Baby on Board: 12 Secrets for a Happy Baby when Flying

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Three Generations of Mom Tricks to Help Your Youngest Travelers

We’ve been travelers for a long time. All three of us moms have 13 well-traveled babies between us, and we are here to tell you that it’s not only possible, but well worth the effort to get the kids on the road and in the air early in life! And here’s a few tips and tricks to help you fly with your littlest travelers….

These are the ideas we will be talking about to have a happy baby when flying:

• When buying your ticket:
  • When you Fly Matters to Baby
  • Your Connection Time Should Not be a Race!
  • The Best Seat in the House!… or Air
• When Packing for the Trip:
  • Do’s and Don’t Secrets of Security Check-points
  • Downloads and more Downloads!
  • Plan What You Pack, Pack What You Plan
• On Departure Day:
  • Arrive Earlier Than You Think You Need to… no, EARLIER than that!
  • Pre-Board or Be Hated
  • Secret Takeoff Techniques
  • New Exciting Adventures Mean New Exciting Toys
  • The Lowdown on Snacks and Drinks
• Disrupted Routines and How to Handle Them

Since there are three women all throwing ideas around, introductions first! There’s Me: Claire (mom of baby Maxine in the pictures,) my mother Bridget: know as Mama G, which is the closest she’ll get to the word “Gramma.” And there’s Grandma the Great, my 90 year old grandmother.

When Buying Your Ticket:

Firstly, to fly with a happy baby, there are things that will help you from the start. Let’s talk about the things to consider when you are buying your plane tickets:

When You Fly Matters to Baby

What time do you think your baby will do well? It may help to purchase tickets accordingly. Mama G’s babies all did GREAT on overnight flights, sleeping well for most of the trip. But I know some moms cringe at the thought! They know their baby would wake at the slightest noise. You know best when it comes to your baby’s habits, and its a good idea to consider these as criteria when taking flights. Although it won’t always match what’s available or what is cheapest, sometimes we have to pay more for our sanity.

Your Connection Should Not Be a Race to the Finish Line!

If you cannot take a nonstop, make the connection a LONG one. Do NOT … EVER… buy a ticket with a half hour connection time! I know your day will be longer, you may think it will be better just to get it over with. But even if your plane is just a few minutes late, you and your toddlers will find yourselves running… and crying… and stressing… through the airport. And whether you’re late or not, they’ll need to use the potty. Guaranteed! At the least appropriate time. Half hour connections were made for business men. They zip off the plane, and get to the next gate at a fast clip. There ain’t no such thing with babies and toddlers in tow! Instead, consider the journey to and from your destination as part of the adventure!

Mama G: I would rather take an hour and a half connection, give my kids a good break, and a special lunch or dinner at the airport. Especially if I have a toddler with me and I can reward him or her for doing well on the plane. (I never threaten to take this away for bad behavior because we gotta eat! Hunger makes things that much harder! But it’s a great moment to compliment them during the meal on how well they did.)

Best Seat in the House!… or Air

Make sure one of your party is on the aisle. If it’s just you and baby, I’d go with aisle seat. Chances are you will be up and about more often than your neighbor! Get seat assignments when you book the ticket, but at the airport, the customer service agent may be able to assign you bulkhead seating if you get there early.

I LOVE bulkhead for the extra leg room for us, and the play room for the toddlers.Bulkheads are the seats in the middle front that have only a wall in front of you. Little travelers cannot be in exit rows, so sometimes the side bulkhead seats are not allowed.

Some airlines will assign these early if you call and you have an infant (especially if you have ordered a bassinet overseas, but these are getting rare.) More likely nowadays, these are premium seats you need to purchase.

The down-side to bulkhead is that you can’t store the diaper bag at your feet for landing and takeoff, so you have to get out what you need for when you take off and store it in the netted bag on the wall. More on that a little later…

When Packing for Your Trip

So here we are, ready for our first flight! This front baby carrier is brought to you by Boba Wrap, by the way. It’s easy and comfy, and we get through security check point like a breeze! But more on that soon. The matching leggings are brought to you by Renny and Dot! You can use that link for 15% off cuz who doesn’t want matching comfy leggings for the flight? Notice the sandals? Easy On and off shoes are a must! Now that you’re ready with your flights, there are a few things you should definitely plan for the journey!….

Do’s and Don’t Secrets for Security Checkpoints

Know that at most checkpoints you must take off your shoes, pull out all laptops and tablets, your small toiletries (nothing over 3 ounces allowed) must be in a separate, clear bag (ziplock is perfect) and taken out… pack so these things are easily taken out and put right back in. Wear shoes that slip on and off so you aren’t tying toddler shoes and your shoes while also trying to get all your bags off the conveyor belt. Your kids will need your focus during this time, not your shoes.

Mama G Rant: I don’t know about YOUR kids, but mine wouldn’t budge from the security area without everything being perfectly the same as how they came in! It was the only time in their little lives so far that they absolutely demanded that their shoes be on (and tied!) backpacks be back on, etc, sigh!)

An extra bonus: if you prepare this step WELL, security probably won’t ask you to do any of it LOL! But you will be happy if you can go through this step smoothly. Children react to any sign of stress in new situations.   

Put small infants in a front pouch baby carrier! Not your stroller. Then you have 2 free hands at security checkpoints. First of all, it’s easier to deal with getting bags though on the belt, and shoes back on , but also the security guards allow you through without taking the baby off. After putting your bags though, you and baby get to skip the Xray machines, and go through the handicap gate. My personal preference is to check the stroller and bring just baby and diaper bag. But I guess it depends on how heavy the baby’s getting lately! And also if there are others in tow.

