Tips for Traveling with a Baby - Airplane Version

Welcome everyone to my "new" site:  A Maui Mommy!  I have been away from blogging for a long time, partly due to my url not working, and partly due to being on a trip.  HJ, BJ, and I trekked across the United States to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and stopped in Las Vegas on our way back home.  Some of you may be thinking that I am crazy for taking a 4 month old on a trip to Philly, and in some ways, I agree with you.  However, I committed to this trip before I found out I was pregnant and I value the work that this organization does, so I did not want to back down.  (It was a conference for an organization that my school club belongs to, The National Academy Foundation, and I was a presenter.)  Plus, how could I pass up a free trip? Honestly, would you? :-)

Okay, so anyway, HJ and I learned a lot about vacationing with a baby.  I did a lot of research before I left but had a hard time finding information about taking babies on trips.  Therefore, I have decided to write about some of the things I learned on the trip in multiple posts.  This post:  the Airplane version!

1.  Try not to schedule the red-eye flight.  When HJ and I first discussed what would be a good time to fly, we decided that the red-eye was the best time to fly because BJ would be sleeping the whole time.  However, we didn't take into account that everyone else would want to sleep as well.  The plane was pitch black, and the only light that was on was our reading light because BJ can't sleep in the dark.  Plus, because it was so dark, BJ started crying.  We got a lot of evil glares our way because of his cries. Eek. I truly recommend taking day flights so baby's cries get drowned out by everyone else's chatter.

2.  Depending on how old baby is, you're definitely going to want to take distractions with you.  Toys, books, a bottle... whatever works!  Unfortunately for us, BJ refused the bottle the entire trip, so our "must-haves" were a nursing cover and a pillow! :-)

3.  When selecting seats, try as best as you can to take up the whole row.  For me, I tried my best to get a two-seater with HJ.  That didn't always work. To get to Philadelphia, we took a total of four flights... ugh, that was torture.  Anyway, on one of these flights, we had a three-seater because all of the two-seaters were taken.  Luckily, we sat next to a kind, older woman who did not care that I was breast feeding BJ.  I don't know what would have happened if we sat next to a man. Eep.  When HJ and I sat on a two-seater, I sat next to the window and fed away.  That was the easiest and most comfortable!

4.  Changing diapers are not fun; especially doodie diapers.  We were lucky because BJ was small enough to change on the changing table in the airplane bathrooms.  I've heard of others who change their babies on the airplane seats. No matter what, changing diapers is probably the trickiest thing to overcome.

5.  Hawaiian Airlines had lots of room in the back for BJ when he was crying.  We just rocked him to sleep in the back of the plane, and took him back to the seat.  American Airlines wasn't as spacious, but it could be because we had shorter trips on the AA flights.


Okay, that's it for now.  Next posting: Tips for Traveling with a Baby - Breastfeeding Version. :-)