This past week, my husband’s Me Maw sadly passed away. She was a wonderful woman and I’m so glad that Braxton and I got to meet her and spend some time with her before she passed. Her funeral was in Tennessee where she grew up and lived. Since we live in Texas, this meant it was time for our first flight with a baby…
I was very nervous but I knew that driving was not an option. Braxton HATES the car and it’s the only time he screams. It would take at least 12 hours to drive there and that’s not including stops for diaper changes and feedings. So we booked our first flight with a baby on September 11th. I got lots of great advice from another mom and spent the entire day before packing and preparing. Luckily, everything went great! Here’s what happened and some tips and lessons I learned along the way:
There were no direct flights to Memphis, so we had to have a layover in Dallas both on the way there and on the way back. This made me nervous because that meant two take offs and two landings each way. Also, since it was last minute, there were only two flights available each day. Either first thing in the morning (6:45am), or the last flight out at night (7:00pm). I figured that morning would be best because he usually sleeps til about 8:00am anyways so maybe he would be tired enough to sleep during the flight. Nights are when he gets cranky and fussy.
The flight to Memphis:
We left our house at about 4:00am. Braxton was WIDE AWAKE. I feel like he knew something was going on because I had been packing all night and he didn’t want to sleep. We decided to check his pack n play, Blair’s suitcase, and my suitcase. (Braxton’s clothes, extra diapers and wipes, his sound machine, my pump, his cereal, bowl & spoon, and his baby monitor were all packed in our suitcases.) We carried on his diaper bag (which contained not only the usual stuff, but lots of extra clothes for him, and an extra top for me), my purse, Blair’s backpack, a small cooler of breastmilk (kept frozen by dry ice), and his car seat. Even though we didn’t buy a seat for the baby, we were told that if there were extra seats on the plane, we could take his car seat on board. Otherwise we would just gate check. I liked this because I was worried that if we checked it, then it could get damaged. (Luckily all our flights had extra seats so we got to carry it on the plane with us the whole time.) Our first flight from Austin to Dallas was so great. I was told that nursing during take off would help pop his ears and make him less likely to get upset. This worked out great because it also made him tired and he fell asleep and stayed asleep the entire flight. One flight down, three to go! We didn’t have to change planes from Dallas to Memphis and Braxton woke up while we waited for the next flight to take off. I decided to do the same thing, nurse during take off to pop his ears and hopefully have him fall asleep. This worked to pop his ears, but the one thing I didn’t take into account was altitude sickness… After all the milk and the constant going up and down, my poor baby projectile vomited all over me. More throw up then I ever saw him do before. I handed him off to Blair so I could clean up and right away he threw up again. It scared me because it kept coming out and he was having trouble breathing. My poor baby. He finally stopped and was so worn out from everything that he fell back asleep. I was glad I had packed an extra top because my current shirt was SOAKED. Like you could wring it out soaked. Unfortunately I didn’t have extra pants though and those were soaked too. But I changed my shirt and changed Braxton’s clothes since his were soaking wet as well, and we relaxed for the rest of the flight. (Poor Blair didn’t bring a change of clothes on the plane so he just had to rock the throw up look.)
We stayed with his Uncle and Aunt at their house and they were wonderful to us and Braxton. They had a pool, and Braxton got to go in a real pool for the first time! He was super well behaved during the service, and everyone loved meeting him. We were grateful to get to spend this time with family.
On the flight back:
This time we were more prepared for everything! (Including packing more carry on clothes for Braxton and ourselves in case of more altitude sickness!) The airport was about an hour from his Uncle’s house so we left at 3am. Braxton was so worn out from our trip, that he slept the entire way to the airport and was still asleep when we boarded our plane. I was worried he would wake up during the flight and cry since he wasn’t sucking on anything to pop his ears, but he ended up sleeping through the whole first flight! We had our layover in Dallas and had to change planes, but it gave us a chance to change his diaper and clothes. (Since he pooped and it got all over his clothes…) On our flight home from Dallas, I nursed during take off, and he fell right back asleep. Score! He stayed asleep and we got to avoid any crying and sickness all the way home.
All in all, it was a great experience and I’m so glad we did it. We got to spend time with family and we learned a lot. I look forward to more flying trips with our baby!
Tips (in recap):
- Fly during sleep/nap time if possible.
- Nurse or give a bottle during take off/landing to pop their ears.
- Bring lots of diapers & wipes. (We went through lots!)
- Bring extra clothes on board for baby and you!
- Bring a copy of baby’s birth certificate. (Most airlines will ask to see one.)
- Ask if there are extra seats so you can take the car seat on board.
- Get to the airport early. (There are extra screenings needed for any breastmilk or liquids for baby.)
- Baby items don’t count as carry on’s. (So you can still bring your own carry on as well as diaper bag.)
- Dry ice works great for keeping breastmilk frozen while traveling.
- You can also gate check strollers. (I wish we had brought ours since we could just load it up with everything and not have to carry all our stuff and the baby through the airport.)
Thanks to my friend Hailey for giving me great advice before we left! Always seek advice from other moms, they are the best resource out there.