This past week I booked a trip to Austin in April….and I’m flying solo with a three year old and nine month old lap baby. While I am definitely nervous, I’m excited for the challenge. C will be working an insane amount of hours that month, so I’m leaving town with the kids and we are headed to my parents house – where there is warm weather, several swimming pools to choose from, and my mom who makes a mean catalytic margarita.
I’ve flew alone with A twice when he was a baby, and I flew with G to Austin by myself back in the fall. We took A on almost 30 flights before he was 18 months old. Several of those were international. G is about to go on her eighth flight later this month. All this to say that flying with kids is not something that’s new to me.
Here are my 10 tips for flying with kids (solo or with a partner). There are the obvious tips like wear your baby in a carrier, gate check your stroller, and bring a lot of snacks for toddlers. But these are additional things that I’ve learned from experience and trial and error. I hope they help you in your future travels.
1. Have a plan!
Before every trip I take with kids, I write out in my notes app a rough schedule for the travel day and factor in any time change that will happen. I find that having an idea in my head of how the day will play out ahead of time is very helpful. It reminds me when naps are estimated to happen and a timeframe for meals/snacks since the normal routine is usually off that day. I check this schedule frequently throughout the day on my phone to see where we are at with the schedule and how things might have changed (flight delays, skipped naps, early mealtimes, etc.). I update the schedule as the day progresses and things shift.
2. Board Last
C will board when they call for families. I wait back with A and G while C get’s everything settled and sanitized on the plane. Then, once everyone else is on the plane, I board with the kids. We are the very last people to get on the plane. We sit down and the plane backs up and takes off.
When I’m flying solo I do not this. We have the very last row on this upcoming trip to Austin and we will need time to get settled. So we will be boarding when they call for families.
3. Blowout Preparedness
For some reason, on almost every flight as a baby, our children have a blowout. It was obvious to to me to bring an additional change of baby clothes, but what I was not prepared for was to have a bag to put the dirty clothes in. I always ended up rolling the clothes up and shoving them in a pock in my backpack. Gross. Now, I like to bring these reusable zip bags to put any dirty burp cloth, clothes, toys etc. in until we get to our destination where I can then sanitize everything.
4. Drink Your Coffee Before Boarding
This is a funny tip, but it actually took me a few flights to learn to do this. When traveling with kiddos, gone are the days of buying your iced coffee and casually strolling onto the plane while continuing to sip your beverage. I buy my coffee right after going through security, drink the entire thing while walking through the airport, and then board the plane.
5. Zip Up Onesies
With babies, I make sure they are in a footed zip up onesie when we fly. A travel day is not a day I’m wanting to deal with buttons or snaps. Easy on and off clothes can make a world of difference. I also avoid any shoes or socks so we don’t accidentally lose one in transit.
6. Change Of Clothes… for you!
Babies are so messy. There is spit up to contend with, and drool, and wearing a baby is a lot of work so I usually work up a sweat. It’s so nice to land at your destination airport and run into the bathroom to put on a fresh shirt. I usually have my deodorant with me as well.
7. Dealing With Comments
90% of the time when we fly with our kids everything goes fine. There is minimal crying and everyone around us is happy. But, flying as much as we have with our kids, it was inevitable that at some point there would be a particular fussy flight and with that would come an unsolicited comment from a stranger who was not happy about my crying baby. This happened on a trip home from Vancouver, B.C. when A was six months old. He was not hungry, but he was absolutely exhausted and fighting sleep. I was a new mom and it really threw me when I got a tap on my shoulder from the woman behind me who suggested that perhaps I try feeding my baby so he would stop crying. The entire rest of the day I had a range of emotions that were mad, embarrassed, angry, and frustrated.
Almost three years later, I now have a plan in my head of how to handle these comments if they come my way. I simply look at the well-meaning stranger, give them a huge smile, and say “I’m so sorry my baby is crying, I am trying my best to calm them down. Thank you for being patient.” These comments always seem to come out of nowhere from people, and so knowing in advance what I’ll do or how I’ll handle the situation helps me stay calm instead of getting flustered.
8. Buy Diapers At Your Destination
I repeat: buy diapers at your destination! I pack more than enough for our day of travel, and then the first thing we do upon arrival is stop and buy diapers. If we are visiting family, I will order a box of diapers and have them delivered before we arrive. If there are any leftover diapers when we are heading home, I’ll pack them in our suitcase.
9. Keep Track Of Your Bags!
True story: on a trip last year, we had so many carry ons (six total between all of us!) and baby gear, and a stroller….we actually left our Guava Travel Crib at the gate! It is now C’s job to constantly be counting our bags when we move from one area to another in the airport. There is so much going on when traveling with kids, it’s easy to forget things. Thankfully some kind soul found our travel crib and it was turned in to the airline. We were able to pick up when we got back. It definitely caused unnecessary stress, though.
10. It Is Temporary!
My last tip is a quote from one of my favorite websites. It’s from one of her readers, and it resonates with me so deeply that it needs to be included in this list:
“I used to pore over websites searching for the magical advice that makes children act like adults on a forty hour door-to-door journey. Bring play-doh! Wrap little gifts and unwrap them one by one. All of this is complete crap advice. There will be good moments where your baby happily sleeps in the airplane bassinet while you enjoy a glass of wine and watch and Oscar-nominated movie. And there will be bad moments when your child vomits all over your before takeoff and the flight attendant says you can’t go to the bathroom. My best advice to travelers traveling with babies or toddlers: IT’S TEMPORARY. YOU WILL GET THERE. Enjoy the flight!”
Safe travels! You got this!
