Flying With Baby! (Carry-On Prep)

Candace

8 years ago

Flying with a baby. Lord, help me. I planned 4 solo flights with Reegan, within a 2 week period. Short ones. But, still.

Sure, I have flown with a baby before. Once. When she was barely 2 months old. And with my husband’s help. But now with a wiggly, opinionated 6 month old? Oh buddy!

The hardest part in the preparation was packing my carry on’s. What would I need at the airport to save us from epic melt downs and trauma? I am the self proclaimed worst packer ever. I brought over SEVEN pairs of high heels on our honeymoon and didn’t use one pair. I pack a 50 pound bag for a weekend. For just me! I carry 2 carry on’s every single time I travel. My “What If” list in my head is SO long.

So, when Jeff let me know that I needed to condense Reegan’s and my things into one suitcase for a 2 week trip… deep breaths. Add in walking through airports with a baby, a stroller, a car seat, and a carry on. Prayers.

But I did it. And honestly… it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Reegan was well mannered. There were multiple hiccups with airport personal making me take the stroller apart and not giving me enough bag tags, but thanks to the ring sling we managed.

Here are my best tips…

- Use BuyBuyBaby or Amazon Prime to order diapers and wipes to where you are headed. Taking up that much room in a suitcase for diapers is a no go for me. If you are staying at a hotel, make sure to put the hotel’s name and your name on the package. Packages can be delivered to hotels, just call the front desk and make sure it arrives no more than 2 days before you do. They keep these packages in the front office or the concierge closet, so they have limited space.

- You can never have enough Pack N Plays. I have one at my mom’s, my mother-in-law’s, and our house. Whether friends with babies are visiting or we are heading to a family members home, it’s nice to have on in the closet. If you are staying at a hotel, bring your own crib sheet. For one, it’s clean. But it also smells like home!

- When in the security line, think ahead. You will be asked to take the stroller and car seat apart, and fold the stroller so it can go through security. This is a nightmare and I relied heavily on the nice people around me. This process alone makes me break out in a sweat, but if you know it’s coming it’s slightly easier to manage. I put Reegs in the sling dismantle the stroller/carseat. Take off my shoes. and then take off the sling. You might want to practice this situation at the house before heading to the airport. The people behind you in line will thank you. And you’ll thank yourself too.

- Make sure you grab the plane side check bag tags! I told the check-in attendant that I needed 2 bag tags. One for the car seat and one for the stroller. She assured me that I didn’t. Well, I did. I went from the first person to board, to the last person to get seated.

- Get ready to feed baby on your way up, and down! Just like we drink water or chew gum to avoid ear bubbles, baby swallowing will do the same! I nurse to calm Reegan, but also to avoid being that screaming baby pulling her little ears.
- I grab the window seat. One reason is because I am nursing, so it gives me some privacy. But for longer flights this helps to make sure the person next to you will not be waking baby to go to the bathroom!

The Carry On Situation

Wear A Backpack!

- 3 diapers per hour of flight

- Pack of wipes

- Breastfeeding Cover | Blanket

- 2 extra pacifiers (if they drop in the airport they die to me)

- Aquaphor | Diaper Cream

- 3-4 toys (her favorites)

- Ring Sling

- Hand Sanitizer

- Extra Onesie for her

- Extra T-Shirt for me

- Wallet

- Passports

- Small Makeup Bag for me (includes mascaras, blush, concealer, gum, chapstick, 2 hair ties, and eye drops)
- Reegan’s Bunny was also in my backpack because I can not handle losing it.

Under the Stroller

Under the stroller, I put a zipper pouch with extras. When the stroller gets folded up and placed in it’s travel bag, this pouch goes with it. This bag is there incase your flight gets delayed or sh*t hits the fan.

- 10 extra diapers

- Another pack of wipes

- Burp cloth

- Wash cloth

- Piddle pad (to cover those gross changing tables or the floor)
- Baby Pajamas

The Suitcase Situation

I’ll be doing a suitcase post separately because it was SO hard to fit us both into 1 suitcase for a 2 week period. But I did it. It’s all about being real with yourself and not packing a fashion show.

WIW on the flight!

Black Leggings by LulaRoe || Black and White striped shirt (c/o SheIn)

GAP Denim Jacket || Adidas Superstars ||Baggallini Backpack

What Reegan Wore

H&M Kitten Sweater (Similar) || Black Leggings || Freshly Picked Mocs

If you follow me on SnapChat (or now Instagram Stories?!) you know that I had a major annoyance with SheIn. But they redeemed themselves. For one they made my returns so easy. And then this striped shirt came, and I am living in it. It’s so soft. For the low pricing you may be taking a risk, but you’ll only lose shipping costs. So, I order a bunch at once and then send back what doesn’t work. I’ll keep you up to date with great finds like this one!

** This list says 3 diapers per hour of flight which is slightly ridiculous. But I was a first time mom. I will say, having extra in case of a lost bag or a delay flight NEVER hurts.**