Tips for taking an infant on a plane?
Hi. I'm leaving Sunday for a 4 maybe 5 hour flight from Austin to San Jose California. I am taking my 6 month old son with me. He is sitting on my lap. This will be his first trip and I was wondering if anyone had some tips. I know everyone hates when there is babies on the plane lol So I want to avoid being that 'mom' He is breast fed and bottle fed with formula. I know I should feed him going up and down to avoid his ears getting plugged... but any other advice? Thanks in advance
Newborn & Baby - 4 Answers
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1 :
i also took my baby on the plane, although she was a bit younger (around 3 months) One thing I can say is don't count on him eating on the ride up and down because he might just not be hungry. I don't know about your son, but unfortunately she was not hungry either of those times so I couldn't get her to and she had to bear through the ear popping. If he likes a pacifier this could be a replacement. Another tip is to sit in an aisle seat. It helps because you can get up and walk around with the baby if necessary and it also makes it easier to make trips to the bathroom for diapers changes and what not without bothering the other passengers. Make sure you stuff your diaper bag with lots of his favorite toys and things of course to preoccupy him. Bear in mind that he will probably get bored eventually and maybe a little fussy, but try not to stress too much about it because you do have just as much of a right to be the on that plane as anybody else! As long as you're doing your part to try and console and keep your baby entertained then you are doing your best and other passengers should realize it and if they're dont then they are the inconsiderate ones. Chances are though it will be a pretty smooth ride. :) My daughter did really well, a lot better than I expected. Even other passengers were commenting on how good she was. So do keep in mind its not always a monstrous experience. lol Good luck and hope this helped!
2 :
Its not too bad. I flew with my daughter for 8 hours direct. Once when she was 4 months and once when she was 16 months. It was a LOT harder when she was 16 months because she wanted down and to walk. Anyway, I breastfed on the way up. Our plane was delayed and I had to feed her while waiting to take off...despite that she still sucked even though she wasnt hungry. They dont have to eat they just have to suck enough to clear their ears. Take off was a breeze it was the landing that was worse for her little ears. She did great though. Bring a change of clothes for her and you. Get an isle seat if possible. If possible bring her carseat. I held my daughter on my lap at 4 mo but took her seat for the 16 mo trip. It was awesome because she was able to sleep a lot more. Pick up a few cheap little toys he has never seen before and bring them out as needed. Something new to focus on. Other than that its pretty easy. People on planes are sympathetic to babies I find. Its the toddlers people dont like. :)
3 :
Relax! That is actually a good age to fly with a baby. They aren't too mobile and can do limited damage. I flew with my daughter when she was 7months. Fortunately her ears were NOT a problem and she slept most of the time. But I got lucky and was nervous about the trip too. My advice is to relax. Even if your kid goes nuts... it is OK. Other parents know that there isn't much you can do if a baby whigs out. Non-parents can give you dirty looks... but I guess they can't do much more than that.
4 :
Basically, just feed him going up and down. My kids both slept through flights as babies. The only time I ever had a problem was when my 2 year old had a dirty diaper just as the fasten seatbelt sign came on and apparently it was very acidic because it gave him a horrible diaper rash by the time we landed. But make sure to take pleny of extra clothes for your baby and yourself. Athan flew when he was 2 months old and had several diaper explosions. He went through 4 outfits before we landed and he even exploded all over me.
