I got so many questions on this topic! Since I have been flying with Chloe Bear since she was three months old, SOLO for 8 hours, and I think by she was 1 year old she already flew 9 times, and mostly SOLO. My biggest tip is try to wear bub out at the airport so they’re exhausted! A quick bottle at take off and they should be asleep ???? It worked for me for the first year of traveling.
Something New, Something Old
(0-2years) When you travel, use the same sheets (even the same blanket if you can), make sure you’ve packed their favourite comforter or toy, and even have bubs wear the same pajamas for the first few nights away. This way, when everything is new around them, babies will still feel the consistency of home.
(2-5years) Lucky dip – get some new toys/activities and wrap them up. Let little one pick one out of the bag and unwrap it. The picking and unwrapping adds a good 10min of engagement each time
Ear pressure
(0-1years) Take a bottle or pacifier or breastfeed. If you bottle-feed, make sure your baby is sitting upright while drinking.
(1 and above) Snacks that have many small bites that they can eat one by one (while not feeling too full) during taking off and landing to help ease the blocked ears. And also put them in the travel pill box, so she gets to open it one by one (bonus for strengthening hand muscles )
Something for Us (Mum)
Pack a set of clothes for ourselves, you know the usuals aka accidents, in case of any flight delay, too cold, or spillage. Also pack some panadol.
Stroller questions
I usually checked in my stroller, so I am not holding a baby, a stroller and a nappy bag. I had experienced a security screening asking me to lift my 3-month old baby from my sling and put my sling for the screen and I also have a backpack as well.
“To make your time on the ground easier, most mainline Australian ports have strollers available for you to use once you have checked-in your own personal stroller. Staff will be on hand at the boarding gate ready to collect the stroller and to further assist you with pre-boarding the aircraft” from Qantas (2019)
Nappy questions
Always change your child’s diaper before boarding a flight. Because changing diapers on a plane can be so tricky, I recommend minimizing the number of changes you need to make on any given flight. When you are on an airplane and there is no diaper changing table in sight, you should check with a flight attendant. Some airplanes have only one lavatory on board that has a changing table. It may not be in your cabin or section of the plane, so you might miss it unless you ask.
