Flying with a baby is a nerve wrecking and gut wrenching idea isn’t it? I remember the sheer thought of going on a plane with mini M was enough to make my heart race. There are just so many what-ifs that I couldn’t bring my already exhausted self to face and the anticipation was just too stressful to bear.
We’ve clocked a number of long haul flights with mini M so far. Although those flights have given us some valuable experiences, I still don’t think I hold the golden key to successful flights. The one thing I would say though is for the person whom the baby is flying with to muster up all, I mean ALL mental, physical and emotional energy and go with the flow. The rest of the things like toys and even seating (thick skin required) can actually be sorted out in situ. The important thing is that instead of hoping that the baby would behave in an appropriate manner (fat chances there), the adult would need to take control of the situation and persevere. Everyone would likely be very tired and the most effective way out is to accept the situation, scream (internally) and soldier on. That’s why it also pays off if you fly with another adult whom you could tag-team with. If not, just know that you’ll be fine like the thousands if not millions of solo parent who had done it and survived.
Apologies if I can’t give you all the answers and paint a definite picture for you. However if you’re looking for a few tips, here are some of the things that I would do for our next long haul flight:
#1. Book the flights early so that you could get a bassinet seat
The bassinet seat has many advantages. It has more leg room and the bassinet IS extra table space. If you’re lucky, your baby might snooze in the bassinet but in our case, we just used it to temporarily house our food trays, toys and whatever random things we might have. Importantly, if you’re booking 2 seats together, make sure to check that you’re able to lift the arm rest between the seats, especially if your seats are in the middle rows. We didn’t even think about this and I can assure you that breastfeeding a wriggly and rather large and long baby with not enough maneuvering room will be quite awkward.
#2. Pre-book post-weaning meals
Mini M hadn’t been a great eater until recently so I would need to make sure that we have plenty of (his favourite) food handy. If your child isn’t a fantastic eater, I personally don’t see the benefit of preparing an array of fancy food to take on board. Have a small portion of food/pouches with you by all means but I would recommend against going all out, stressing yourself so that you could have healthy muffins and beetroot pancakes that your baby doesn’t even eat for the flight. Yes, I was that mother. I literally brought a whole buffet spread for our 30 hours of traveling but tossed 99% of it into the bin by the end of the journey. If you’re taking liquids or wet-ish food with you, make sure that the containers are tightly sealed. Sweet mandarin juice managed to escape when we were en route to South Africa and it was unpleasant ugh. If you’re too tired to prepare food, do as the heading suggests, pre-order post-weaning meals. Singapore Airlines make pretty nice baby food. I know that because I ate most of mini M’s.
#3. Compartmentalise everything in the nappy bag
I got this tip from Pinterest and it’s definitely great advice. Things could get lost in a duffel bag so I packed everything into ziplock or little canvas bags. Best decision ever. I knew where things were and that had saved me from frustration that I didn’t need.
#4. Bring the travel stroller and baby carrier and a human (if possible)
Baby carrier is a non-negotiable, especially when you need your hands free to do a bunch of stuff. It also seems to have a sedating effect on little humans. Travel stroller that you can take onboard (we chose Mountain Buggy nano with double thick seating mat for extra comfort) is definitely nice to have if there’s a lot of walking to do around the airport but I wouldn’t classify it in the same category as the baby carrier. The nice thing about the stroller as well is that it doubles as a luggage trolley. The awkward thing though is that if you’re traveling alone, juggling everything that you’re already carrying and the stroller while trying to get on the flight is no easy feat. Once you’re at your seat, (unless you’re seated next to nice people) it might take another few awkward moments to get someone to help you with putting stuff in the overhead compartment. This then brings me to that important human that is traveling with you. Having an extra set of hands is gold when you’re flying. Everything is that much easier. Sure you could ask the air stewardesses for help but truthfully, I have only encountered a handful of helpful ones so my advice is, travel in a pair whenever possible! Great for moral support too.
#5. Take a dose of flexibility of positivity
These are pretty generic and not to mention cheesy terms aren’t they? However both qualities are so needed on the flight, not to mention everyday life. There just isn’t a way to predict how the babe would be especially because his entire schedule is out of whack. Germophobe? Well, bad news is that your baby would drop things onto the icky plane carpet and proceed to put said things into his/her mouth. Your baby might even do a few laps down the icky aisles just for fun. Should you be kicking up a fuss? I’d say just let it go as long as those actions are not causing harm to the baby because happy baby = (maybe) happy ride. Just remember the reasons for your travel. Imagine the rich experiences that your babe would be getting at the other side. It took a lot out of us on our last travel to Cape Town (practically at the other side of the world) but it was well worth it. Mini M had a ball though he didn’t verbally express those feelings (ha!)
There you have it, 5 points to take into consideration before you next flight out. There are a lot of nitty gritty that I could cover but many of those things boil down to personal preferences. I think it’s very easy to be overwhelmed if you try and prepare for every possibility. Follow your guts I say as you know you and your baby best. Nothing will be perfect so there’s no need to be too harsh on yourself. Set the right expectations and you will be just fine.
I hope I’ve helped someone 🙂
Last but not least, for those who are interested in traveling posts, you may explore them by clicking the ‘travels’ tab. Alternatively, here are a few oldies but goodies:
Travel Journal: Sapphire Coast
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