How to fly with a baby on an airplane

Traveling brings out the best in me. My husband and I share a love of discovering new places and it was clear when our son was born two years ago that we decided to continue this journey – this time with little feet.

While we sometimes miss the improvisation in our travel plans, chasing our toddler in some of the weirdest places in the world is our new hobby.

But traveling with a baby is not as difficult as you might think. No, I’m not lying. I can feel the anxiety as you visit this page, looking for tips for a peaceful travel. But believe me, eight countries, 15 cities and 26 flights later, our two-year-old is a travel pro.

I often find myself comparing traveling with a baby to a rocket launch in terms of final preparation, technique, and journey. One wrong move can leave you with an unhappy child and exhausted parents. But if you get it right, it’s a beautiful and stress-free journey.

The key is to plan ahead, make checklists and work in groups (if traveling with a partner) or ask for help from passengers and airline staff when traveling alone. Let’s go through these steps.

The world can be your oyster but when choosing a place, you must take into account the little person who is with you. While Prague’s cobbled streets look great for a scenic hike to the top of the castle, they’re not quite ideal for pushing strollers.

Beach resorts are my must go places when traveling with my little ones. There’s sun, sand, water, and enough activities to keep the kid engaged—and some respite for you to put your feet up and enjoy a drink. City break is also good. However, it also depends on the age of the baby.

For example, when our son was four months old, we decided to be a little brave and travel to India and then to the Maldives with him. After a series of long flights from London – with some connecting flights – we made it through and for the most part our stay in the Maldives was comfortable as he was less mobile at the time.

A few months later, we were at the Costa Brava in Spain and spent most of our vacation trying to secure our hotel room; At that time, baby Aditya, our son, was crawling everywhere. A year later, at the beautiful Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, we find ourselves even more tired of chasing our hyperactive kid on the beach.

Here’s a tip: Make the most of them while they’re young and mobile. While it may seem daunting to travel with a baby, it will preserve your energy for years and years of active holidays to come.

Now that you’ve decided on a location, the next step is to book your flight tickets. Now, this is a difficult one. Before we had kids, we booked the cheapest flight available, no matter how inconvenient the timing. I remember flying into Helsinki at 4am on Saturday because we had a £20 ($26) round-trip deal with Ryanair. No checked baggage, no worries about boarding first, and absolutely no worries until landing.

But life is not that simple anymore. Night flights are our new favorite as our baby sleeps on most long haul journeys. The key to booking a plane ticket is knowing your baby’s schedule. For shorter journeys, afternoon flights are often a good option if your child takes a nap after lunch.

For example, on our way back from India last week, our only option was a day flight. Our hyperactive two-year-old only slept for 1.5 hours during the nine-hour journey. The rest of the journey is spent reading, some movie time, and walking up and down the aisle. He had a great time and got everyone’s attention and smiles during the flight, but we (the parents) promised to never travel again when we got off the plane (just plan another vacation soon).

Some more tips for air travel:

• Plan ahead and reserve your seat so you can get a bassinet seat if traveling with young children or an aisle seat if traveling with a toddler.
• Pre-order a meal for your child to relieve the pressure of bringing too much food.
• Check all luggage so you only have one stroller and one carry-on luggage for the baby.
• Some air travel accessories are quite useful, such as an inflatable pillow that you can clip between yourself and the seat in front of you. Check with your airline first as some airlines do not allow these devices on board.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance from the airline crew or other passengers.

Traveling with a baby can be a nightmare when it comes to packing. While you want to travel light, a part of you wants to carry every piece of clothing and accessory your baby owns. “Oh, what if it starts to snow in the Maldives?” and “I’m sure my kids will need sunglasses in rainy and overcast Paris.”

Please accept it. Our parents can sometimes go completely overboard, and that’s why it’s important to be smart about it. Create a checklist – or even better, a Google document – and share it with your partner; then keep updating it from time to time. Very quickly, it will make the cumbersome packing job a lot easier.

Here is a rough run of the first checklist we created for our India and Maldives trip.

You’ve planned, packed, and ready for the final launch. Here’s a tip – stay calm. Little humans tend to relieve our stress, so try to relax (even though you may be feeling very anxious inside).

The preparations for me started the night before. My partner and I made sure all three of us had a good night’s sleep. To try to do this, we finish packing first, put our son to bed by 8pm, watch Netflix, and then go to bed early so we’re ready and fresh to enter the world in the morning. after.

On the day of travel, we divided our field of work. My partner took care of the logistics and luggage, helping us through tedious tasks like check-in and security, while I made sure our son was engaged and ready to go.

This means talking to him about flying and keeping him on a level of excitement so he stays awake until we get on the plane. Always look for ancestry at check-in, as well as at immigration and security. Don’t be afraid to ask airport officials if you need assistance.

Here are some tips on how to beat travel day stress:

• Arrive at the airport with enough time to check in with ease.
• Eat a little before boarding because you may not get a chance to eat when meals are served.
• Bring lots of things to keep your baby engaged during the flight, such as snacks, books, an iPad with some downloaded favorite shows, art books, and crayons. Sometimes I also bring a new book or a wrapped toy to keep my little one interested and a little busy.
• Bring any comforting items your baby loves. In our case, we put on our child’s pillow, and it helps him fall asleep.
• Make friends with your other passengers. Although controversial, we sometimes carry tiny bags for passengers around with a small note: “Dear friend, I am friendly but can be a little cranky at times, especially when my parents tried to put me to bed. Here are some earplugs and some candy to have a comfortable journey. Love, Aditya.” We made some good friends this way.
• Feed your baby during takeoff and landing.
• Tag groups when meals and drinks are being served.
• Sleep when the baby sleeps. You can turn on your headphones and watch a movie while your baby sleeps, but you have a long day ahead of you and it’s important to rest.

And finally, look forward to the upcoming holiday. Remember that the flight will end at some point, so make the most of what you have and enjoy the journey with your little one.