By no means am I an expert at traveling with a little one but we have 8 flights under our belt so I am going to share what works for us in hopes that it might help someone who is preparing to fly with a baby in the near future!
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The first time Vivi flew she was 6 months and the second time she was 10 months. I think every age has it's challenges but overall I think 10 months was a little easier. I was terrified that since she was on the verge of walking that she would be squirming to get down and walk the entire time but thankfully she didn't!
5 tips for flying with a baby:
1. First and foremost, be prepared with your "big guns". Stock up on surprises and treats and decide before the flight the order in which you will pull things out and use as your "big guns" if things are going to hell. We always buy a few new small toys like this toy smart phone, these toy keys, and this mini piano toy. We always bring plenty of snacks and endless puffs and yogurt melts. My child doesn't really watch tv yet but she is obsessed with this youtube video. When the toys and snacks weren't cutting it, we whipped out the iPad and paid $5 for internet and got about 20 minutes of silence out of this video. The best $5 ever spent. And when ALL else fails, you give your 10 month old a dum dum (guilty).
2. Pack bags inside of bags. I always make sure my carry-on is super organized with separate small bags for pacis, snacks, diapers/wipes, etc. It is so much easier to have things separated than scrambling through your bag and trying to find what you're looking for while your child is screaming.
3. Give a bottle right at takeoff. It has always worked out pretty well for us that takeoff is around the time that she usually eats so right when we start rolling down the tarmac it's bottle time. This 1) helps their ears as you ascend and 2) will hopefully make your little one sleepy. Thankfully Vivi has fallen asleep after her bottle on almost every flight. Sometimes for only 30 minutes or so but anything is better than nothing.
3. Give a bottle right at takeoff. It has always worked out pretty well for us that takeoff is around the time that she usually eats so right when we start rolling down the tarmac it's bottle time. This 1) helps their ears as you ascend and 2) will hopefully make your little one sleepy. Thankfully Vivi has fallen asleep after her bottle on almost every flight. Sometimes for only 30 minutes or so but anything is better than nothing.
4. If you have to bring a carseat for your destination, check it at the desk when you check in. We bought this carseat travel bag to protect our carseat then checked it before the flight so it was one less thing we had to worry about and haul through the airport. All baby things you check are free, including carseat, stroller, etc. We usually like to have our stroller for the airport but then we check that at the gate and pick it up right outside the plane after we land. I would be cautious about checking a nice stroller because it will get beat up.
5. Realize your child crying and acting a fool bothers you much more than it bothers anyone else. For the most part, everyone is usually very friendly and understanding as long as you are doing your best to console your child. On our last flight the gate wasn't ready for us so we sat on the runway for about 30 minutes after a 3 hour flight. It was 9pm and Vivi was losing her mind. The ladies in front of us were so sweet and played peek-a-boo with her and tried to help console her. Remember: you will never see these people again!
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