6 Tips for Flying with a baby

About two months ago we carted my son (and ALL of his luggage) across ocean to Italy. Flying with a baby is stressful. Because children are notorious for not being constant - i.e. they never sleep when you want them to, but always slumber right before you are about to leave the house and have their bags all ready and packed. Yup, so add an international flight to the mix and it's no wonder we become so stressed that we start prepping a month in advance for the journey.

I heard all the horror stories about flying with kids, and I can tell you, that in the end it wasn't so bad. So, here are my list of tips for flying with a baby.

1. Visit your pead, baby clinic or the pharmacy about a week before you leave. If your little one is restless, they can provide a sedative type syrup to help calm their nerves, relax and sleep. I'm not normally one to do this kind of thing, but the health professionals seem unanimous in this that flights can be stressful for the entire family, and a sleeping baby (especially if it's a night flight) can make things that much easier. In saying that, if your baby doesn't need it, don't give it to him/her. Another note: perhaps test whatever they prescribe on your little one before you fly, in your own home, for any adverse reactions. In addition to the stuff they'll give you for the flight, it's also probably a good idea to stock up on some of your regular baby meds for your trip.

2. So everyone told me that upon take-off and landing I should get my little one to suck. Suck a dummy, suck a bottle or suck a boobie, to help them with the 'popping' of their ears. So, in my case, my little man won't take a dummy, and refuses a bottle from me, so boobie it was. However, when I got onto the plane, breastfeeding upon take-off and landing was incredibly difficult, because the baby seatbelt (that clips onto your seatbelt with the baby being on your lap) needs to be fastened during this time. You either need to be able to work around this, or make an alternative plan. Many of the flight attendants didn't know what to do with me in this case and kept wanting to give my son water. So this is just something to keep in mind.

3. Look up the layout of the airports for the closest family bathrooms etc. This is especially important if you have a short layover and can save you a ton of time, and leave you feeling like you have a small measure of control.

4. Some airports/airlines have a baby/child friendly lounge. These can be a Godsend if you have a long waiting period. Simply enquire with your airline about these.

5. The baby bassinet on the plane. Okay, so here's the deal. The baby bassinet's are TINY. They take up to 10kg, but are super narrow, making it difficult for your little one to turn in the bassinet. If you have a restless baby this may be an issue. On another note, on our flight there we got an aisle seat and the seat directly next to it, which meant that the bassinet was squarely positioned in front of my husband and myself, however, on the flight back, the airline gave us two middle seats. This was problematic, because it meant that half the bassinet was stationed in front of a fellow passenger (who didn't want to switch with us). So, as a result, we were constantly leaning over the fellow passenger to get to our baby. When booking your seats, keep this in mind and perhaps double check with the airline.

6. If you have a pram/stroller that has multiple parts, I would suggest cable-tying them together for the flight. You often will only receive your pram/stroller at the final destination, so if you were planning to use this at your layover, you will most likely need to rethink your plans. My suggestion would be to pack a baby carrier in addition to the pram/stroller.