Baby B (8 1/2 months) is taking his first plane trip on Friday with me to Florida, and I am a little panicked. He’s a great kid, pretty happy and cheerful, and tends to just go with the flow. The flight’s only two hours long, luckily, from Cleveland to Orlando, and we have to be at the airport pretty early, so I’m hoping I can get him to sleep a bit on the flight, but still - having never flown with him before, I’m still nervous.
He’s formula-fed now, so I’m planning to get a pack of those single-serve formula things to take with me so that I don’t have to try to measure out formula on the plane. I am not taking or checking a stroller - I have several carriers, and will wear him through the airport, as he tends to get annoyed in the stroller fairly easily, and prefers to be close to me. Plus, I just don’t feel like hauling the stroller along with all of our other stuff since I have to take the carseat to be checked.
I am packing everything humanly possible in the suitcase, and taking only the necessities in our carry-ons. He will be a lap baby (not really by choice), so I will be packing diapers, formula, several bottles, some toys, pacifiers, and breakfast for him - probably a banana that I can stick in his mesh feeder and let him chew on to make things easier.
He’s had an ear infection, so I am going to give him a decongestant prior to the flight, per my pediatrician (he’ll have been on antibiotics over a week, so he will be fine to fly). We’ve never given him a decongestant before, so I’m not sure whether or not to try it out on him one night this week to see how it affects him.
He’s gotten fairly active now, so I’m a little nervous about having him sit in my lap the whole trip. I’m hoping to have enough to entertain him so that it will keep him occupied - and I’m hoping for an empty seat next to us, but I’m not counting on it.
Suggestions? Tips? Anything I’m missing that I should be thinking of?
E.