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Top Tips for Flying With A Baby
Saturday, July 01 2017 12:51:00 PMTop Tips For Flying With A Baby
Brought to you by CoziGo – Sleep on the Go
Preparing for a holiday is stressful at the best of times, but when you’ve got small children or babies, it becomes all that much harder. Don’t be put off – too many families forgo the opportunity to holiday because they think it’s too hard, but you may be missing out on some of the best life memories that can be cherished forever. Life is too short….Don’t fear flying with a baby - with the right planning and preparation, you can remove the stress and enjoy special family times with your precious bundle.
To encourage you to take the plunge, we’ve put together our top 10 tips for a smooth holiday with little ones.
- 1 Research your airline – all airlines are not created equally when it comes to flying with a baby, some really do go that extra mile! Check out their offerings with regard to the size of their baby bassinets and maximum weight of the baby that can go inside it, whether they offer specially designed children’s meals, activities for the kids and extra help whilst you need another set of hands. Some allow free infant checked in baggage allowance, child head sets and free stroller use on arrival whilst at their hub – it’s worth doing thorough research before booking your flights.
- 2 Consider the time of the day the flight leaves – try and book a flight (if you can) for when your child would normally sleep. Perhaps an evening departure would work best for your baby? Or if they’re great day sleepers, then a day flight might suit them better.
- 3 Give thought to how you’ll carry your baby and your hand luggage – by having bub in a baby carrier, and a backpack with your flight essentials, you’ll have two free hands to navigate security, manage older kids, and look after passports/boarding passes etc.
- 4 Be prepared for take off and landing by offering baby the breast, a bottle or a dummy.
The change in air pressure can affect their little ears at these times and sucking will alleviate any pain. - 5 When booking your airline tickets, make sure you book a baby bassinet (bed provided by the airline at the bulkhead of the aircraft) – this leaves baby to sleep while you can look after older kids, or catch up on a movie yourself. Be sure to pack a CoziGo Sleep Cover. This nifty device is a dome-shape pop up cover the clips to the bassinet, blocks light and all the crazy distractions on the plane and allows baby to sleep on their normal routine. It also doubles as a universal stroller cover once you begin your holiday so you can keep your baby on routine throughout the trip.
- 6 Pack spare clothes for baby and kids, but remember to pack a spare top for you too – accidents happen! (My 9 month old managed to smack a full glass of RED wine all over me on an 18 hour flight. I have ten changes of clothes for her, but had omitted to pack one for me…. I smelt lovely!)
- 7 Create Nappy Packs – Rather than lugging a big nappy bag into the very small cubicle toilet every time a change is needed, I packed 10 nappy bags – each on containing one nappy and a few wipes. That way, when you need to change baby on board, you can quickly grab a pre-prepared bag of essentials.
- 8 Consider packing a small bag with your essentials for the flight that you can keep at your feet (nappies, wipes, toys, snacks etc). If the seat belt sign is on, you have everything you need within reach. Take baby Panadol in your hand luggage. Have some pawpaw on hand for dry lips and nose, the air conditioning often smashes them.
- 9 If you use lullabies to get bub to sleep, make sure you download them on to your phone so you can play them on the plane.
- 10 Planes can get very cold – dress yourself and baby in layers that can be easily added to and removed.
- 11 Take some comfort items for baby – toys that he/she is already familiar with, their sleeping bag, a blanket, and don’t forget their comforter. This way, they still have all their regular sleep cues at bedtime. And pack something new for baby so you can delight them with a little toy they’ve never seen before. I took those rings that link together on the plane - Aimee would play with them for ages.
Above all, try not to worry about flying with a baby – be as prepared as you can be, work off baby’s cues for feed/sleep/play, and remember that you’re doing all you can to keep baby happy on board. More more travel tips, check out our Travel Advice For Flying With a Babypage.
You got this – now go and make some memories!
