Any advice or words of Wisdom for a Mom traveling with an infant?

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Permalink Reply by Christina on August 24, 2009 at 10:23pm

One thing to know here is that planes are FULL of germs,bacteria,virus and recirculating air! Not to scare you but it is a good thing to know. My son flew with me when I was 6 months prego with my daughter and when I got back home his "cold" he caught got horribly wore and we ended up in the hospital cause he wasnt breathing very well and very shallow. It was a horrible experience and very sad to see him go through all that. Turns out it was a virus. I dont know how "natural" you are but I am extremely so I recommend starting him on extra Vit C (buffered) supplements at least a week before you go if possible. As a precaution I would take some along and continue through your whole trip. This will boost the immune system real nice. I would also recommend some ionic/nano silver too this kills viruses among other things. Not sure if your familiar but it is completely safe. If you want to know more feel free to ask me. P.S I dont sell any of this stuff either just like to pass along the good word!

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Permalink Reply by Lauren Kostantin on August 25, 2009 at 6:10am

Thanks Christina I will definitely look into the vitamin C. Thats a really good point about planes... they are so closed in.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole Bautista on August 26, 2009 at 12:05am

When my daughter was very young we had to make a long road trip which I was dreading because I knew we would be stopping every few minutes for changing, feeding, burping, etc. We bought one of those upright bottles that has a straw come out the top and attach (with seal) to the nipple part of the bottle so the baby can drink upright. It eliminates air- so no gas bubbles and you can tuck the bottle in the carseat for babies that are too young to hold their bottle while they are sucking on the bottle. We were able to make much fewer stops. It was very helpful for us.

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Permalink Reply by Tracy! on August 30, 2009 at 5:42pm

I'm probably one of the only parents that isn't a germ freak

I love traveling with my daughter, and although she's a bit older at 2 it's always been a blast.

Bring a "toy bag" of new things he hasn't seen. Some wooden blocks, a knit rattle, some books -- that kind of thing. This can be your "oh my god he's going to loose it" bag and you can bust it out at any time. Normally I go to the dollar store for craft type things to keep us occupied but if your son is 5 months that's a tiny bit young.

Also, the air thing. Breast feed or do the bottle at landing/take off. We had no issues ever, but you never know!

Wash his hands after the plane ride, and you should be fine, but than again like I said I'm so not like the germ kind. My kid eats mud, literally.

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Permalink Reply by Lauren Kostantin on August 30, 2009 at 6:43pm

hey, mud has loads of fiber right? ;)

really great ideas Tracy. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Courtney Harrison on August 31, 2009 at 1:46pm

Yes... that you're one brave soul!! :)

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Permalink Reply by Debbie Edwards on September 1, 2009 at 9:28am

My advice is to take along something that he plays with from home to make him comfortable. I always keep stuff in my purse to keep my grandchildren curious and occupied...it may be a notepad, keys, small travel flashlight, etc. But seeing all that new stuff will usually pass away a lot of time. I think when travelling with babies/children we sometimes tend to overpack. While it's important to make sure we are prepared, taking too much can just cause extra stress. Hope you have/had a wonderful trip!

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Permalink Reply by Christian on September 1, 2009 at 2:37pm

Is it two adults and one infant? One thing we did...its a gamble, but totally paid off! We booked a window and isle seat. Chances are unless it is a loaded flight, no one will pick the seat in the middle. It will give you a place to put your son if you do not have a dedicated seat for him already. Bring an extra blanket for the seat/floor so it's not so grimey when you put your child on it :) We also used this blanket to let our children have as much down time at the airport as possible...so when they get on the plane they aren't annoyed with being cooped up. I hope this helps a little.

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Permalink Reply by Krystall M Boyung on September 7, 2009 at 9:45pm

i fly every 3 months if not more with my son. Literally since he was about a month old until now (2years and 4 months old). We have lots of experience! Flights are being overbooked now because of the economy so book seats next to each other! We just did disney in may for my sons 2nd bday. we couldnt get a direct flight from CA to FL so we had lay overs which are good and bad.

My suggestions although i dont know how long of a flight it is for you: you are allowed to bring formula premixed bottles of any size on the plane even through security! you can also have 1 freeze pack in the bottle case to keep them cold if premixed and necessary. The airline may ask to test your bottles - dont worry this isnt going to do anything its a strip of testing paper they hold over the bottle to test for bio-hazardous chemicals. they do not touch the formula or breast milk directly you can even open the bottles for them to make sure. i always pack snacks and food. I used the gerber puffs, cherrios, etc at that age as well as the little plastic containers of baby food. the lighter the better! Pack pacifiers if you use them, infant tylenol, nasal aspirator, saline nose drops, etc. My dr suggested giving my son tylenol and saline nose drops just prior to boarding and give them something to suck on during take off and landing. the sucking helps their ears pop! it also eliminates crying from the pain of their ears not popping. the tylenol and nose drops are to try to eliminate any congestion the baby may have before taking off. i have done this every time and continue to bc it isnt harming my son and it works every time! the nasal aspirator is if the baby has a runny nose you can suck it all out and help him breathe during the flight. if you are worried about germs do not open the air vent above the baby or yourself. be prepared though bc flights get stuffy. dress light and bring blanket for the baby and some type of jacket for you if you tend to get cold. the airlines have blankets and pillows but they dont get washed and are used on almost every single flight by a different person. i also brought some of my sons favorite toys and teething rings. just be prepared they may get lost. also you dont pay for a diaper bag or any size baby bag. i would use my giant coach tote as my diaper bag since it held way more than my diaper bag and i could still carry on my purse, laptop, suitcase, etc. all at no extra charge! obviously spare clothes and diapers - sometimes my son would have blow outs bc of the elevation changes and upset stomach from flying. be prepared!

a few years ago it was much easier to fly since flights were never overbooked and unless you are flying over night or you are coming from a small city chances are your flight will be overbooked. we used to be able to just throw our sons car seat on the flight and he would sleep almost the entire flight. now thats hes 2 we have to buy him his own seat and we take his car seat with anyway. it made it easier though bc he was used to sleeping in the car seat in the car. you do not have to pay for strollers or car seats to be checked and can gate check them if you want to use it to get on and off the planes at the airports. you do have to wait a few minutes for them to get them to the gate where you get off the plane but it saves on them getting beat up or ruined being checked by bagged claim. just think about what your luggage looks like when you get it back!! i purchased stroller and car seat bags to keep them clean even at gate check but they arent cheap and its more to carry. they work great though! especially in rainy or snowy traveling!

not to scare you but we got stuck in the plane for over an hour once waiting to take off - well the flight attendants wouldnt let anyone get up for any reason bc we could take off at any minute now - my son had a poopy diaper and they still wouldnt let me get up with him. i had a really sweet older lady next to me and another person and i said hey im sorry i cant let my son sit in this for hours and get a horrible rash i need to change him right now and if they arent going to let me get up to do it i am going to do it right here - they didnt so i did - i flipped down the tray and put my son on there his diaper bag was between my legs (under the seat infront of me) and changed him right there. i always carry the powder scented bags so i had a place to put the stinky stuff. everyone around me couldnt believe they wouldnt let me go to the bathroom to change him and completely applauded me for sticking to my guns and changing him right then and there. we didnt even take off for another 30 min! i was beyond pissed with that flight but i wasnt putting up with anyone telling me no and called the airline when i landed - which of course they agreed with me and i benefited.

so good luck and i hope i didnt freak you out - sorry this got so long!

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Permalink Reply by Krystall M Boyung on September 7, 2009 at 9:46pm

oh by the way they do not have bassinets on U.S. flights only international. sorry!

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