Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Flying with a Kiddo

Two weeks ago I took Kenley to Colorado for my grandma's 80th birthday. This trip marked Kenley's first time on an airplane and marked my frist time flying with a baby. You should know that I am a very nervous flyer. I haven't always been, in fact up until a couple of years ago I absolutely loved to fly and would actually laugh during turbulence. Now when I feel a bump I am certain I will be crashing to my death. Irrational and ridiculous? YES.
To say that I was nervous and stressed out about this flight would be a HUGE understatement! Before leaving for this trip I had a million questions running through my head in regards to surviving the flight and making traveling with a baby as easy as humanly possible.

How much earlier than usual do you recommend getting to the airport?
What should I carry on?
What baby gear do I need to bring?
How do we make sure Kenley's not "that baby"? 

After surviving two flights with a 10-month-old (who was an absolute perfect angel on both flights BTW), I have some tips and tricks that worked for us.
  1. Research the airline's baby / small child policies ahead of time. Each airlines does it a little different so be sure to double check what the rules & regulations are. We flew Southwest and they were INCREDIBLE. They allow you to check a car seat & stroller FOR FREE along with TWO bags. So I was able to bring our suitcase, pack n play, car seat and stroller for $0.00! I was required to bring a copy of Kenley's birth certificate to prove she was under 2 years old, but that was it.  
  2. If you can afford it, get your baby their own seat! Unfortunately this was not in our budget, BUT we were lucky enough to have a spare seat next to us on the way there and it was amazing! Kenley was able to have her own space to move around and play and it made the flight so much easier. 
  3. Bring snacks, lots and lots of snacks. I don't know if this is true for every kid but NOTHING keeps Kenley's attention longer than food. I brought two bottles (one for take off and one for landing) along with a bunch of little finger snacks and a squeezie bag of apple sauce. 
  4. Pack only what you need for the flight. I brought a couple of diapers and food in our carry on for the flight and bought everything else once we landed. It was so much easier than trying to squeeze a ton of baby stuff into our suitcase. 
  5. Bring a new toy. I grabbed a couple of new toys before the trip and didn't let Kenley see them until we got on the plane. I don't know about your kid, but mine is entertained significantly more by something she's never seen. 
  6. When in doubt, turn to Mickey Mouse. Kenley is OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse, like screeches with glee when she sees him obsessed, so I made sure to have a bunch of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse shows downloaded to the iPad along with some new Mickey books for us to read.
  7. Try and be calm. This one was FOR SURE the hardest for me. But as with anything else, if you're calm your baby is calm. Kids cry. Kids throw fits. A plane is no exception. No one wants to be the lady with the screaming kid, but you can't help it. Just do what you can and try not to worry about everyone else.  

Do those of you who have flown with your babies have anything to add? 

Link up every Tuesday!


13 comments:

Kristen said...

I love you. I'm going to email you about so much stuff! I plan in flying with Ellie in the Spring by myself and I was so worried about how I would do it! Great post!

Bridget said...

Great post. I think Turner's first flight will be right after he turns a year old. It will be interesting but I'll have the hubby with me! Kuddos for you doing it solo! Glad to hear it all went well!!!

Jess Beer said...

Sounds like she did great! Great tips, and helpful for other travel too!

K said...

I always feel for the people who are travelling with small kids. I always try to do my best to help them if they need, or to make silly faces at the kid if they are looking at me. Anything to make it a little easier for them. I know it isn't an easy task! I just hope that someone does that for me if/when I'm ever flying with a small child!

Ruthie Hart said...

Eek we are flying with ford tomorrow!!!

Erin LFF said...

I'm so glad to hear how well she did!! And that you guys lucked out with an empty seat next to you! My question is are there any regulations on the food you can bring for kids?? I wasn't sure what TSA/airline rules were for that!

MIL said...

Excellent post, helpful info and good job, my darling DIL!

Jessica said...

Awesome tips!!

Unknown said...

Great list ! and lucky you about the spare seat for your little one !!

Morgan said...

Thanks for the awesome tips. I fly all the time and had NO IDEA that Southwest was that awesome about baby items. Another plus for SWA!!!

Katie @ yellowmangolife.blogspot.com said...

Great flying recap! We have only flown once with our little guy and I did it alone back when he was 11 months. Fortunately he did really really well, I was just the one who was a mess - worried about him being too loud, making sure I timed feedings accordingly, etc. And then he went and was all good and stuff! :)

Thanks for sharing!

P!nky said...

I have irrational fear of flying too.

Great job mama!

Caroline said...

You are one brave momma!