Mention "travel" and "baby" in the same sentence and people tend to get sweaty. Add "international" and they're likely to take a few steps back as if your craziness is contagious. We've done it a few times and *sarcasm font* I have no idea what they're so uptight about. But in case you're worried about your upcoming trip, here are a few of our baby travelling tips.
Two words: Bulkhead seating (BS).
Sure, the toilets are loud, the galley is bright, and you get put in the awkward position of witnessing really terrible flirting in the bathroom line as well as punks stealing wine from the drink carts. But you can stretch your legs out straight, no one can recline into your lap, you get fed first, you can spy on first class when they forget to close the divider, and most importantly! they give you a sky cradle so your lap infant doesn't actually have to stay in your lap.
If you're traveling with a baby, you NEED that sky cradle. Ask for bulkhead seating when you buy your tickets. Ask again when you confirm within 24 hours of the flight. Ask again when you check in at the airport. If you STILL didn't get it, ask again when you board the plane.
We displaced 3 people on one of our flights and I'm not a bit sorry. If people know what's good for them, they'll switch with you. If they don't switch, they're looking at 20+ hours (in our case) of a baby screaming in their ear; using their hair as a climbing hold; and receiving toys, trash, food, and whatever else babies can find to play with and feel like passing out to their new-found friends.
If anyone with a baby asks you to switch, just do it. You don't want to be on their bad side. The one guy on our flight that refused to switch seats ended up with a food tray and baby spit-up all over his fancy fance clothes. I don't believe in Karma. Except in airplanes.
Early Boarding.
The nice airlines allow people with small children to board first (= plenty of room for carry-on luggage!). The mean airlines (ahem, United!) shame you and send you to the end of the line even when you're pregnant and traveling with a young toddler. It's up to you whether you want to try for it or not.
Placement of Traveling Companions.
Most people make the mistake of sitting people in their group in the same row. I recommend 1 beside, 1 in front (if somehow you didn't get BS even after all that begging), 1 behind. Fill-in across, in front, and behind until you are out of companions.
You definitely need that one person beside you when it comes to meal times - unless you like wearing unevenly-heated mashed potatoes with too much gravy. This person can keep your food and trash on their tray (tricky, but possible) and even feed you, the baby holder, if necessary. Side note: Decline the hot drinks after the meal - that's just asking for someone to get burned.
The next place you need someone is right in front of the baby. Because how can you expect a baby to resist pulling hair, grabbing earrings, poking shoulders, and knocking off hats?? You can't. They will find a way. It's way easier if it's someone that's willing to indulge and even encourage them rather than a grumpy grump that doesn't understand why you can't control your kid or why you've bothered to leave your house in the first place.
Someone behind will come in handy for a few games of peek-a-boo and fetch.
People in front, behind, and across the aisle will all be a great help if baby needs a slight change of scenery or wants to practice climbing, crawling, or walking. They should also be prepared with many cute anecdotes to spread around the cabin so that people get the idea that your child is more than just an annoyance.
I also found that our baby was much better behaved when she had a stranger beside her. In our case, the strangers were friendly and provided good distraction and entertainment. But even a cold presence might have been helpful by scaring her into silence. On one of our flights (the longest one) there was a baby beside us. E didn't make a peep. She also didn't sleep a wink.
Strollers
A stroller doesn't have to count as one of your checked luggage pieces. You can take it right up to the gate and have it checked in the cabin and returned to you upon departure. Just let them know at your gate's desk and they'll give you a ticket to put your name on the item.
Liquids
Babies are not bound by the 3oz liquid rule. You can take as much formula, expressed breast milk, and baby food as your Little requires. On our first flight, we had enough fruit pouches for the whole 3 week trip and they didn't even blink at it. For our shorter trip, in which we packed totally in carry-on's, I considered using empty baby food jars to contain sunscreen and lotion but decided against it as I've heard some travelers have been required to taste a sampling to prove it is edible.
Sleeping
Don't expect to get any.
Benadryl puts some babies to sleep and makes other babies hyper. I recommend testing before using as a sedative on a plane. Yes the container says: "Do not use to put baby to sleep." Ignore that.
Your airline may or may not have baby seat belts that attach to your seat belt. You may or may not be required to strap baby into this contraption any time the seat belt light is on - whether or not they're finally sleeping peacefully in the Sky Cradle.
Entertainment
Don't expect to watch any movies, either.
