MoM | Flying with Your Baby
WhatIWore: Last week Felix and I took our first flights together as we traveled to visit my sister in southern Alabama. I’m no expert, but things did go pretty smoothly, probably because I crowd sourced some tricks and tips from other parents before I left. My baby is six months old for reference. Here’s what we did and why it worked for us! Please feel free to jump on this facebook post and add any additional ideas!
Step One: Ship Large Items Ahead of Time
I made the choice to travel without a carseat or stroller through the airport and baby wear Felix instead. I’ve heard horror stories of car seats being damaged in the cargo hold of the plane and once one of those are broken, it’s dangerous for a child. Instead, I bought a $44 carseat online and had it shipped to my sister ahead of time for her to install prior to picking us up in the airport. It would cost $50 round trip to check it and didn’t want to haul it with me on tight connections between flights (I believe you can gate check it if you don’t have that issue). In the same order I also got a big box of daytime disposable diapers and wipes. This saved me suitcase space and I only paid for one checked bag.
Step Two: Go Hands Free
In the airport I wore Felix in a soft baby wrap and took a backpack, which let me have both hands free to get out my tickets, have a bite to eat or grab something from my jacket (I wore a style with big, easy to access patch pockets). My backpack was small enough to fit in the bins overhead (which I did after the first flight) so I took out one extra Ziplock with me on the plane with water, toys and anything else I thought I’d need for the following flights. This also left me with more leg room. Although I had to take Felix out of the wrap for take off and landing in the plane, I kept him in the wrap through security and while in the airport terminals.
Great tips for lap infant air travel. Stay cool and remember that people love a mom with a baby