Flying Internationally With A 3 Month Old
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Over Spring Break, my whole side of the family traveled from Portland, Oregon down to Cancun, Mexico. With 9 hours of flying, 4 hours of layovers, 1.5 hours by car, and a 2 hour time change- I am so surprised at how well our 3 month old did!
I was making myself absolutely sick the week leading up to the trip thinking I would be “that mom” with “that kid” on the plane or by the pool at the resort. I was racking by brain for every possible scenario that could come up, and trying to pack every solution into a small diaper bag for my carry on item. But, when the day of the trip arrived, I came to the realization that I can’t plan for everything and that I will just roll with it taking deep breaths along the way.
Thankfully, our first flight was taking off at 10:00pm- when he is usually asleep. Leading up to the flight, I kept him awake for about 4 or 5 hours to get him nice and tired (cranky during TSA- but who cares? 😉 ). Once we boarded the plane, I nursed him for about 15 minutes until he fell asleep, put his pacifier in his mouth to help with the pressure change, and then he somehow slept nearly the entire flight! This was the longest stretch, so I couldn’t have breathed a bigger sigh of relief.
In the end, I was so glad we decided to go for it. I have always been the person to say having a child shouldn’t hold you back from anything, including travel. This is not our last trip we have planned- I will be going to the Mom 2.0 Conference in LA, and then Disneyland just a few weeks after that! Definitely check out my tips below for traveling with infants- some of these things saved my sanity!
Tips For Flying With An Infant:
- Gate check your stroller and car seat– especially if you have layovers. You will be thankful to have somewhere to place them after holding them for hours on a plane.
- Don’t wear them through security. Every site I read up on before traveling said to do this because it would be easier and you’d have your hands free. But whether I used a Moby (just a fabric wrap) or an actual carrier, I was forced to take my sleeping baby out and put the carrier through the X-Ray machine with 3 different airports.
- Don’t board first with “priority boarding.” There will be a first call for those traveling with infants under 2 to board first, but that is just an extra 30-45 minutes they will be stuck on a cramped, hot airplane and more time for passengers to roll their eyes and moan. I prefer to surprise them all walking a baby down the crowded plane 5 minutes ’till 😉 . Let your little one get their noise out and stretch before being confined to a small space.
- Just ignore any looks you get. Don’t work yourself up, just think about where you are going or where you just were! I guarantee most of the people on that flight have either had little ones, or karma will get them when they have their own. Honestly, I didn’t get very much negative feedback. Walking down to the very back row, we mostly received smiles and compliments on his cute face. If your child happens to throw a fit, apologize and just actively try to soothe them. That’s all you can do!
Pack On Your Personal Bag For Flights:
- Infant Tylenol and Gas Drops
- Supported Sitter 1st foods (if okay’d by pediatrician)
- Small container of sugar or disolvable candy for moments of desperation
- Small toy that doesn’t make too much noise- toys that crinkle or jitter are best
- 2 changes of clothes for baby, and a change of clothes for you and your partner (he pooped all over me at the end of our second flight)
- Bottle of breast milk/formula in case your little one gets too fussy or uncomfortable to nurse
