Does the thought of flying with a baby terrify you? If so, you’re not alone – I can’t tell you how many of our friends told us that “life would be over” after having a baby, and that we should give up on our travel dreams.
Thankfully, they were totally wrong.
While traveling with an infant is definitely different than solo travel or couple travel, it is totally doable and honestly, pretty enjoyable.
Before our baby turned eight months old, he had been to 5 countries and 5 states. It has been so much fun, and we have found that it doesn’t really matter what age you travel with a baby, so long as you come prepared.
Traveling with a baby requires a lot of pre-planning, and air travel with a baby has special considerations of its own. Below, I’ve listed our top tips for traveling with a baby.
1. Bring a Baby Passport or Birth Certificate
If you’re traveling internationally, your baby definitely needs a passport. We applied for and received our baby’s passport in about 3 weeks, and you can rush the process if needed. Your baby also needs to get passport photos done which is HILARIOUS. You can often get these done at the same location where you are applying for their passport. In the US, you will also need to go in person to apply for a passport, since it is the baby’s first time having one issued.
If you are traveling within the US, you don’t need a passport for baby but should bring your baby’s birth certificate. Not every airline asks for it, but some do, and it’s always best to have it with you.
2. Pack a Bag for Baby
Before you ever leave for your trip, you will face the daunting task of packing for a baby. Most airlines allow a free carry-on or checked bag for a baby, although with smaller dimensions than an adult’s checked bag.
The first time we traveled after he was born, we didn’t know about the extra suitcase rule and packed all of his items in our two suitcases. Looking back, it would have been a lot easier to pack him a separate bag.
3. Pack Only What Baby Needs
When you have a baby, it is really tempting to pack everything and the kitchen sink. However, lugging around a pack and play, car seat and stroller when you’re tired really sucks, so I suggest packing only the absolute essentials when traveling with a baby.
For example, we have always chosen to skip bringing a pack and play or crib equivalent, because nearly every hotel will provide one for free. We have also traveled several times without a car seat, which brings me to my next point.
4. Consider Skipping the Travel Car Seat
I know, I know. This sounds wildly controversial, but hear me out. Pretty much every car rental agency has car seats for rent, and it can be way more convenient to rent from them rather than bringing your own. For example, we went on a multi-country trip that would have required us to drag the carseat with us on public transportation. We thought that sounded terrible, so when we rented a car in one of the countries, we rented a car seat as well. That way, we had the seat when we needed it and didn’t have to carry it with us when we didn’t.
4. If You Pack a Car Seat, Check It
If you bring a travel car seat with you on a flight, you have the option to check it when you check your bags, or to keep it with you and check it at the gate. Unless you need it for your stroller (which you can also check at the gate), check it with your bags. It makes it way simpler to have less stuff with you at the airport.
PRO TIP: Bring a large plastic bag to wrap your travel car seat in when checking it, to keep it from getting dirty.
5. Consider Skipping A Big Stroller
Our jogging stroller is huge. I absolutely love it, but I have never taken it with me on a trip, nor do I feel the need to. In general, we prefer to use a baby carrier (more on that below) when traveling and to skip bringing a stroller altogether. If you choose to bring a stroller, bring a smaller, collapsable version, like the one shown below. They are super handy, easy to carry and don’t weight a ton.
6. Bring a Baby Carrier
Seriously. Just do it.
Like I said above, we have never taken a stroller with us and have never felt like we needed it. We only bring our baby carrier, which allows us to walk around with our baby rather than push him in a stroller. That might not seem like a big deal, but it saves a ton of space and makes everything much more portable. We thought we would need a stroller for hot climates, but we used the baby carrier in both Florida and Hawaii, and it worked great.
I recommend an Ergo baby carrier, which is what we have. It is adjustable and has a snug fit, which helps the baby to sleep while we are walking. Several Ergo baby carriers also have a little flap that you can fold up over the babies head to protect them from rain or too much sun.
PRO TIP: At airport security, you can pass through the metal detector with the baby carrier on, without removing baby. This is super helpful, since often your baby will fall asleep while you walk. Since they let you keep him on you during security, you can avoid waking him up and let him get a nap in before boarding the plane.
