Flying with a Baby

[PeenieMom]

Hi there, I have a couple of questions as a pregnant and 'soon to be' mum:

1. What's the best / easiest thing about flying with a baby?
2. What's the most difficult / irritating thing about flying with a baby?
3. Where is the best place to sit on an airplane with a baby / Which seats are best with a Baby?
4. I hear sometimes they supply a bassinette to use on the airplane? Is this helpful at all?

There is nothing good about flying with a baby except arriving at your destination. Even if it is going well there is always the fear that something bad (vomiting, screaming, etc) will soon happen. I think most people only fly with babies because they don't have teleporters to beam them to their destination.

Bassinet seats are good in most planes but sometimes you can end up being next to other peoples babies which cancels out the advantages of having a bassinet. You can look at seat plans for exact planes on SeatGuru

I used to live overseas and have flown long haul a lot with my DCs when they were little. Nearly always without my DH or any other adult. Three DC's under 4 was a bit but, generally, we didn't used to have any problems. There have been quite a few posts on this subject already with lots of good advice and I suggest you do a search for them.

Good luck, and when your baby is old enough, don't forget the Phenergan

We flew short-haul with DD when she was tiny. For European flights you hardly get these bassinets and if then there are only a handful and they have a weight restriction of 9kg I think.

Under 2s don't have their own seat so they sit on your lap. If you're lucky and the flight is not fully booked they MIGHT give you a row but we only had this twice.

I always fed DD before take-off so didn't have to deal with bottles or food. When she was older she got a sip of bottled water against the pressure and I normally had something to snack on in my handbag.

With no seat you also don't have hand-luggage allowance for your baby. Hold luggage depends a lot on the airline, we had nothing, 1/2 the usual limit and the full limit. Each airline also has their own rules regarding car seats and prams to take with you.

I found baby is easy if you're prepared and not stressed. Don't worry about naps as they fly out of the window. DD either didn't sleep despite totally tired or slept at times where I didn't expect her to do.

Please do not take toys that makes noises. I also fly a lot because of work and nothing is more annoying than people with too-loud stereos or toys which blinks and screams. Take things you don't mind loosing/forgetting. DD's favourite entertainment is still the emergency detail card, she is 5 now.

Take enough nappies to survive delays. We had once 3 hours in Heathrow. Change just before boarding and don't change short-haul unless your baby did a poo, the space in the toilet is very limited. Take a full outfit and also a top for you/your partner in case your baby is sick or you spill milk over you.

Have fun.

From my experience, flying is a lot easier with a young baby then a flying with a little toddler. I flew twice (short haul) in the last few weeks, DD is 3 months and DS is almost 4.

1. Best/ easiest part is that my baby was quite happy to be on my lap. I fed her during take off, she always fell asleep during her feed and then slept for a while.
2. Worst bit for me was a very sore back, arms and shoulders as it is impossible to put baby down during the flight if you travel alone.
3. Best seats are usually at the very front. Most parents with young children sit at the front anyway, so you will get some sympathy if your baby gets upset and noisy. Do not sit close to the emergency exit as you will not be able to recline your seat.
4. I have never seen flight cots provided during short haul flights, but we had a chance to book one for a long haul to South Africa. DS was about 18 months at that time.

I also flew a few times short haul with with DS when he was about 1 year old. That was a completely different story. He screamed during take off and landing as he didn't want to sit on my lap. But they all do it at around this age and luckily it's another stage that will pass very quickly.

Hi there, I'm an ex flight attendant/cabin crew/trolley dolley and mummy and i often get asked such questions. So much so I set up a blog www.flyingwithababy.com with loads of info to make the journey a little less stressful. I hope it helps you! But in brief here's some answwers to your questions.

1.What's the best / easiest thing about flying with a baby? If they are small it is really easy as they will fit into any baby bassinet. Once they get bigger it very much depends on the airline, their policies on weight, age, length of the baby etc. If they are in a bassinet and fit perfectly, it is more likely they will sleep better and therefore so will you ;-)

1. What's the most difficult / irritating thing about flying with a baby? When it is a loooooooong flight and you are so tired and baby won't sleep.
2. Where is the best place to sit on an airplane with a baby / Which seats are best with a Baby? Best place depends on age of baby, type of aircraft etc. If you are travelling with partner and baby then generally the bassinet seat DE or FG are good because then you don't disturb any other passenger. If you have another little one and yourselves then the ABC or HJK are then also good choices. As mentioned earlier www.seatguru.com is an excellent source of info as you just need to type your airline and flight number to find out the type of aircraft and then you can view the seat map.
3. I hear sometimes they supply a bassinette to use on the airplane? Is this helpful at all? Yes it is, again depending on the age/size of your baby. Bassinets vay on all airlines. Virgin Atlantic's ones only just fitted my 9 month old in. BA has a sky cot and sky seat up to 2 years old. SAA only fits up to 6 month old etc. Please see my blog and it will tell you specifically the details you are asking for.

I thoroughly recommend taking a baby carrier such as a Bjorn or Ergo etc as when you are transiting and are unable to have your pram until collecting your bags, it proves invaluable.

One lesson definitely learned from both friends and experience is do, do, do take a change of clothes for both you and the baby in your hand luggage - and keep doing that until they are about 5. If your baby/child is sick on you at the start of the flight or if a nappy goes catastrophically wrong covering you both, then you do not have to sit wearing said effluent for the duration but can retreat to the loo and sort both of you out!