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As someone who has flown frequently since I was a baby myself, the thought of getting one airplane trip with my little one didn’t initially fill me with dread.
I have to admit that I have never been a fan of having to sit on a couch next to a small child aeroplanebut the general consensus was that kids will be kids and good noise canceling headphones are a must.
Fast forward many years and now that we are one year old, my husband and I decided it was time to take our little one with us her first flight.
And to say that I am now dreading a long journey is an understatement. But not for the reason you might think.
It turns out that despite fellow parents’ warnings about how bad a flight with a baby can be (“the air pressure hurts their ears,” “they don’t want to sit still,” “they’re screaming at the top of their lungs”), it was ultimately the complete opposite experience.
She was an absolute dream. On both flights she slept most of the time and looked around contentedly and waved to fellow passengers, only making a squeak when she spotted the bottle a little too early.
I’d like to think it was all down to good planning, but I know it was partly luck too.
Despite this success, there are absolutely no guarantees that we will be able to repeat this on our next flight. An additional long-distance situation of 14 hours plus six hours.
But that’s a problem for future me.
In the meantime, here are a few things I’ve done in an effort to keep things running as smoothly as possible.
Flights booked during nap time
Nothing helps a baby sleep better than sleep pressure. So when I looked at flights, I made sure they lined up with her morning nap (usually between 9:30 and 10:00).
This did mean you had to spend a little more than the cheapest option, but it was 100 percent worth it.
Before boarding, we let her run around the airport as much as possible so that she was sure to be tired and ready to sleep once we boarded. The flight home was a little later than the first, which meant she was gone before we left.
Although she then woke up, primed and ready to go, with 20 minutes to go before she landed with the seat belt sign on.
Mixed up the feeding schedule
I have to admit, the thought of the air pressure changes making my little one uncomfortable made me a little nervous before our flight.
But I’m told feeding it during takeoff and/or landing can help.
So instead of giving our baby a full bottle in the morning, we moved her breakfast earlier and prepared a second bottle for her during takeoff. (Just make sure they don’t notice this too early, as their patience will evaporate!)
And because she was ready for a nap, she slept before finishing the bottle, without having any reaction to the actual takeoff.
I have a travel stroller
Some might say this isn’t necessary, but it was extremely helpful to have a super lightweight travel stroller on hand.
First of all, it helped her get a little tired before the flight because she enjoyed pushing it through the terminal herself. But it was also good to have it ready to use as soon as we got off the plane, while we found our way to the baggage claim and then waited for our luggage.
We used The original Karion travel stroller which folds up and fits into a backpack that fits in the overhead bin.
Despite its small size, it is still equipped with a fold-out sunshade with SPF 50 (we also used the extender), a 5-point safety belt and brakes on both wheels. It weighs only about 5.5 kg and accommodates babies from 6 months to 18 kg.
It folds and unfolds in seconds, so it came in handy throughout the trip.
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