20 Flights Before Turning 1: Everything I Have Learned About Traveling Domestically with a Baby!
Her first flight was on the day she turned two months old thanks to the doctors giving us clearance to get her shots the week before! It is recommended to wait until they get those immunizations before going on a plane, so it worked out perfectly. We were eager to get her around our families for the holidays and share her with the ones who loved her the most! Living on on island, we knew we had the get used to flying with a baby - no matter what, we had to be ready for 5+ hour flights one way to get to the mainland and practice would be key. With every flight, our confidence has increased and I do not dread travel days. Sure, they have their challenges, but it is always worth it and I have more perspective and patience with every one. She has become more adaptable with her schedule, sleeping and just generally being own the go and as a parent, I find myself not tied to a schedule knowing we will adjust as needed. Now that we have done 20 flights before her first birthday, I wanted to share what we have learned along the day to inspire you to pack up and go!
What We Pack
For our first flight, you better believe I overpacked - we were going to be gone for two months with a newborn and going to a completely different climate. I had three suitcases for my baby and I not including a large stroller and carseat. Now, when I am gone for up to two weeks, I have mastered the one suitcase for baby and I - phew! I always remind myself… there is a Target at your destination. No judgment if you need more than one suitcase - this is dfinetly not always the case, but if I am going to a similar climate and know I will have laundry access, that helps a ton! I put all of our stuff in packing cubes, which makes such a difference for small baby items. I do one for her clothes, one for her accessories, sometimes a small one for her PJs/jackets & then one for my intimates. All my other stuff is just folded and in there.
Travel Stroller - I started with the Uppababy Vista, which is anything but a travel stroller. I wanted it for our long trip, but after lugging that with us once, I quickly realized we would need something smaller. Then, I found a Babyoyo Zen stroller on Facebook Marketplace and got some Nuna adapters for it and while I lovedddd how small it folded up, I did not like dealing with the adopters and the small wheels. Then, after much deliberation, I got the Nuna TRVL and sold the Yoyo and am not looking back! I travel a bit solo with our baby, so the one handed fold was a game changer, especially for the Security line. I don’t bring it on board, but just simply gate check in it’s bag and look forward to seeing it at our destination.
Car Seat - We love our Nuna Pipa RX, especially since we always try to bring it on the plane with us! The best part is that we do not need the base with it for travel, so it is easy to move it from car to car. I do bring our car seat backpack just in case we do end up needing to gate check it.
Pack N Play - We typically are staying with family and moving around a bit, so I prefer to bring the bed she is used to. If we were staying at a hotel, I know we would be fine requesting a bed from them or renting from BabyQuip, but with our current travels, this has been easiest for us.
Baby Carrier - Traveling with a lap child, you never know if you will be able to snag an extra seat or bring the carseat, so when we don’t have the option of carrying her on board with the car seat, I put her in the carrier to keep my arms open for gate checking the stroller and car seat bags (that is a sight to be seen when I am by myself haha!). I don’t love wearing her
Diaper Bag - I love that mine is a backpack on travel days! Better believe it is packed to the brim - lunchbox of snacks, bottles and formula dispenser and a pouch full of toys and books, water bottle, water for her bottles, a nursing cover (great for covering her during naps still even though she is done nursing) and my iPad for when I get nap trapped.
Tote Bag - I have a bag with me to throw in the extra stuff - carrier, jackets, change of clothes, snacks for me, etc. I tryyyy to get everything in my diaper backpack, but love the flexibility to throw stuff in another bag and if anything, I put it in the overhead bin or gate check it with my stroller/car seat bag to eliminate anything I really don’t need for actual in air travel time.
Booking Your Ticket & Check-In
The wonderful part about traveling with a baby is that infants can fly free as lap children as long as they are under the age of two. You add them to the reservation and though rarely asked for, you should have a copy of their birth certificate available. I always carry one with my passport just to be safe, especially since we do not share the same legal last name. If traveling internationally, your baby does need their own passport, so be sure to get on that sooner than later!
SELECTING YOUR SEAT: I am a big fan of Southwest, but we do find ourselves needing to do other airlines due to flight times, so we have played around with various seating arrangements. With Southwest, you can board with Family Boarding (after the A group) and get a great seat. I have pretty good luck being able to bring my carseat on board and when I do, that must be in the window seat, so that forces us to do a window and middle. If I cannot bring on my carseat, I opt for an aisle seat when traveling solo as I would prefer to have the easy access in and out of the row. When it is the three of us and no carseat, we have done window and middle and will not be doing that again. Again, no car seat, I opt for the aisle!
