Last week my husband and my almost 8 month old took a week long trip up to western New York.  The flight was only about 2 1/2 hours but overall travel time was about 6 hours.  I wanted to share my experience of traveling with a baby, and the hacks, tips and tricks that I found really worked well, as well as the tips that I didn’t find useful!!!  Hopefully this will help other first time traveling parents.

My number 1 concern with airport travel is always the germs, even just by myself as an adult I get the heebie jeebies at the airport.  So, traveling with my little one I knew I needed to plan ahead with some germ fighting tools.  We loved the PlaneAire air spray and Sono wipes so we could clean a seat, travel tray, window, arm rest, changing table or anything she was going to be near, and inevitably touch.  At this age she touches everything and then those fingers go in her mouth!

For a long flight or car ride we used an overnight diaper AND oversize diaper cover or pull-ups over your diaper that way your outfit doesn’t get ruined if you have a blowout!  We also added blowout blockers just in case!

To avoid having to deal with a baby pooping on the plane, I over-fed our baby about four hours prior to the flight to try and guarantee a bowel movement before boarding.  I nursed her, gave her a bottle and some sweet potatoes, and sure enough we had a nice big surprise about an hour before the flight!  The timing was perfect and most airports have a family bathroom so Mom and Dad can work together to change a wiggly baby.

Food Hack: use the baby food pouches!!! They are amazing on the go and safe and clean in your carseat or lap, as opposed to baby food in jars with spoons. No mess!!  In addition, you don’t have to pack any jars or questionable containers that can get squished and break, leaving a mess.  We loved Plum Organics!

The Easyseat travel seat works like a charm. There are many different brands under $35, and I think the design is so simple you really can’t go wrong with any of them.   They simply slip over the back of almost any chair. And as extra protection I slip a PP pad under the babies bottom as well.  You must protect those seat cushions at those Air BnBs when you have a deposit LOL!

For non crawling infants, use your luggage as a baby bed! I brought a soft duffle bag in my luggage to throw my clothes in when I arrived so the luggage was empty and ready to be a baby bed!!

Spend a week getting your baby used to cold or cooler bottles so that you can make bottles on the go with room temperature or bottled water from the store.  TSA will let you bring unopened water bottles through security if you have an infant they just run it through a tester, and you need to let them know ahead of time you’re carrying water.  It makes it so simple if you Pre-make two or three bottles for flights or long car rides by preparing the formula scoops in each bottle, then all you have to do is add the room temperature bottled water.

Use puppy P pads for everything! From changing stations, car seats,  play pads on unknown floors, etc..

Use Binky clip-on straps for all of your babies favorite toys so that they don’t get thrown on the floor of bathrooms, airports, taxis, etc.

Always pack gripe water, we prefer mommy’s bliss, it has many uses, it combats any upset stomach, hiccups or other simple ailments, and the nighttime version is great for pre-nap while traveling!

The best Tip I saw before this trip was to pre-make bathroom kits.  This was so simple and helpful, and made it so you don’t need to carry your diaper bag into a restroom or small airplane lavatory.  Our kits were a gallon size ziplock (to save soiled clothes in if needed), wipes, diapers, changing pad or pee pad and a spare outfit.  See my package below.  When going for a change just grab a ziplock instead of your whole bag.

As far as tricks and tips that I didn’t find useful, there were really only a few.  We had purchased the baby headband ear phones, and she seemed to be OK with them, but in reality when on the plane they were too complex.  The cord getting tangled, the baby trying to touch the screen, and now just recently trying to pull off the earphones.  I think they will be great for an older kid who understands how to watch a show probably, but at the baby stage I think it was just too much.

 

As for packing for the trip…I WAY WAY WAY over-packed!  I brought jammies and onesies for every day, plus cute outfits and swim suits and blah blah blah.  We really only needed about 5 days of clothes at a time, so if you are staying with family or at an AirBnb you should have a washing machine available and be able to get away with packing much less than you think.  I also only packed diapers, wipes and food for the plane ride and then went to the Target closest to the airport once we landed to stock up on those universal items you can buy anywhere.  Much more room in the luggage for all my dressy clothes and shoes that I never wore on the trip 🙂

All in all, traveling with a baby is not so bad, as long as you plan ahead and bring the key items.  We had a blast and are looking forward to our next trip which will include 6 hour flights and a month on the West Coast!