First Time Flying with a Baby: Packing and Boarding Tips
To fly with a baby for the first time, pack extra clothes, wipes, and emergency blowout bags, feed your baby during ascent and descent to protect the ears, wear the baby through the airport in a carrier, and gate check the stroller and car seat. If a second adult travels with you, split the boarding so one person handles the bags early and the other walks on last with the baby. On the plane, a few new quiet toys and plenty of snacks keep a baby busy, and users report babies often prefer simple objects like cups over packed toys. Consider buying a separate seat so your baby can ride in the car seat, which one parent who flew with a 20 month old strongly recommended. Packing right saves you mid flight. Keep sanitizing wipes in the diaper bag and wipe down every surface your baby might touch, including the seat, tray table, and armrests, as soon as you board. Build a few emergency blowout bags before the trip: each gallon sized Ziploc holds one diaper, wipes, and a doggy bag, so a mess takes seconds to handle. Bring several changes of clothes for the baby and a spare outfit for each adult too, because spit up and blowouts tend to land on parents as well. Ear pressure causes the most discomfort, and feeding solves it. Sucking on a bottle, the breast, or a pacifier during takeoff and landing equalizes the pressure in your baby's ears. One user nurses or gives a bottle for both takeoff and landing. Timing matters, so start the feed once the plane is actually ascending and hold off through taxi. A feed that starts too early can run out before the pressure builds and the ears need to pop. The airport goes better with a carrier and a plan. One user said she could not have survived without her baby carrier and wore her son through the airport and for most of the night on the plane. For boarding with two adults, one parent boards during family pre-boarding with all the bags while the second parent and baby wait and board last, well past their assigned zone. This split keeps the baby from spending extra time restrained on the plane. Always check the stroller and car seat at the gate, which costs nothing, lets you use both inside the terminal, and gives them back to you when you land. On board, comfort and entertainment need less gear than you might expect. Buying an extra seat for the car seat gives your baby a familiar place to sit, keeps her safe during turbulence, and frees your arms for hours. A user who flew when her daughter was 20 months old highly recommended bringing the car seat. Pack a few new quiet toys and an abundance of snacks, since one user swore by books and, in her words, ALL the snacks. Skip the giant toy pile, because babies on planes happily play with cups and empty bags.