Going Through Security
With my Chase card, I get TSA Pre-check and I am a HUGE FAN. Luckily, my baby gets to come along with me with my Pre-Check as I am the enrolled parent and she is attached to my reservation, but this is not the case for Global Entry. I feel like at first I was racing through and now, even with having a pretty good system, I have learned to take my time and say yes when people offer to assist. Luckily, people typically do like making your life easier (especially when going through airport security solo with a baby). If you do see someone behind you with barely anything to go on the conveyor, just tell them to go ahead and save yourself any annoying looks - who knows, they might actually decide they want to hep you instead (haha it has worked in my favor!):
DOCUMENTS: You will be given a boarding pass for yourself and one for the baby to present to the agent - be sure to have those ready to go along with your I.D.!
BABY: Baby must be out of stroller/carseat - Sounds obvious, but you should plan to carry your baby in a carrier or take them out of their stroller for going through security - this is honestly the part I dread since she is asleep after the drive to the airport most of the time.
STROLLER: Collapse the stroller and place on conveyor (if it easily folds) - they do not allow you to push it through like a wheelchair if it has the ability to fold up.
CAR SEAT: Car seat goes through the security belt - take out blankets/teethers/anything in there that you want to keep clean
LIQUIDS: You can bring a Nalgene full of water or pre-filled bottles through security, but be prepared to have them checked by the agents. I always pull mine out of my backpack/diaper bag and let them know it is for the formula to speed things up. In order to do this, you must have the baby with you as they want to know who the liquid is associated with as it is considered a medical need.
Changing Diapers on the Go!
I always make our last stop to the restroom right before boarding. I want to make sure she has a new diaper to avoid having to change her on the plane. Inevitably, there are times where you are going to have to change her on the plane. In that case, we have travel pad and easy to access wipes and diapers to use in the airplane bathrooms. They have a changing table you pull out above the toilet. I would be lying if I said they were convenient and spacious, but, you gotta do what you gotta do. Some people say to use the tray tables, but I would try to avoid that.
On the Flight
I read to nurse upon take off and landing and that is absolutely what I still tell everyone to do! Now that she is taking a bottle and eating, I try to time a bottle with takeoff to she is sucking something. Luckily, she is a thumb sucker, so that has been an option as well.
TOYS - While it seems her favorite thing to play with is the safety phamphlet, we do also pack various items to keep her entertained. She is a book worm, so I make sure to have at least three books for her to play with. I also have lots of small toys like spinners to attach to the window or tray table. When I do bring these toys, I attach them to the Busy Board so they don’t go onto the floor of the plane never to be seen again. Honestly, her entertainment on the plane is simple right now. If I need to, I put on an animal or nature documentary on the iPad that I listen to and she enjoys watching.
SNACKS - Girl loves snacks! Teether crackers, puffs, and apple sauce pouches are the current go-tos. Better to overpack snacks to keep the options going!
I put together a more specific list of everything I pack in my diaper bag that might be helpful!
Time Change and Time of Flights
It is not always possible to line your flight up perfectly with nap time, but luckily, the planes are giant white noise machines, so hopefully your baby will give into a long snooze at some point! I have found early morning flights to be much easier than mid-afternoon. There is surge of energy she gets mid-day and it’s hard not really having a proper outlet for her to get out those wiggles if we are traveling. Red eyes are honestly not too bad as long as you are prepared to not get much sleep. She has slept the majority of every red eye flight and I… have not.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of the planning you do, the best piece of advice I have for you is to DO IT. I am a firm believer that travel is accessible to those who want it and memories are being made with every adventure. Travel has been a huge part of my life and I vividly remember the trips I took with my parents early on. I am lucky that travel and flying was a big part of my childhood and now, I get to make it part of my daughter’s. We have people we love all over the world and places we go back to and cannot wait to go to one day. I cannot wait to keep on flying the friendly skies and seeing destinations with her fresh eyes! Pack an extra bit of patience and know that your attitude is their attitude on a travel day - you set the tone for your baby and if people have issues with a little extra noise from a baby learning their voice, then maybe they should have booked a private jet.