Tips for flying with a baby

[ErinExpat]

Hi everyone,
I will be flying by myself with DD this summer on a long-haul flight. She will be 8 months. Any tips? Here is some info:
-She's 80% FF
-I will bring my ring sling and gate-check a travel stroller
-I was thinking of not pursuing the baby cot/bulkhead seat option because I would have to stow my purse/baby bag in the overhead bin (no seat in front of me). Is it worth the inconvenience?

Any tips for packing baby items, food, etc?

What do you wish you had done or brought if you've flown with your baby before?

TIA!

[travelingturtle]

Are you buying a seat for your daughter? If not, I would get the bulkhead for the bassinet so you have somewhere to put her when you're tired of holding her or if you need to eat or something. You only have to keep your stuff in the overhead bin during take off and landing. The rest of the time you can have it at your feet.

I don't usually like the bulkhead seats. We have used it when my son was a baby, but the plane had enough seats that he got his own anyway. When my daughter was 2 months we flew and she didn't get a seat so we used the bassinet. Since I had my husband's help, I only put her in the bassinet once for a few minutes. What I don't like about bulkhead is, at least on the flights we were on, it's near the bathroom and the crowds kept my kids awake or woke them. There are definitely flights were the bulkhead is not near the bathroom, though. (Also, I'm not sure what the bassinet weight restriction is, so you should check that out too)

I would keep a bag of things you'll want easy access to (a couple of diapers, a change of clothes, food, and a couple of toys) in a separate bag and keep the rest in the overhead bin. I always bring so many clothes and food, but not a lot of toys. (If your airline has a great food policy, I'd bring enough but wouldn't go crazy with it like I do with other airlines.) I also like to put a huge towel-y bib on my kids when we fly because it's easier to clean them up then having a loose burp cloth or something. And I like using a thin blanket (Aden and Anais, the receiving blanket) to kind of cover them when they're sleeping. I used a nursing cover when I travelled with my daughter and just kept her covered when she was sleeping and I held her. For my son I used the receiving blanket over his car seat. I've also found that people get really excited when they see a sleeping baby and those people are the ones that wake my sleeping baby.

[pittpurple]

I spent the summer in the states when my daughter was 8 months and flew long haul plus several internal flights on my own so I have tons of advice!

When you say your daughter is 80% ff! what's the other 20%?

I was bf, ff and weaning her at the time, so I had tons of food options with us. Tons. So my advice is a bit dependent on what you're doing.

For nappy changes, I made up little packs in ziplocs with a nappy, a disposable change mat, and a small pack of wipes. So I had everything right there and could theoretically just throw the whole mess away afterwards. Obviously i don't use disposable change mats regularly but if anything gross happens to your only change mat there's pretty much no room to deal with it in the tiny bathrooms on the flight. I had similar feeding packs made up (with a disposable bottle and bib, or a couple pouches and a bib and some wipes, that sort of thing)

It was much easier to just throw things away instead of ending up with a bunch of half finished bottles as I travelled. I flew alone from Edinburgh to California so it was like 27 hours. I had a bulkhead for the first flight and it was invaluable. She didn't sleep in it but it was the only way I could eat or have a tiny amount of space to get organised or anything. It was so much harder when I was in a normal seat, there's just no space for anything, she barely fit and I couldn't get into the bags...and she kept kicking the chair in front of me.

Bring two changes for her and don't forget a change for you. Bring snacks for yourself since eating airplane food while having a baby on your lap is pretty much impossible. I had granola bars and nuts and dried fruit for one handed eating.

Leave plenty of time to get through the airports, it takes longer with all the added stuff.

And I agree, having two bags is a good idea, I had a necessities bag and an emergency bag up top.

[ErinExpat]

Thanks!

The other 20% is breast milk. The percentages will change a bit as I intend to start solids soon (she's almost 6 months).

Hmm. I think I will consider the bulkhead seat/ bassinet. I think the extra room might be worth the inconvenience of having to stow the bag.

[potatopie]

I just booked for a long haul trip on my own with DS who will be 9 months. I got the bassinet even though he's technically too big because of the advice of these girls. It'll be nice to have the extra space for him to sit and play. Then I'll bring my soft carrier and just have him sleep on my chest since he probably won't be able to lie down in the bassinet. I like this idea better as well because it will allow me to rest more. We flew when he was 5 months and, even though he slept really well in the bassinet, I didn't want to shut my eyes because i couldn't hear him to know when he stirred. This would be especially important now that he's moving. He could easily get himself out of the bassinet. So he can play in it when we're awake and sleep on my chest.

[rupertpenny]

I will be the voice of dissent. I've not had luck with the bassinet. I've also had to jump through serious hoops to get a bassinet seat and it just wasn't worth it. For me the only must have is an aisle seat.

[frlcb]

You only have to stow the bag on taxi, takeoff and landing, so you can get the bag down once you are cruising. I would get the bassinet so you can put her down, but I generally agree with travelingturtle that I am not a bulkhead fan once past the bassinet stage.

Bring more diapers/wipes than you think you need, and put them in an easily accessible place. Bring a change of clothes for yourself and at least one for your dd. Bring lots of snacks for you, and water. I would bring a few new toys for her. When I was ff'ing I would fill up bottles with the right amount of water, and then had a powder formula container and had it all premeasured so would just pour it in when it was time. Either feed her or give her a pacifier if she takes one on take off and landing for her ears.

And remember that the flight will eventually end, and you will never see anyone on the plane again

[travelingturtle]

And to add to what frlcb said about water and formula. I was a freak about making sure I had the exact amount of water needed for the formula. A house episode about it messed me up and I never wanted those ratios wrong. I'm not sure how long your formula lasts, or how big your bottles are, but I would fill each bottle with the max it holds. What kept happening with my son is that flying made him so hungry. At the time he was only drinking, let's say, 120 mL - but the bottle held 180. Instead of just filling it up, I only filled them to what he normally ate. Then he would start screaming until I could make him more. At which point, he'd only want a little. I'd rather have to throw away a little formula than have him get worked up for no reason.