- PACK WELL IN ADVANCE: It is super important to pack well in advance so that you have time to go buy stuff if needed. I recommend making a list of things to pack since it makes life so much easier than trying to remember what to pack and then forgetting half of it.
- REACH AIRPORT A LITTLE BEFORE TIME: Before we had a baby, I and my husband were mostly the ones running to catch our flights 😉 , but with a baby, you need to have AMPLE amount of time for security, last minute poopy diaper changes, feeding sessions etc. etc..
- CHECK IN YOUR CAR SEAT( OR NOT): Most airlines allow you to check in your car seat at the luggage counter and your stroller at the gate for FREE! (Although I would call in to confirm) . To ensure the hygiene of the car seat we got a car seat cover from Amazon ( an inexpensive one for about 8$ –> Baby car seat cover )Now if you decide not to check it in there is a slim chance that the aircraft overhead storage gets full and you get to keep the car seat with you. This is great for the baby to sleep in, especially if you have a lap baby! So you can take a chance if you’d like!
- WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE SECURITY: You can bring water, breast milk, formula, and baby food in reasonable quantities in your carry on bag. These are screened separately, therefore it takes a little time to go through security. But otherwise, we had no issues during the checks. For more details on what TSA allows you to carry and in what quantity check –> What can you bring?
- AIR PRESSURE AND WHAT TO DO? The baby may experience pressure in his ear’s during take-off and landing so you should take something that the baby can suck on. We took some water in a bottle and fed him every 2 mins. This worked well for Viaan and he wasn’t fussy in the flight at all!
- FOR THE DURATION OF THE FLIGHT: Try to keep the baby awake few hours before the flight. 2-3 hours before our flight we made sure Viaan wasn’t asleep. This made him tired when we were on the flight and he dozed off. We also took quite a few things like his toys and books to keep him occupied during the flight.
- TRY A SHORT DIRECT FLIGHT: We planned a short getaway to New Hampshire (White Mountains) for Viaan’s first flight.
It was a direct 2 hour flight. I feel it is best to take a short and direct flight for the first time to see how comfortable your baby is in the flight. Also, it might get too tiring for you if you need to change flights or travel for too long and the baby gets all cranky!
- PACK A SAFETY KIT WITH BASIC MEDICINES: Definitely keep a safety kit with some medicines such as Baby Tylenol, Zarbees cough and mucus syrup, Band-aids, baby bulb syringe, baby thermometer etc.
- CHECK THE WEATHER!: Make sure to check the weather of the location you are traveling to and pack the clothes for the baby accordingly. We were traveling to a cold place and had to buy snow jackets ( which were very hard to find in Florida), warmers and even a car seat warmer. We were expecting some rain so to be safe I got the wind and rain stroller cover from Amazon too. Be sure you look at the forecast for the travel dates to be well prepared.
- KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE: Lastly, it is very very important that you enjoy !! Things happen, you might feel really tired, you might forget to get some stuff, when you just thought you have some time to relax the baby might throw up on his cute lil dress and when all your friends(with no baby) on the trip doze off after a super adventurous day, you have to be up washing his bottles, feeding him and meal prepping for the next day!! But at the end of the day remember you are making wonderful memories! One smile from the little one sure does make it all worthwhile!! Isn’t it?
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Your first hand experience is going to be really helpful to many young mothers. Keep posting. And do share Viaan’s adventures in the international flight.
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