7. Use A Diaper Backpack, Not a Bag
This might sound weird, but using a diaper backpack is SO much easier than using a shoulder-strap diaper bag when you’re at the airport. The backpacks have room for everything, and because it’s a backpack, you can even wear it while carrying the baby in a baby carrier (whereas a shoulder-strap bag would hit the baby while using a baby carrier). The one I use is from Land, and it has survived multiple countries with us so far (shown below).
8. Strategically Pack Your Diaper Bag
There are some things you absolutely need in your diaper backpack, and some you do not. For example, 5 of your baby’s favorite toys probably do not need to make the journey with you, but clean bottles and hand sanitizer definitely do. Below is a list of my absolute must-haves in our baby bag.
Extra Long-Sleeved Onesies (the plane is usually cold)
Travel Formula (or extra breastmilk)
4 Pacifiers (they fall on the floor a lot so you need spares)
Travel Baby Food (for 4 months and up)
Water Bottle (if you make formula)
Diapers (one for every hour of the flight)
Extra Shirt for Mom (if you get peed or spit-up on) Hint: Black is best!
9. If You Breast Feed, Bring a Pump
If you are breast feeding, you should definitely bring a pump for your trip so you don’t have to stop every few hours. If you don’t mind breast feeding all the time, then obviously skip this step.
For the flight, it helps to have some pre-pumped breastmilk ready. You can freeze it beforehand so it lasts longer than the normal 6 hours, or for shorter flights, you can bring a ready-made bottle that will last up to 6 hours in normal temperatures.
In full disclosure, I only breast-fed for the first month due to complications, and we did not fly during that time.
10. Bring Your Own Formula
If you are using formula to feed your baby, definitely bring enough for your entire trip, unless you are going somewhere that you are absolutely certain has the same formula. It is also a good idea to bring quite a bit of extra formula in your diaper backpack, in case your flight is delayed or rescheduled.
As a general rule: if you’re traveling within the same country that you live in, your vacation location is likely to have the same formula. If it’s out of the country, all bets are off.
On our longest trip (over a month) we ran out of formula one day before we arrived home. Was it the end of the world? No, but it did cause our baby some very minor stomach issues having to deal with a new formula. Moral of the story? Bring your own.
Also, depending on the formula, there are incredible travel-sized formula packs that you can use while on the plane. We use Enfamil Neuro Pro, and their travel packs are total game changers – just make sure to bring bottled watered for making bottles on the plane.
11. Change Your Baby Before Boarding
To be honest, changing diapers on airplanes SUCKS. We always tried to avoid multiple diaper changes by changing his diaper one final time before boarding, so at least he started off dry. It seemed to work well, and most of the time we were able to feed him and let him sleep after boarding, without having to wake him up for a change.
12. Feed During Take-Off and Landing
Now for the flight itself – you should definitely plan to feed your baby during take-off and landing, to help their ears pop and avoid ear aches. We found that by timing our feeding schedule so that our baby would be moderately hungry by the time we boarded worked wonders – he took a bottle during every take-off and usually fell asleep right after.
If your baby isn’t hungry, try to get them to suck on a pacifier instead. It’s slightly different but works almost as well.
13. Buckle Up Baby
Children under 2 years old are not required to get their own seat, so most parents choose to have them sit on their lap, rather than pay for another seat. We have done this every time, and it is not as bad as it sounds.
For flights within the US, you are not required to use a baby seatbelt. However, when traveling internationally you are given a small seat belt that attaches to your seat belt. It’s honestly weird and I don’t know if it’s very effective, but you only have to use it during take-off and landing.
14. Bring Toys That Don’t Make Noise
For the love of your fellow passengers, please don’t bring toys that make noise. Just don’t. That being said, we usually bring along one very small toy for our baby to play with, like teething toys, such as the ones shown below.
While you might wish you could just let baby play and zone out on the flight, you will likely need to be their in-flight entertainment.
15. Take the Aisle Seat If Possible
There are a lot of people who prefer the window seat (for good reason!), but with a baby it makes it much easier if you plan to sit near the aisle.
Hear me out: you will likely have to change your baby at least once, and getting everyone in your aisle to move while you try to shuffle out with a baby in your arms is way more complicated than it needs to be. We try to request a middle and aisle seat (when traveling together with our baby), and if you’re lucky – other passengers may offer to move so you can have all 3 seats. It may sound like a pipe dream, but that has happened to us multiple times!
Are you traveling with an infant, flying with kids or concerned about baby travel in general? Comments with any questions or suggestions and I will happily answer!