If your flight has an in-flight entertainment system, I vote to abandon your no-screen policy and let your baby stare at, poke, and slobber over that screen to her heart's content. I never knew they had a "coloring" activity until our 11 month old found it through a series of random screen taps. It held her attention for a good 4.8 minutes - plenty of time for Mom to gulp down her dinner and Dad to get a cat-nap.
Also, toys that make noise may be annoying, but they're not as annoying as a screaming baby.
So there you have it. Now go see the world!
Two words: Bulkhead seating (BS).
Sure, the toilets are loud, the galley is bright, and you get put in the awkward position of witnessing really terrible flirting in the bathroom line as well as punks stealing wine from the drink carts. But you can stretch your legs out straight, no one can recline into your lap, you get fed first, you can spy on first class when they forget to close the divider, and most importantly! they give you a sky cradle so your lap infant doesn't actually have to stay in your lap.
If you're traveling with a baby, you NEED that sky cradle. Ask for bulkhead seating when you buy your tickets. Ask again when you confirm within 24 hours of the flight. Ask again when you check in at the airport. If you STILL didn't get it, ask again when you board the plane.
 |
| See how happy she is?! Baby <3 Sky Cradle |
We displaced 3 people on one of our flights and I'm not a bit sorry. If people know what's good for them, they'll switch with you. If they don't switch, they're looking at 20+ hours (in our case) of a baby screaming in their ear; using their hair as a climbing hold; and receiving toys, trash, food, and whatever else babies can find to play with and feel like passing out to their new-found friends.
If anyone with a baby asks you to switch, just do it. You don't want to be on their bad side. The one guy on our flight that refused to switch seats ended up with a food tray and baby spit-up all over his fancy fance clothes. I don't believe in Karma. Except in airplanes.
Early Boarding.
The nice airlines allow people with small children to board first (= plenty of room for carry-on luggage!). The mean airlines (ahem, United!) shame you and send you to the end of the line even when you're pregnant and traveling with a young toddler. It's up to you whether you want to try for it or not.
Placement of Traveling Companions.
Most people make the mistake of sitting people in their group in the same row. I recommend 1 beside, 1 in front (if somehow you didn't get BS even after all that begging), 1 behind. Fill-in across, in front, and behind until you are out of companions.
You definitely need that one person beside you when it comes to meal times - unless you like wearing unevenly-heated mashed potatoes with too much gravy. This person can keep your food and trash on their tray (tricky, but possible) and even feed you, the baby holder, if necessary. Side note: Decline the hot drinks after the meal - that's just asking for someone to get burned.
Someone behind will come in handy for a few games of peek-a-boo and fetch.
People in front, behind, and across the aisle will all be a great help if baby needs a slight change of scenery or wants to practice climbing, crawling, or walking. They should also be prepared with many cute anecdotes to spread around the cabin so that people get the idea that your child is more than just an annoyance.
 |
Strollers
A stroller doesn't have to count as one of your checked luggage pieces. You can take it right up to the gate and have it checked in the cabin and returned to you upon departure. Just let them know at your gate's desk and they'll give you a ticket to put your name on the item.
Liquids
Babies are not bound by the 3oz liquid rule. You can take as much formula, expressed breast milk, and baby food as your Little requires. On our first flight, we had enough fruit pouches for the whole 3 week trip and they didn't even blink at it. For our shorter trip, in which we packed totally in carry-on's, I considered using empty baby food jars to contain sunscreen and lotion but decided against it as I've heard some travelers have been required to taste a sampling to prove it is edible.
Sleeping
Don't expect to get any.
Benadryl puts some babies to sleep and makes other babies hyper. I recommend testing before using as a sedative on a plane. Yes the container says: "Do not use to put baby to sleep." Ignore that.
 |
| Luckily, Benadryl seems to put our baby to sleep. |
Your airline may or may not have baby seat belts that attach to your seat belt. You may or may not be required to strap baby into this contraption any time the seat belt light is on - whether or not they're finally sleeping peacefully in the Sky Cradle.
Entertainment
Don't expect to watch any movies, either.
If your flight has an in-flight entertainment system, I vote to abandon your no-screen policy and let your baby stare at, poke, and slobber over that screen to her heart's content. I never knew they had a "coloring" activity until our 11 month old found it through a series of random screen taps. It held her attention for a good 4.8 minutes - plenty of time for Mom to gulp down her dinner and Dad to get a cat-nap.
Also, toys that make noise may be annoying, but they're not as annoying as a screaming baby.
So there you have it. Now go see the world!
Comments
Post a Comment