Flying With a Baby Tips

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. In the following article I would like to give you some tips for flying with a baby. 

As most of you already know, our first child was born in the end of 2020. We were extremely heavy travelers before the baby was born. Unfortunately, the Covid situation in 2020 and 2021 slowed a bit down our pace. Still, we managed to travel in the baby’s first year 12 times. Being far from baby travel experts, we have some tips for flying with a baby which we want to share with you. There is a separate article about things you need with you when flying with a baby, so maybe you would like to check it out as well.

13 tips for flying with a baby

1. Babies can get on a flight soon after they are born

Most probably the first thing you would google is at what age it is allowed that your baby takes its first flight. I did this myself. I’m not a pediatrician, so maybe you need to check this with your doctor first, but two weeks after birth seems to be OK for a baby to get on a flight. Of course, it depends whether it was born on the due date or earlier, but the general point is- although you might think babies are fragile and not able to fly, this is just a feeling. My experience is that the sooner you get them on a plane, the better. They get used to it pretty fast. 

2. Plan a lot in advance

Every trip starts with planning, right? Flying with a baby does not make it different. Depending on how experienced you are with flying, you might need longer time to prepare for the trip. If you were not a heavy traveler before the baby, it is quite normal that you take time to check everything you need to take with you or things you need to do before and during the flight. 

Flying with a baby is just a normal flying, besides the fact that you have one more “item” to take care of. Joke aside, this “item” requires special attention. Not only because it has special needs which do not take into consideration any flight schedules or else. 

Many things will not be as you planned them. That is why, always leave more time- both for the preparation, and for the actual flight (when you arrive at the airport, when you are at the gate, etc.)

3. Check whether you have all baby documents for travelling

Baby needs a passport in order to travel abroad. If you are living abroad (like we do), the embassy can issue a temporary passport for you to get to your home country where you can issue the original passport. Alternatively, you can also issue the original passport at the embassy itself, it might just take longer. If you are willing to travel soon after the baby is born, book your appointment at the embassy right after birth. Thus, you make sure you do not wait long before the baby passport is issued. 

Very important thing is to check the legal requirements if only one of the parents is travelling alone with the baby. Some customs might need a legal proof of consent of the other parent for you to leave the country. 

4. Make a list of things to take

Even if you think making lists is old-fashioned, use one when travelling with a baby. You have so many things to think about, so making a list which you follow makes your life much easier.  

5. Take a short flight first (if possible)

If you have the opportunity, take a short flight, so that both you and the baby feel comfortable. We wouldn’t advise you to hop directly on a long haul journey with your loved one. Take it step by step.

6. Bring your stroller or buy a baby carrier (which I recommend)

You have to think how to transport the baby until you get to the plane. You have basically two options- either you use a stroller or a carrier.  The stroller is more convenient as you do not need to hold the baby all the time. The regular airlines will check-in your trolley/ stroller for free, for the low-cost airlines you need to pay extra (at least in Europe). Maybe it is good that you check prior to your flight the airline policy with regards to this.

You also have the option to bring your car seat and install it on the plane. However, I honestly have never seen someone doing this in Europe. I know it is quite popular in the US, but I’m not sure about Europe.

Having a baby carrier is more useful from my point of view. You can use it for your baby to sleep in it instead of sleeping on your hands. Plus you have your hands free at all times. Thus, you can easily go through security, passport control, even have something to eat. We had the first one when Kaia was very small and then we switched to the second option (as it was better for our backs).

If you are going on a long-haul flight, you can use the baby bassinets provided by the airline (most of them do). Check the airline policy with regards to this topic as well. Our daughter used one when she was 13 months old on our way to the Seychelles. Although the bassinet was shorter than her height, she could use it as she weighted less than the allowance. Thus, the flight was really comfortable not only for her, but also for us.

