Contemplating traveling with your baby? Nervous? Great! We were too! We traveled with our 2 month old from Birmingham, AL –> Orange County, CA over Christmas. It couldn’t have gone better! Here is all the tips and tricks that worked for us.
Booking Flights
We decided to book the first flight out. This meant that we would be up at 2:30/3:00am. Since our baby woke every 3-4 hours to eat, it didn’t matter to us.
We fly Delta so we did not have to pay for checked bags. We arrived early and went through the “drop-off” lane and checked our bags with the guy out front. It was a huge time saver because everyone was in line leaving for Christmas! Then we drove back around to park our car. All was had was baby and our carry-on.
Packing
We decided to check all our bags so we could just focus on baby. BEST decision we made! I don’t know how we would have done it otherwise.
We also used vacuum seal bags to save space in our bags.
*Tip, put your clothes in the bag. Then, get out as much air as possible. Then, put the bag in your suitcase and use the pump to vacuum seal so it takes the shape of the suitcase. These are THE best bags. We have had them forever and use them all the time. I also use it to store baby clothes, so they don’t mold and mildew. So multipurpose!
It’s SO handy with all the little gadgets. Plus, with a baby, I can’t really put my laptop in my backpack and still have room for everything. This suitcase lets it go in a carry-on but also to be stowed away safely.
We had everything packed the night before so all we had to do was load up baby and drive.
Carry On Bags
I HIGHLY recommend a large CLEAR backpack as a carry on. This is what I used for mine and baby’s things. This came in so clutch because when looking in such a small space on the plane, in a bathroom, or even in the airport, I could look and either tell my husband exactly where it was or just get it myself.
I recommend packing a change of clothes. Our baby didn’t spit up much but low and behold, he did on travel day. Thankfully, he did it in the airport and just on my shirt. I was able to go change just my shirt very quickly. But seriously, throw a thin pair of leggings and a t-shirt in your carry on. My husband did as well. I ended up wearing his t-shirt because mine was at the bottom of my bag and I was trying to hurry and get it out so we could board.
*When I say this backpack is SO sturdy and fits SOOOO much, I truly mean it. I used it as my carry on and baby carry on. I fit SO much in there.
I pump and bottle feed so I needed something to clean my bottles and pump parts on the trip. I will link our bottle cleaner kit, it is amazing! I not only used it in the airport but also at my in-laws as our drying/cleaning station.
Our son ate every 3 hours and our flight was 4 hours. I packed 2 empty bottles. One I knew we would use but the second one was just in case. We use Avent bottles. We love them so much because for one, they do not leak and two, no milk will come out of the nipple unless baby sucks it out. If it drops, you aren’t losing milk! This was huge for me because I need every last drop of milk for him. Now, if you are better at producing milk than I am, you will likely need something to keep your milk in on the trip until you have access to a refrigerator. We LOVE the Ceres Chill. It fits in the side water bottle pockets of backpacks. It’s wonderful!
Other things in my carry-on was my wearable pump. Check out my “New Baby Must-Haves” post for more information about this pump. Yes, I pumped on the flight! No one knew. Including the older gentlemen next to us. I love this pump. You can turn the power up and down so easily. I turned it up to level 6 and I got the same amount as my plug in Medela pump. I use it as my every day, all day pump. LOVE it! I also threw in some of my favorite pump wipes to clean it up on the flight. I have used these wipes and pumped again before 4 hours was up and felt good about it because milk is good at room temp for 4 hours and the wipes are plant-based so it didn’t leave behind chemicals. It worked great so I could have a clean pump until I had access a clean sink area to use my Dapple soap that I put in my travel case. They do make travel Dapple soap in a prepackaged bottle, but the travel case has an empty soap dispenser that I filled up.
Fanny Pack! I cannot stress this enough! Get a fanny pack and put the diapers, wipes, changing pad, and diaper throw away bags to make them easily accessible.
Avent Bottles
Ceres Chill
Wearable Pump
Pump Wipes
Travel Dapple Soap
Fanny Pack
Diaper Changing Pad
Diaper Throw Away Bags
Through the Airport
DOONA! Seriously, if you travel a lot I highly recommend the Doona. I know it’s expensive, but it will save you money renting a stroller and car seat when you get to your destination. Plus, you have a stroller in the airport and a car seat when you arrive.
We actually threw most of our stuff in the Doona to stroll through the airport and I wore baby getting off the plane and it was easier to just keep wearing him.
Get the gate check bag for the Doona! It’s padded and will keep it safe.
Also, get the amazon version of the bag that clips onto the Doona. It’s cheaper and does the trick. We put extra bottles, diapers and toys for the airport. We put used bottles in it to make more space in the carry-on backpack. Then, when you get ready to put the Doona in the gate check bag, take the bag off the back of the Doona and put it in the seat part and it all gets checked.
Doona
Doona Bag
Doona Gate Check Bag
Through Security
Congrats, you can take water through security! We tried to make this easy and just take big Costco waters that were unopened. But it doesn’t matter. Water is okay. You can also take milk and formula. It can be frozen, liquid, powder, it doesn’t matter. If it’s for baby, it’s okay. We just recommend notifying TSA before passing through that you have those items for baby.
They will put everything under a special machine for testing. If your milk gets tested, it is perfectly okay to ask them to put on a new clean pair of gloves.
We had ZERO issues both times passing through security.
Wear baby. I will link our carrier. We LOVED it! It was super supportive and didn’t hurt our backs. We still use it and baby is older now. If you are wearing baby, you can pass through security without taking baby out. If baby is in the stroller, you have to take them out of the stroller.
The Doona: Our first security checkpoint (in Birmingham) allowed the stroller to stay in stroller mode and they took it through the side door and swabbed it and then we were on our way. In Orange County (a bit bigger airport) made us put the stroller down to car seat mode and put it on the belt. I was majorly grossed out by it but didn’t think until after to ask them to take it through the door instead. I probably will next time. (We are traveling for Spring Break with a now 4-month-old so stay tuned for a new post about how that goes)
At the Gate
It was time for baby to eat so I went ahead and fed him. Then got him changed and ready for the flight. We were told to double diaper him with his regular diaper size and then a bigger one on top. It was unnecessary for us. We had no blowouts on any of our flights. I went ahead and filled a bottle for the flight while we were in the airport. I charged my pumps. Then we got the Doona ready to be gate checked. MAKE SURE to get the gate-check ticket for the Doona. This seems obvious, but in the moment, things can be a little hectic and the airline doesn’t always stop and check.
On the Flight
Feed baby on takeoff and landing to help with ears popping. You are going to want to wait until the wheels have lifted and you are starting to feel that weightless feeling. A good rule of thumb, if your ears are popping, so are theirs! Feed! We were told the paci will also work, but it didn’t for us. You can try but have a bottle on standby because they WILL scream! Our little guy slept the entire flight, so we didn’t really have to do anything else after this. My husband held him half the flight and I held him the other half. We lifted the arm rest between us and let baby lay across us. That was most comfortable for all of us.
Then, when the flight attendant comes over the intercom and tells you to bring your seat back to the upright position, you are going to want to get that bottle ready again. Then, when you start hearing that bell sound that you are changing in elevation, start feeding for landing! It’s really just for the elevation decent. Once you can tell you are about to land, their ears should be done popping so you can stop feeding.
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