Baby Bottles: If you use formula, don’t fill up your baby’s bottle before security! Buy a bottle of water AFTER security. They DO allow the bottles through now, but they have to open and test every single one, and it takes a lot longer! Buy juices and liquids AFTER security.

Grandma the Great: Back in my day, we made our OWN baby carrier! We cut holes in an army rucksack and stuck the baby in it!

Downloads and More Downloads…

You can usually use the wi-fi entertainment of the airline for free now, but you must have their APP downloaded before takeoff. Many planes no longer have a screen, but instead a place to attach your own device. So bring a tablet or phone if you plan on watching movies. And download in advance movies, music, etc.

Plan What You Pack, Pack What You Plan

There’s one more thing to do in advance before we talk about the actual flight, and this is to PREPLAN what you are packing! It’s always a bummer to get on the road and remember you forgot something SUPER important, but it’s also a drag to have over packed and have the hassle of too much luggage! More and more airlines charge for luggage nowadays, so bringing the entire box of Pampers isn’t always economical nowadays! But pre-shipping a box to your destination on Amazon is pretty darn smart!

I find it very helpful to sit down in quiet and write a list of what I need instead of just throwing things in a bag. In fact, when we have a particular type of activity that we do over and over, I like to have a master list stored on my computer that I can print out for each time! And traveling definitely fits that description for us. If you’d like a copy of my master list, just shoot me a comment below and enter your email into the blog and I’ll email you a copy.

Grandma the Great: Don’t forget the baby shampoo!… (Get the list, in other words!)

On Departure day!

Arrive Earlier Than You Think You Need To… No, Earlier Than that!

And leave earlier than you think you need to in order to do so! LOL you might need to read that twice, but it’s no joke. Peaceful car rides, peaceful treks in the airport and all peaceful travel takes calm, unstressed parents. If you’re stressed traveling, your children will be, too. Slow down and make the journey part of the trip. It’s not all about the end destination. Half the fun, especially in a kid’s point of view, is the journey to get there!

Pre-Board or Be Hated

Pre-board early with your baby so other passengers don’t hate you LOL! This gives you time to get yourself and baby situated with the diaper bag under the seat in front of you. Not overhead. The only place you can’t do this is bulkhead, so if you are seated there, make sure you have taken out things you’ll need for takeoff until you’re allowed to unbuckle. (Some moms do like making their husbands get up and down 14 times during the flight, so in that case, go right ahead and store the diaper bag above your head! Perfectly good option.)

Secret Take-Off Techniques!

The babe absolutely should be drinking/sucking on takeoff and landing even if it’s not eating time. Swallowing helps the ears equalize the pressure so they won’t begin to hurt. Otherwise you WILL have a screaming baby. Even if the baby is sleeping, give your sleeping baby a bottle! Baby’s will usually drink a bottle even  while half asleep. Otherwise, the baby may wake up screaming. I’m sure you’ve witnessed that a time or two. So don’t take a chance, have bottles at the ready! If this happens and poor babe is crying, focus on your baby and not the people around you. Act just like you’re home in his or her own bedroom trying to soothe her. Those around you don’t matter.

New Exciting Adventures Mean New and Exciting Toys!

Tip from Mama Gee:  My toddlers (and even older kids!) got a new back pack with all new and exciting items from the dollar store for every trip! Especially a fresh, brand NEW box of crayons, so all the tips were sharpened, travel coloring books, and themed goodies. It’s good to make it a back pack instead of a wheeled luggage so they can’t leave it behind in the bathroom! Sigh. but they will anyway…. so only bring what they won’t be devastated to lose, and what you haven’t spent a fortune on.

Update: For our absolutely Favorite backpack, especially for a pregnant mom with a now toddler Maxine to keep track of, look at this awesome Backpack here!

The Low Down on Snacks and Drinks

the best are single-serve, easy to grab and go, no leftovers to spill out into the bottom of your bag during the trip…(Mama G Extra: I didn’t purchase single-serve items at home, but when traveling they’re fantastic! I got to spoil them with their favorite treats that I NEVER buy at home like juice boxes, bags of candy, lunchables, animal crackers in the little box with the string handle…. Ok.)

• TIP from Mama G: My babies traveled since birth and I personally never encouraged a “favorite” blanket or stuffed animal. I made SURE to switch out the items they slept with so they never got too attached. Why? Because I worked at an airline for many a year, and I saw too many distraught children who had left their favorite object on the plane or back at the hotel…. Unconsolable disaster.

Disrupted Routines and How to Handle Them

Everything’s different on a trip for kids of all sizes, and for us adults, too! We want to EAT at different times, to SLEEP at different times, we get cranky at different things. Sometimes babies adjust to time differences, and sometimes they do NOT (Mama G’s Eye Roll:  That would be you, Claire! In Europe! Keeping us up till 2 AM every night!) Just vacation according to their needs and don’t stress. Rearrange visits and schedules when needed. (Grandma the Great: sometimes your toddler will ONLY sleep in your bed when in new places….

If there’s only ONE thing you remember from your chat with us today, let it be this: for kids the destination is not what they are excited about. It’s when you step out of the door! Kids love the journey, and we can learn a lot from them about this! Plan well, relax and enjoy the journey. It’s part of the vacation, too!

Do you have any other fabulous tips to add to the list??… Drop them below! We’d love to hear them. And don’t forget to get a copy of the Master Travel List by subscribing to the blog!