Things may not always go smoothly when flying with babies and toddlers, but with a few tricks and tools we can make flying with kids a little easier for ourselves and get to the end of the flight relatively unscathed.
Before you fly:
As with most things, preparation is key! Make sure to give yourself enough time to pack, have all your documents in the one place – there are handy apps for this too – and organise your transport to the airport in advance. Then you can be a little calmer on the day – and being calm is so important when you’re flying with kids. Using Uber to get to the airport is super handy and you can take your own car seat too.
Here’s the flying with kids life savers that have worked for me in the past. Good luck!
Breast or bottle feed on take-off and landing.
This is so important to pop their ears. Don’t start too early though, be sure to wait til you’re moving down the runway or have properly started descent. The sucking motion will help baby’s ears from becoming blocked and painful. As your child gets older you can give them a bottle of water or milk, I am a bit naughty and now give Emmie lollies to chew on as we go up and down.
Take your baby’s bottle on board.
The flight attendants will happily warm you some milk or water for formula during the flight. You can often take toddlers’ water bottles through customs – I have never been asked to tip out my child’s water, although in America they have tested it. It is a bit risky though so if you have a nice drink bottle best to keep it empty in case you do lose it – or you can simply drink all the water and take it through empty.
Pre-book the bassinet
Contact your airline as soon as you book your seats to ensure you have a basinet seat. Some allocate these seats a certain time out from the flight so know exactly when you should make contact to reserve and confirm the basinet. If you cannot get the basinet you will need to hold your baby for the flight – and the airlines have seat belts that attach to you to keep baby safe. It can just be very tedious holding them the whole time on long haul. Basinets are also so helpful with babies sleeping – the noise of the plane and the movement can help them snooze for hours and hours.
Pack your own food.
As Emmie grew older and moved onto solid foods I always packed a lunchbox with things like carrot sticks, vegemite sandwiches, sausages, fruit and biscuits. I carry it in a small soft esky bag with ice packs in it to keep it cool – plus the plane bus usually cold and that helps too. That way I have healthy snacks on hand and don’t have to rely on meal service.
Order your child’s meals pre-flight.
Make sure to order a children’s meals before you fly. I haven’t ever found one that’s great, hence taking my own food on board, but some items like the yoghurts are good to keep for snacks.
Take wrapped toys for distraction.
My favourite trick is buying lots of inexpensive small toys and wrapping them up with a reasonable amount of sticky tape. Pull them out and surprise your children when distraction and entertainment is needed. If you wrap them well enough, just the undoing will take ages and give you a nice break.
Pack a mini torch/flashlight – or use your phone.
Most necessary for hunting for toys and dummies on the floor of the aircraft…you will thank me when the flight attendant is getting annoyed at having to get on his hands and knees for the fifth dummy hunt of the night.
Take the toys your child loves.
When Emmie was obsessed with playdoh I took playdoh, when it was In the Night Garden figurines, they came along with us too. Sure you may end up pulling off the Mickey Mouse stickers that cover the arm of the seat but if it keeps them happy then it’s worth it tenfold.
Take a little medical/toiletries kit.
Separate out from your travel medical kit what you may need on the flight and bring it along including panadol and nurofen, change mat and baby wipes. Personally I have never used any medicine to help Emily sleep, I just couldn’t forgive myself if anything happened and I had given her medicine just to sedate her, bur I know many people do so I guess whatever works for you.
Change of clothes.
Always take a change of clothes for the baby/toddler and for you. I have been pooed on and spewed on and of course it’s so much easier to manage with a change of clothes in your bag!
Toddlers own bag.
Emily has had her own carry on bag since she was two. That’s the easiest place to pack everything you need for them without having to rummage around in your handbag or carry-on. They also love pulling bags along – we have a Pack’d Dot to Dotty bag and it’s survived three years of travel duty.
Traveling with a car seat
Some mums love to travel with a car seat for the baby to sleep and in during the flight and for taxis and hire cars at the destination. Find out all about traveling with a car seat here. You canals read about how to travel with a baby for a comprehensive guide on all things baby travel! And if you have any questions please email me – happy to help.