7. Do not take a lot of luggage

We are now coming to the flight itself. No matter where you are going, do not take a lot of luggage with you. Especially when it comes to hand luggage. Even if the baby is in its own stroller, you will have to hold it from time to time, so you do not want to have 2 other bags to think of. Ideally you should have everything packed in one bag (your stuff and the baby’s). I would advise you to buy a special bag for the occasion. You will definitely use it not only for this trip. Here is my choice 

Think about sacrificing some of your stuff, so that you find enough space for your baby’s things. We have been always travelling with hand luggage and this did not change even after the baby was born. More about this, you can find in the following article dedicated to Hand Luggage. 

8. Get all the things you would need for the baby at hand

In a related article for flying with a baby we have listed the 10 things you need to take with you on the flight. It could be useful to have a look at it. Organize your hand luggage in a way that you know where exactly things are. The most necessary things should be easy to take-out. Diapers cannot be put at the bottom of the bag as you might need them quite often, especially if the baby is very small. 

9. Set the right expectations

Prepare yourself for the worst. This would definitely help if the flight turns into a disaster. Think about different situations like your baby throwing up while you pass through a security check. Or that it cries heavily while waiting at the passport control queue. The more of these you have in mind, the better you will feel afterwards when none of them happens 🙂 

10. Stay calm

This is the most important thing when flying with a baby. Especially when the baby is that small, she/ he feels your emotions. If you are getting nervous every time it cries, it would most probably cry louder and for longer. No one will judge you because your baby is crying. Instead of trying to make it shut-up, rather think what might be the reasons for him/ her crying. In most cases, there is no other different reason than what you are already aware of. Either it is hungry, or has pooped, or it is sleepy or it is too warm. If you are too stressed, you tend to forget even such basic things. 

Well, while flying with a baby there is one more thing and this is the discomfort of the pressure on the ears while taking off and landing, but we will focus on this in the next point. 

11. The hardest times are take-off and landing

If you survive the take-off, landing is easy. And landing in most cases (unless you have a connecting flight) means that you are close to going to your final destination, so you are anyway relieved. You have probably noticed the pressure you feel in the ears when taking-off and landing, right. Now imagine your newborn and the pain he/ she would feel on its tiny body. And not to say that he/ she does not know what to do in order to relieve the pain. You have to help him/ her. 

The best thing is that it chews something at this time. My best piece of advice is that you start feeding the baby right when the plane drives towards the runway. You will have a win-win situation- the baby will easily equalize the pressure and there is a high chance that it falls asleep (because of the dropping pressure). Our child was actually sleeping on the majority of her first flights. 

12. Do not overdress your baby

This is something I did on her first flight and that is why I would like to particularly mention it to you. On our first flight we had to take a train to the airport. Still we had some walking to the station, so I dressed the baby quite a lot (it was winter time). Of course, when we entered the airport building I undressed myself (airports are usually much warmer than the temperature outside). However, I did not think that the baby would feel discomfort in the thick snowsuit. It did and it was completely wet. When babies are that small actually there is a risk that you warm them up rather than leaving them too cold. So, look at yourself and just add one extra layer of clothes for the baby (not 2 or three). Think other way around when it is summer 🙂

13. You will be given a separate belt for the baby 

When you get to your own seat, you will no longer be alone there. Unless you reserved a seat for your baby and you transport it in a car seat 🙂

Still, I would like to focus on the case when you take your baby on your lap (free of charge in the first 2 years). For very small babies, the airline offers that you keep your baby in the carrier (if you are using one). If you do not have a carrier, you will be given a seat belt which you need to attach to yours. The cabin crew will explain how to fix it, no worries. However, the principle is the same in each airline, so it does not hurt watching a YT video before the flight. We said that the more you are prepared for in advance, the more secure you will feel. 

Well, these were all the things which are coming to my mind with regards to our experience flying with a baby. If you have specific questions, I would be happy to add more tips. Do not miss to read the other articles on baby topics:

• 10 Things You Need to Take With You When Flying With a Baby
•  Useful Baby Products

Have safe travels and enjoy your first time flying with a baby!