My son was born in June of 2017. By the time he was 10 weeks old he was off to Hawaii and we were braving a 5 hr and 45 min flight to Honolulu. I read everything you could read about traveling with infants and I was totally petrified. After utilizing some very simple and inexpensive (relatively) travel tips, things could not have been easier and we decided that traveling with an infant was truly no big deal. By the time Lake turned one, he had been to Hawaii, Florida, Washington, New Mexico and California. Not to mention, on multiple in state (Oregon) trips; he was a summer baby after all.
Pacifiers When The Cabin Of The Airplane Pressurizes
The first tip that I found invaluable was to ensure that your babe is sucking on something when the cabin of the airplane pressurized. Contrary to popular belief, the plane does not pressurize upon assent, but is completely pressurized upon initial take off. So, if you wait to give baby a pacifier, breast or bottle until the plane is on it’s way up, it’s actually too late.
Travel Stroller
The second thing that saved my life was having a great travel stroller. This is obviously more for older infants and is less important for newbies (although having a great baby wrap is best for that stage- I like “Boba”). Having a travel stroller that is 1. Light 2. Has storage 3. Reclines for nap time and 4.has a large sun shade, makes vacations where a crib isn’t convenient or flight times are inopportune, totally doable. Ours was also only $72 on amazon which cannot be beat. We chose the Summer Infant 3Dlite...and lucky for you it's now only $60!
Get a Breast Feeding Pillow
Another thing that was really helpful for travel was having a breast feeding pillow or something similar carried on so that you have a place to rest your babe so your arms get a break. This is especially important on flights that are as long as our Hawaii and Florida flights. What I did was, place the pillow on my seat back table and prop lake facing me in the pillow. I used a Boppi, but they aren’t actually designed for that. I recently found one on amazon as I am registering for my second baby that I think will work even better. It comes in tons of colors and is really cute, too!
Pack Light
Lastly, It is really important to keep the bulky, heavy things at home. Instead of bringing a large travel crib, bring a lightweight rocker instead. Lake slept in his Rock and Play bassinet until he was 6 months old and was sleeping through the night by 3 months. It rocks, plays lullabies and I believe that the new models even have light projections. It folds completely flat, fits in an overhead bin and weights under 10 lbs. It’s also under $65!
Aside from having all the right products, the most important thing is to just keep a lose reign on the baby’s schedule and understand that sometimes their plans are different than yours. As long as you have diapers and wipes and a way to feed them, everything WILL be okay. So, no need to stick at home for the first couple years of parenthood. Go on! Get out there! Experience the world now that your baby is in it.
-->