How we survived (and sort of enjoyed) flying with our baby

When I have an upcoming trip, I usually feel excited and giddy. I rarely felt stressed or anxious about traveling. And then I had Baby.

We conquered road-trips by the time Baby was 2 months old (read more about it here) and by the time he was three months old last December, we took his first cross-country flight to spend two weeks in Florida. That's where a bulk of our family and friends live, and that way everyone could meet our little pride and joy.

I was excited for the trip, but between post-partum recovery, hormones, sleep deprivation and all the new-mom feels, I wasn't 100% sold on the idea. I had vivid images of a screaming baby, angry onlookers, diaper blowouts, all the germs. You name it, I worried about it.

So I did what new moms do - I read a lot of blog posts on tips for flying with a baby. There were some horror stories, some unrealistically perfect ones. Now I'm excited to share my own experience and what worked for us at that point in our lives.

Three themes seemed to be key for flying with a baby (and going through life):

1. A good attitude
2. Being prepared
3. Luck, karma, divine intervention

Luckily someone was in a great mood most of the time

Some elements of travel are completely out of our control: snowstorms, misplaced bags, faulty A/C. So let's focus on things we CAN control. Here are the things I learned that made our travels easier.

1. LESS IS MORE

It's like you're going backpacking or hiking - be mindful of what you bring because guess who will have to lug it all over the place? You. Wearing the little one in a baby carrier is a huge help, however, since it keeps your precious little cargo safe and comfortable. Then there's the diaper bag with the usual (no more, no less than the regular items- extra diapers, an extra outfit, etc.) We also had our grown-up carry on, a snack bag and the giant carseat bag. Phew.

2.  GIVE YOURSELF PLENTY OF TIME

I mean more time than your usual extra time. That was the most stressful part of the trip, honestly. We added extra time since it was mid-December, but it still was almost not enough, even using the "family" security lines and curbside baggage checking. To give you an idea, we gate-checked the carseat and had to take apart the whole bag to go through security, which was just delightful.

3. CAR SEAT SHENANIGANS

There's no way around it, you need a car seat. The question is whether to bring your own, rent, or buy a new one at your destination. Because we knew we'd be driving a lot in Florida, we decided to take our trusty one. Checking the darn thing is the least advised since there are horror stories about them being manhandled and ruined without parents even knowing. Our car seat was on the pricier side, so we bought a car seat travel bag {affiliate} and gate-checked it. Aside from lugging the bulky thing through the airport, we felt good about our choice. Onboard, dad and his strong Popeye arms held Max most of the time, since I was nervous about any potential turbulence. There was none, thankfully.

4. DIAPER DUTY 

We obviously wanted to avoid it but had to change a couple of diapers mid air. The changing area was actually bigger than we expected and the flight attendants were kind enough to provide us with an extra trash bag for Baby's stinky gifts. No blowouts, but that's because we cloth diaper. (More on that later!)

5. BABY'S GOTTA EAT

Baby was exclusively breastfed at the time, which made meal time and comforting a lot easier (and thankfully we didn't have to deal with any breastfeeding-interference issues). To avoid earaches for the little one, we learned that nursing, giving a bottle or using a pacifier upon ascending and descending helps a lot. By the way, here are updated TSA guidelines for pumping and transporting breastmilk while traveling.

We were utterly exhausted by the time we arrived at our destination and back home, but the first flying experience with our son was not at all bad (which seems to be the common response of parents after they flew with a tiny baby for the first time). Everyone always mentions that it gets harder as babies grow older, more mobile and inquisitive, and I can already tell that's true.

What are your tips for air travel?

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link, which means if you decide to make a purchase through my link, Amazon will pay me a small commission for it. This doesn’t cost you anything additional. These commissions help support this blog, so thank you!