Advice for flying with an infant

In My Humble Opinion
1

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.

2

It sounds like you’re covered. I would definitely try the decongestant a few days before you go…it makes some kids wired. Also, you may want to bring an extra shirt for you and him, just in case.

I flew from the East Coast of the U.S. to Australia with a 10 month old, then back again (several years later) with a 3 year old and a 7 month old. It really wasn’t a big deal. In my experience, the hum of the plane puts them right to sleep. Our last trip was 34 hours, door to door (four airplanes & several SNAFUs). Two hours will be a breeze. Definitely nothing to panic over. Have fun!

3

I did that when my youngest was about 8 months. It went very well. Sounds like you’re prepared. I’m sure you’re already planning to give him a bottle on takeoff and landing? That’s about all I can say.

4

This is an encouraging thread. We’re flying in June with a 10-month old from Tokyo to Boston, and are wondering if we should really go through with it (of course we will, my folks want to see their grandson). He’s good most of the time, and the rumble of the trains usually knocks him right out when we travel locally, but he’s not going to sleep for 14 hours straight and he goes through periodic screeching fits.

5

I’ve never flown with our baby, but don’t spend the money on the individual packs of formula. At Babies R Us, they have what look like ziplock baggies with a 3 inch ziplock at the top and the bottom is an inch-long tear-strip. You put the formula in and when you want to use it, tear off the bottom and empty it into the bottle.

They are way cheaper than buying the little formula packs. It’s one of the best purchases I made. We tried a regular baggie, but it turns out to be a mess.

Good luck with the flight.

6

I am so glad you posted this thread! We’re taking our 12-month old on his first flight in June and I’m wondering how it’ll go. It’s only about 3 hours, but we’re flying to India at the end of the year, so we wanted to get a couple of trips in before we take him on an 18-hour flight.

Enjoy! Oh, and let us know how it went.

7

Oooh…that’s a good idea. I’ll look for those - I wasn’t thrilled with spending $10 on what amounts to 8 actual bottles for him. Thanks!

dangermom, yep - I’m going to try to get him to eat on takeoff and landing, but we’ll see - he’s really picky about when he takes his bottles, and if there are more interesting things to look at, he’s not going to eat :rolleyes: . If he won’t eat, he’s a paci addict, so I’ll give him his binky.

I’m trying to think of non-noisy toys that won’t disturb too many other people. His favorite toys are somewhat noisy, but not incredibly so.

E.

8

I have flown plenty with my babies (now 22 months and 3 years old). What has always made or broken the trip was the car seat. Take it with you to the airport and beg on your knees for an empty seat next to you (I don’t have to do that anymore, they will both pay full fare for our next flight and get their seats :frowning: ) so you can place the car seat. Your baby knows the car seat already and likes it very much (I hope). Since they are already used to being tied down while on that seat, they won’t feel the urge to explore the cabin. It also means free hands to juggle all the tasks of flying with babies.

As for the formula, there are those plastic container with 3 compartments and a spinning top with an funnel cap. You just measure those 3 servings and they are ready for when you need it. I have no idea what they are called. They changed parenthood for me. I even use them at home.

You big issue now will be water. If they don’t allow you to bring water bottles into the airplane and the flight attendant doesn’t want to give you a full bottle, that means you have to beg for a cup of water all the time. It stinks.

It doesn’t have to be bad. Bon voyage.

9

I think I can buy water when I get past security. The only bad thing is that the kid HATES cold bottles, so I’m going to have to see if anyone has lukewarm water that they’ll sell me.

I have one of those compartment things, but last time we took it somewhere, it spilled everywhere. The top pops off, so we just use it at home for his morning bottles (which he eats upstairs).

I’m a bit calmer about it now - I think he’ll do fine.

E.

10

ear infection

air pressure changes as plane ascends and descends

:dubious:

11

This won’t work for your baby, but a good travel tip for flying with toddlers that I’ve heard is to bring a box of band-aids with you. Your average three-year-old will happily spend hours putting band-aids on herself, and although she gets off the plane looking like she walked through a plate-glass window (in the words of Marjorie Williams, who mentions this hint in her book), she’ll have stayed occupied and quiet.

12

In my experience, the stewardesses are happy to warm a bottle for you on the plane.

13

Be sure to check the TSA website to see what liquids and tubes are allowed to be carried on. They say baby formula is OK, but I’m not sure about other things, including anything in a tube (e.g. diaper cream).

14

I don’t have any tips for flying with babies as I don’t have kids but…

The last time I flew (March) all liquids, creams, gels, etc (eye drops, chap stick, creams/lotions etc) had to be placed in one 1-quart zip top bag. Also no container can be larger than 3 ounces. You have to take the baggie out of your carry on so the TSA people can readily inspect it. If the aforementioned items aren’t in a baggie, they take it away. You can buy water in the terminals (past security) and take it on the plane.

15

I have no tips to offer other than a hearty “Thank you” on behalf of the others who will be flying with you!

You are wonderful, and your children will achieve Nobel Prizes!

16

I would definitely try the decongestant before you fly. They have a habit of either sedating or speeding up and the time to find out which one it’ll be isn’t the day of a flight.

I also second Sapo’s advice. Before you check your car seat, ask the check-in agent how full the flight is. With some airlines (Southwest is one), as long as the plane isn’t in any danger of being sold out, they don’t mind letting you use a seat. (A few are absolute pricks about it.) The baby still has to be in a car seat, of course, and if the flight does fill up, you may be asked to give the seat up to a paying passenger. But more often than not, it’s worth asking about.

Robin

17

Elza B already checked with her pediatrician, presumably said doc is confident the week+ of antibiotics will have done the trick. My understanding is a pacifier or bottle will help a lot during takeoff/landing, ear infection or no; make sure to keep him sucking on something during those stages to help relieve the pressure in his ears.

18

If your baby will tolerate room temperature bottles, I would try to avoid getting the flight attendant to do it. First, they’re very busy and it takes them forever. Second, they won’t just throw it in the microwave (do they even have a microwave?). They stick it in hot water for tea and let it warm up. The whole process just takes too long and I just wouldn’t rely on it if you’re going to try to have a bottle ready for take-off.

19

Yep. He’s on antibiotics, has been since last Thursday, and seems to have improved greatly. My ped cleared us to fly on Friday, and if she hadn’t, we wouldn’t be going. I appreciate the concern, though.

He takes room temp bottles just fine - but not cold. With luck, someone will sell me a room temp bottle of water at one of the restaurants and we won’t have to worry about it. If I can only get cold, and he won’t take it, he may just have to make do with a banana until the end of the flight.

I will ask at the check-in about getting him a seat. I would absolutely love that - it would make me feel much more secure. We’re flying Continental, so I have no idea how they are about it. I haven’t flown them in years.

We’re just going to run into a supermarket when we get there and get him food for the weekend, so hopefully, I can just pack almost everything in the suitcase. What I can’t, if it’s a liquid or a cream, I will separate to be on the safe side. The only things I can think that will be separated are his diaper cream, antibiotic and possibly Motrin, if I decide to take it (he’s teething right now).

Thanks for the tips! Immensely helpful!

I’m actually hoping for a Tony;).

20

I have flown with my daughter at various ages and it was easiest when she was younger.

I will recommend something like sugar-free suckers - sometimes they won’t take a bottle and their ears are hurting and they are crying and you can’t explain that if they would only drink some they would be fine.

A sucker is different - it’s a special treat and kids will take it anyway.

If you bring those, have wipes handy -they get sticky.