What to pack:
Through the decade that we’ve been together, my husband and I have traveled a lot, both with and without kids. Our oldest daughter spoiled us in the fact that she was an easy traveler right from the start. When our second daughter arrived, however, things got a lot more challenging. Not just because we had to divide and conquer, but also because she was just not into a change of routine and she let us know that! So here are my best tips for traveling with infants. I have a separate post about traveling with toddlers.
1. Bottles: If you’re traveling with an infant, TSA states on their website that you can travel with a “reasonable amount” of breast milk or formula. For us, I packed three 8-ounce bottles for our oldest when we flew from Denver to France. She was 9 months old and I figured she wouldn’t be able to drink that much before it went bad. I should note that after about 4 months, my supply dried up and she was solely on formula. So I bought travel sized formula pouches like these that I could just add to the bottle with bottled water from the airplane, shake up, and voila! You are also allowed to bring a travel ice pack with your bottles in a mini cooler if you’re worried about breast milk staying fresh. When my daughter was nursing, I didn’t have to worry so much about the bottles and just put her on the boob when she needed fed which was much easier! Just know that whatever amount of liquid you are traveling with, TSA will take them from you at security and test them, so they do have to open the bottles.
2. Snacks: If your child is at the age where they can have more solid foods (or even just these pouches of pureed baby food) just know it has to go through the x-ray just like your handbag would. I’ve traveled with what we refer to as “squeezies” (apple sauce pouches) and just leave them as is and put them inside a clear ziploc in case of accidental explosions from pressure changes. I also bring snack containers like these filled with goldfish or cheerios. Other good snack options for the little ones that are old enough for solids include: fig bars, Gerber puffs, teething crackers, and tiny fruit snacks like these.
3. Your usual diaper bag contents. Including lots of extra diapers, wipes, travel sized ointment like A&D, travel changing pad, bib, teethers, pacis, your wallet and passport, etc. I also pack travel size Clorox wipes to wipe down the tray tables and arm rests, lest any tiny mouths try to lick that nasty shit.
4. An extra outfit or two for them and one for you. I recommend one outfit and a set of pajamas, especially with infants, as you never know when a “code brown” or a spit-up incident will strike. That’s when an extra outfit for you comes into play in these instances unless you love your baby so much that their shit in fact, does not stink.
5. Books: Board books, soft books your baby can hold and scrunch, etc. I like to bring paperback books so that I have 5 or 6 without it weighing down my diaper bag.
6. Something new to intrigue your child. For my girls, it was either a plush animal or toy. For toddlers that are past the age where everything goes into their mouth, stickers are always a big hit! I’ve passed around extra sheets of stickers on more flights than you’d think!
7. The baby’s passport! Don’t forget their ID just like yours. If traveling domestically, you still need proof the baby is yours and that you didn’t decide to kidnap one on your way to Vermont. So in that case, you need a copy of your baby’s immunization record with the letterhead of your pediatrician on it. On a flight to California, I once brought my passport instead of our infant’s and FREAKED OUT when we went to check in. One frantic call to my pediatrician explaining what happened, and they immediately emailed me a copy of her immunizations which I was able to just show on my iphone to the gate agent. But don’t be me. Look at the damn passport before you pack it and ensure it is your child’s.
8. A pillow. On international flights they give you those lovely communal rinky-dink pillows. I am talking about bringing a pillow from your very much adult bed. We used a pillow off our bed as a make-shift mattress for our daughter because we were too cheap to buy our infant her own seat. (Kids fly free until they turn two if you don’t want to purchase them their own seats.) So my husband and I would drape the pillow over our laps when our daughter got sleepy and let her use it as a mattress. The downfall of this of course is that the parents have to stay awake to be able to hold onto the baby in cases of turbulence. And the parents can’t get up to pee. Minor details I say. Just pack a pillow.
9. Research the airline you are flying. Some airlines have actual bassinets built into the backs of the seats in front of you. Then you just un-clip them and put the baby in them and it’s a built-in bed for the baby. They’re sometimes referred to as a Skycot, Carrycot or Travelcot. As with our pillow method though, if you hit turbulence, the flight attendant will make you remove the baby from the bassinet and hold them for safety purposes.
10. Nurse your baby or feed them a bottle at take off and landing. It helps regulate the pressure in their little ears so that they don’t plug up as bad. It’s their version of chewing gum. It’s worked every time for our girls and also keeps their mouths occupied so that they can’t yell and disturb fellow passengers. (Always my worst nightmare.)
11. Make friends with flight attendants!
I spent half our flight coming back from Iceland in the galley with the flight attendants in tears because my 9 month old was screaming her lungs out for so long! The only thing that would help her was when I’d pace the plane, but half the time the “fasten seat belt” sign was lit up so we weren’t allowed to get up. That, added on to the fact that none of us had slept and been traveling for almost 24 hours straight led to a three-hour scream fest. It didn’t matter what was in my bag of tricks or how hard I tried, I knew that we were pissing everyone off. And I couldn’t blame them! Lila cried, I cried, I almost made a lovely flight attendant from IcelandAir cry out of empathy for us. I went to the back of the plane trying to rock Lila telling the flight attendant how, “Everyone is glaring and mad and I feel terrible but I am trying! I don’t know what to do!” I still remember her telling me, “Don’t worry about it! She’s (referring to my daughter) a passenger too! She has just as much of a right to be here as everyone else!” And she let me sit with the staff in the galley while they served drinks. It worked! Lila passed out asleep in my arms at last and the remaining four hours everyone was in peace. And then I was able to glare back at all those fuckers who sat there judging me as I tried everything I could to quiet my child. So just trust me, be nice to your flight attendants, they may just be your salvation.
*The photo at the top of this post was one my husband took just after we finally got Lila to pass out on our flight from hell. I was just finished drying my own tears of frustration. Kodak moments kids, kodak moments.*
