Today I'll be sharing with you, some
tips on traveling with your baby. I did learn on our first trip to the US from Singapore when my baby was about only eight months old. If you can, you might wanna start them on shorter trips to get them used to traveling first but if your baby's first visit is a long one, just like in my case, then you just gotta plan as much as possible and hope for the best.
Before an infant can fly, you need to secure a place for her on the plane. You can choose to purchase a seat for her or have her as a lap child in which most airlines will charge you ten percent of the full fare. The request, though, depends on availability so and checking in early really helps. At the checking in counter do also check if the flight is full. Most of them, if the flight is not full, the counter guys will most probably give you a seat for your baby.
Through this trip, we traveled both, with and without a separate seat for my baby. And I have to say, it prove to be so much more comfortable for us as well as for baby to have a separate seat for her. Because when you booked your flight and you know that your flight is most probably going to be full, my advice is don't take a chance, go ahead and book a proper seat for your child, especially if it's a long-haul flight.
Another tip to whether you have purchase a seat for your infant or not is to always, always bring your car seat. It is the safest and most comfortable way for your infant to fly. That all familiar car seat is reassuring and comforting for them, especially, when it's time for them to sleep. Most airlines will allow you to roll your stroller all the way till just before you get on the plane. It's especially useful we have tons of stuff to bring on board, just like we did. When disembarking the plane, just let everyone off first and take your time with your infant and bags. Your stroller will be brought to as close to the plane as they can for you. Oh, by the way, your stroller and car seat do not count as part of your baggage allowance
Another useful tips that we researched before flying was to let your infants suck on something like milk while taking off and landing. This helps them to pop their ears due to the change in air pressure. We timed her bottle, each time we took off and landed, and She had no problems equalizing the pressure in her ears.
Okay, here are some useful things to bring on board the plane. Bring along a blanket and warm clothing as it can get quite chilly on board. A baby carrier is also extremely useful on the plane if you want to soothe your baby or just carry her around in the narrow ? of the plane, and it's an absolute must, if your baby is going to be a lap child for the entire flight. Do also pack an extra set of clothes for the baby and yourself, you'll never know when accidents might happen.
Bring along enough diapers for the flight and throw in a couple more just in case of any flight delay. As She is potty trained, we also brought along her little red potty and it was cool to see her poo-poo, thousands of feet up in the air. Do pack your baby's favorite toys as familiar toys make them feel at home. And also do remember to pack some new surprises too which can keep , usually, active baby occupied and entertained at her car seat.
if you're bottle-feeding, do bring along as many clean bottles as required for the whole flight as you will not be able to wash the bottles on board. for baby meals, most airlines offered jarred baby food on board, if you pre-order your baby meal so there's really no need to pack your own unless you really want to. Do remember to bring along your own feeding equipment like bibs, burp cloths, sippy cups spoons and whips, plus a plastic bag for storing the items.
and lastly, hydrate, hydrate and hydrate. Most people don't really hydrate themselves enough when they fly and babies will get completely constipated and super miserable if they're not properly hydrated. You have to constantly remind yourself to give your baby water all throughout the flight and make sure that you, yourself take care of yourself too.
Traveling with your baby need not to be stressful really, it should be fun and enjoyable and it will be if proper planning is done. So I just hope these tips help and thank you for reading.