Helpful tips you need for your baby’s first flight

When it comes to traveling flying is the way to go. When Maverick was 4 months we traveled up north for a wedding. Our choices were to either take the 10 hour drive.... which would probably end up turning into a 20 hour drive with a baby. Or we could fly! We made the commitment to fly, but as a new mom I knew nothing! I was so used to packing for myself, and just taking off, but now we had to plan. We needed a rental car, stroller, car seat, baby toys, diapers, and so much more. There is so much extra stuff needed when you are traveling with a little one. I am going to make this easy for you and share everything we learned on our first trip with Maverick. Keep in mind we flew with southwest so other airlines may require other specifics that are not noted below

Booking:

When we booked our flights through southwest, we had to call the airline and actually let them know we were traveling with a baby. We did not book him his own seat, he sat on my lap. Since there is no way to book a “lap seat” and everyone needs a ticket, we just called the airline and they booked Mavericks ticket for us. The best part is children under 2 travel free, if they are sitting on your lap. Since baby does not have an ID make sure to print a copy of your littles ones birth certificate.

At the airport: 

I carried him in a carrier, I felt it made things easier rather than pushing a stroller through a busy airport. We have the lille baby carrier, it was a lifesaver. I love this carrier because the baby can be carried 6 different ways. I also love that it has lumbar support, it makes carrying him for longer periods of time more manageable.  When you go through security you are allowed to walk through with your carrier. They will just pull you aside and wipe your hands with a special paper to make sure you don’t have any traces of explosives. Make sure to print a copy of the baby’s birth certificate. Most airlines will need proof of the babies age, and to verify that the ticket matches the birth certificate.  

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The car seat:  

We wanted to travel with our car seat. Rental car places will loan you a car seat for an additional price, but since our babe was young we knew for sure he liked his car seat so we decided to travel with it. We have the britax car seat that we traveled with. I like this car seat because it was compact and we didn’t need to bring the base. We also bought a travel bag for it to protect it. We ended up buying the Britax car seat cover and we love it. It was pretty sturdy and help up well. It has wheels so it was easy to wheel through the airport. If you prefer to carry it, the bag has straps on it as well.  We traveled with southwest and this airline allows a car seats to be checked on for free.

The stroller:  

Strollers are also a free carry on item. They can be checked in where you check your baggage, or you can take it with you to your gate and they can check it for you. SWA sells stroller bags for $17 or you can bring your own. Any type of stroller is allowed. When we traveled with Maverick we didn’t want to be pushing around more stuff than we needed to so we ended up not bringing our stroller. At the time he was little so we wore him in the carrier for most of our trip. 

 

The plane ride: 

For the actual plane ride we brought a couple toys on the plane. We made sure he was dressed warm. Planes tend to be cold in my experience. We brought a little swaddle to keep him covered and for me to cover when I was nursing him. I made sure he was nice and hungry before take off. I held off nursing him until the plane took off that way he could be sucking while we were climbing altitude and with the change in pressure he could pop his ears by sucking.  

If you currently aren’t nursing some things you can do is offer a pacifier, give your baby a bottle, or sippy cup.  Having them such on something is great to pop their ears.

Overall our first flight experience was great. I think we traveled at a great time too. At the time he was only 4 months so he wasn’t crawling, now if we were to fly it would be a little more challenging because he is on the move. 

 How was your first flight with your Baby? What are your go to tip?