Start your trip off on the right foot by arriving at the airport early! This will give you extra time so that you can board the plane feeling calm and collected instead of rushed and anxious! Bringing a travel stroller and considering a travel car seat are both great ideas when flying with babies or young children. Car seats provide a safe, familiar, and sanitary place for your child to sit and sleep during the flight, making the experience much more enjoyable for you both. You will likely need a car seat if you are driving when you reach your destination anyway.
Is it better to fly during nap time or take a red eye? A child sleeping through the flight is of course, the best-case scenario. Flying around nap time is a good bet for babies under 6 months who are not yet mobile, since the white noise from the jet engines and mild turbulence does a pretty good job at putting baby to sleep. However, this strategy could potentially backfire on more active toddlers who fight sleep. The "ideal" flight time will ultimately depend on your child's sleep habits, temperament, and your own anxiety level. You should consider whether your child usually falls asleep in the car, regularly sleeps through the night, or goes down for naps easily. Also, consider your own energy level and motivation to do an overnight flight. The only way to know is to try.
Organize your carry-on essentials with separate ziploc bags. Avoid the annoyance of having to constantly dig around in your bag during the flight by organizing your essentials into separate gallon ziploc bags according to how you will use them. This way, you can just grab the bag you need without having to search through everything. You can, for example, keep all the diapering necessities in a single bag, so you can just grab it and go to the bathroom. You should group together formula, milk, and baby food in a ziploc for security screening. Have one bag for all the snacks and another bag for all the toys.
If you are flying with an older toddler or preschooler, it may be helpful to pack them a little backpack with their own most-reached-for items (water bottle, snacks, toys, jacket). This can be especially helpful if you are traveling with multiple children, as it can help prevent the stress of having to keep track of everyone’s stuff. To reduce the amount you must carry, try to babywear, checking in your luggage, and using a backpack for your carry-ons.
Walk your little one around and give them a drink of water before boarding the plane. Any extra time before boarding should be used to fill up water bottles and make sure your baby or toddler starts the journey with a clean diaper! It has worked well for our family to divide and conquer during boarding by staggering boarding and splitting up the responsibilities. Once you are on the plane, set up your essentials within reach. There’s nothing more annoying than having to reach for a bag stowed underneath the seat every time you need anything for the kids. So, when you settle into your seat, make sure you have a few essentials within arm's reach and make good use of the seat front pocket.
Feed during takeoff and landing. Sucking and chewing helps little ones to avoid ear pain caused by the change in air pressure so be prepared to give a bottle, nurse, or offer a pacifier during takeoff and landing. For a toddler, a water bottle, snack, or applesauce pouch works great too! Snacks, activities, screens, and repeat!
For snacks, bring a lot and minimize sugar. Some great options are pita chips & hummus, fresh fruit & veggies, dried fruits, goldfish, cheese sticks, and cheerios. For toys and activities, choose things that are compact and flat like a mini etch-a-sketch, LOTS of stickers, pop-its, crayons etc. For a baby, almost anything in your purse or on the plane can be turned into a distraction— empty wrappers, keys, empty cups, a napkin— so keep it simple! We pre-load our laptop with games and movies. You could also add a comfortable pair of child-sized headphones. Between the snacks, toys, and screens, don’t forget about rest. Watch for sleepy cues and try to wind down the activities before your child is overstimulated or overtired. Try switching to calm music or white noise on the headphones, put a blanket on them or a breathable car seat cover if they're little enough or even pretend to sleep yourself to encourage your child to get some sleep.
Most importantly, a calm mindset and patience makes all the difference! So many things are out of your control when flying with kids— how your children will behave, flight delays, long lines, and the reaction of passengers around you; ultimately, the one thing that you can control is your own mindset and attitude. You set the tone of your trip and sometimes, despite your best efforts, some things will not go well. In those moments, staying calm and taking deep breaths can help a lot and often your attitude will rub off on your children. So, just do your best to prepare your children AND yourself. With a little luck and prayers, hopefully the next time you get on a plane with your little ones, it will be an even better experience.
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