Last week my Husband and I returned from North Carolina. We were introducing our Little Bug to his Father’s side of the family. After flying alone with Baby Girl the week prior, having my Hubby with me was a relief. This was a cross-country trip for a longer visit than the last post. Here are 12 pointers; things I learned this trip:
Early arrival to airport, especially LAX, is necessary. We almost missed our flight. We checked in via the kiosk, but had to wait in the Customer Service line to check the baby’s stroller and car seat.
Luggage should be under 50 lbs. to avoid additional charges. If you can pack diapers in the diaper bag for the flight and pick up a pack when you arrive at your destination you can save a bulk of space.
Car Seat Baggage can hold more that just the car seat. I strapped my pump into the car seat for the flight along with some toiletries to keep our checked luggage under 50 lbs.
Sanitizer Wipes are great to wipe down the arm rests, tray tables, and headrests if they are leather.
Breast Milk can be used to help prevent the little one from getting sick from the flight. Use a dropper and drop a few small drops of breast milk into the baby’s ears and nose. (this was recommended by our pediatrician).
Breast or Bottle Feed the baby during take off and landing to help with the change in cabin pressure.
Snack time! Infants are commonly seated in the very back of the plane. If you are going on a long flight, bring yourself snacks. They have a tendency to run out of the lunch boxes by the time they reach the back.
Wear Layers. Most of the time the flights are cold. I put the baby in a footie jammie so they are fully covered.
Attach the binkie or teething toy to you. If the baby drops or tries to throw it you don’t want to have to crawl on the plane floor to recover from under another passenger’s seat.
Pack a Bottle Brush! This was a great tip from my Mom.
Jet Lag happens for babies too. My Husband and I chose to keep the baby on West Coast time. If you do this and you pump, think about how to adjust your pumping schedule.
Bring and empty suitcase. If this is the first time you are visiting family there will be gifts. We ended up having to ship all the gifts back. Depending on who you are flying with the benefit may vary.
