old???
You can’t be serious…