- First and foremost you need a good way to transport your baby. An umbrella stroller, wrap, or carrier is a must for navigating airports and getting to and from your gate. I prefer a wrap (as seen in the picture above) but use whatever works best in your situation. Note: If using a wrap you do not have to take them out during security checks. However, technically you are not allowed to have them in it during take off or landing according to FDA regulations. This can get tricky if you find yourself with a by the book attendant because taking it on and off in a cramped seated position is difficult.
- Travel light. Pack only the necessities because the less you have to carry the better.
- What are the necessities you may ask...
- Well, in our family this is what we couldn't do without
- 4 pacies - these get dropped and airport floors are gross so I wanted back up(Coop doesn't usually take a pacy so these were nice emergency peace offerings).
- Extra milk- I don't have a lot of experience with public nursing so I wanted to ensure we had plenty in case it didn't go well. They will have to screen the milk at security so be prepared to pack them where they are easily accessible.
- 3 toys- something chewy, something loud, and something visually stimulating that way no matter what he was looking for I hopefully had something to fit the bill.
- An extra change of clothes- no matter how long its been since their last blow out you will have one in the airport... happens to me every time. Travel karma I guess!
- Juice- This isn't something he usually gets so perhaps its not the best parenting but I thought it would be a nice distractor in a meltdown.
- Something your child really enjoys- for us its Mickey Mouse. Cooper loves Mickey... it's crazy what affect that mouse has on him. I preloaded an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my i-phone for averting disaster.
I am a researcher. Some may say slightly obsessive but hey it's who I am and there isn't going to be any changing any time soon. Prior to our first flight with out little one (he was 10 weeks old at the time) I looked at every blog, article, and website I could find about tips for traveling with babies. I packed the perfect diaper bag and voila we were on our way. Other than forgetting a carrier (of all the things to forget!) and our arms being super tired it was a very easy trip. He slept the majority of the time and we received ooo's and aaa's on what a happy little baby we had. I felt a sense of accomplishment having felt prepared for everything... surely that's why it went so well... right?
Wrong. Fast forward to our second flying extravaganza at 7 months old to see the grands and it felt like a whole new ballgame. Now there were a couple of big differences... one being that he was older (and much more curious) and the second that I was traveling ALONE. Big gulp. Just as I had done before I packed the diaper bag with all the essentials, made sure to have my trusty Bali wrap, and had loads of optimism that it would all go as planned. Cooper is a happy baby. Rarely is there a crying spell that a good ole' snuggle and bottle/ nursing won't cure so I thought "I got this!"
Our first flight out was at 6am which had us leaving the apartment at 4:30am. Cooper had a 3am (unusual) nursing session that morning so his day (and mine for that matter) was already off. I changed him into some snuggly footed pajamas in order to ensure we didn't lose a sock in our mad dash between flights and we were on our way. He was understandably a little cranky but slept through most of our flight to Atlanta. Through over booking I had ended up having to pay the extra $19 bucks for a "Economy Comfort" seat and while I felt like it was a ploy to get more money after an already expensive ticket I found the extra leg room was nice. We were seated next to a Grandpa who was on his way to Franklin, TN (small world!) to see his 6 month old grand daughter so thankfully in the last half hour of the flight he kept Cooper entertained with a half full water bottle. It truly is the little things in life! We arrived in Atlanta and trucked across half of God's Green Earth to get to our next gate. The wrap was great and held him quite nicely. I did get quite a few looks some odd "look at the tree huggy hippie momma with her wrap" and others endearing "ahh baby looks so snuggly". On the flight our stewardess asked "so where did that come from?" referring to the wrap which I replied "um America". She then clarified and said no the style 'cause that's clearly not American. I took a moment to explain baby wrapping but who knows if it did any good. Thankfully, the flight to Birmingham was incredibly short, only 28 minutes of flight time, and very under booked so we were in a whole section by ourselves in the back. Cooper cooed, laughed, and even screamed a little but with no one around we weren't bothering anyone!
Fast forward to our trip home. What I learned during this experience was that there is no amount of packing or preparing that can cure a cranky baby. I strategically picked our seat for our first flight to Atlanta and opted to voluntarily pay the $19 for the special seat which left us in a section by ourselves. Cooper was not happy but having that seat as a catch all and allowing him to stretch out or flail his little arms to his heart's content made all the difference. Since it was such a short flight I left a tad stressed but still relatively optimistic for the rest of our trip. We again made the mad dash across the Atlanta airport (that place is huge!) but this time we encountered an over booked regional hopper (I don't even know how it counted as a plane it was so small). They made me move seats because apparently only the right has additional air breather things (at a loss for words right now) and I knew then we were on a slippery slope. My new seat was at the bulk head meaning there was no seat in front of me which meant I had to stow all carry ons in the over head bin. I looked at the stewardess like she had two heads when she said I should grab what I needed out of the diaper bag for the flight. Um, I need it all that's why I packed it! I grabbed a pacy, a bottle, and a toy (and took a moment for a quick prayer).
Before we even left the jet way Cooper had three major melt downs. It didn't help that I was holding him and my meager items I was able to steal from the bag. I caught a glimpse of myself in the window as we rolled to take off... my hair had been sporadically pulled from my bobby pin and I looked like I felt... crazy. It was the worst 1 hour and 52 minutes ever. I was scrunched up next to an elderly Asian man whom Cooper couldn't stop staring at. He seemed very uncomfortable with this and did his best to stare straight ahead and ignore us. Cooper bit, slobbered, and scratched the entire flight. At one point when the one toy I had was no longer entertaining I resorted to allowing him to shred the Sky Mall. It was a flurry of little shreds of lofted dog beds, security wallets, and tanners that fit in your brief case flying around our seat but I just didn't care. Part of me felt like it was vindication for sticking me on such a tiny plane... take that! I sang Itsy Bitsy Spider what had to be 1,000 times, I blew raspberries, I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue so much any good mother would have told me it was going to stay that way forever. I did whatever was necessary to control the meltdowns. Finally we landed and I don't think I ever bolted so fast off a plane. As I was dashing to get my luggage I looked down and realized I had soaked my shirt with two large milk stains on my chest. I had scratches on my face and my hair was literally sticking straight up. No longer carrying about being a hip comfortable mom my wrap was hanging off my rear and dragging behind me and Cooper refusing to be held flailed his head straight back and was flinging his arms. Now I knew I didn't just look crazy ... I was crazy.
It took a few days to recover and regain sanity. We may have had a rough time getting home but it was worth it to be able to visit with family. Just look at how happy he was trying on a new hat his meemaw got him!
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