Please give me your top tips on flying/moving with a 3 mo baby

[Miffster]

What it says really.
10 hour flight plus checking in time, 14 week old baby, first timer parents, moving to Caribbean.

Flight is at 9am ish so check in at 6am.
Baby is EBF.
We have a luggage allowance of a suitcase plus carseat plus folding buggy for baby, we have 2 cases each. Baby sleeps in Amby Hammock, so that will need to be checked in as outsize baggage (weighs 11kg in its travel bag).

It's a BA flight.

Q's I have include:
Buggy is Mclaren XLR - at the moment baby travels in carseat attached to buggy facing parents. Obviously we can separate the carseat and buggy for travel but I am about checking a car seat into hold baggage as I have seen how baggage handlers throw suitcases about and I don't think the carseat will be safe. Plus it is what we wheel the baby about in. Can I carry baby on in carseat and then check it into hold baggage or stow it at the last minute? If so, who do I arrange that with?

Baby will be in bassinet for flight. Well, there's no way he will lie in a bassinet for 10 hours without yelling. I can put him in when he's asleep but he may not sleep! help! Does the drone of the plane normally make babies drowsy? If so, for how long? Plus, sorry this is very PFB but - bassinet = used mattress? Which how many's other babies have pooed/weed/sicked on? Should I bring something to cover mattress? Can I bring lots of cot blankets or will they keep wanting to see if he is strapped in?

I can BF on takeoff and landing but if he is not hungry then no dice. And if he is hungry he will scream until fed. What then?

Is he allowed to sit on our laps for most of the flight, or does he have to stay in bassinet?
Planes are cold, what should he wear? It's hot the other end.

Has anyone experience of changing a baby on a plane?

Thanks and sorry for loads of q's.

In your experience, what happens when a baby cries on a plane? People's reactions/ease of consoling baby etc etc.

Hi Miffster, wow, exciting plans! I'm a bit .

Will try and answer your qns as far as I can - I emigrated (30 hour flight) when DS was 4 weeks old and we've flown lots since (he's now 2). Main tip is talk loads to the airline before you leave so you know what they can offer you.

• at 14 wks, you should be able to take your DS onto the plane in the car seat if you want to. I don't think it guaranteed but if your DS is in the seat at check-in and boarding, no right-minded official is going to make you take him out for the long walk to the boarding gate and the 3 hour wait. We didn't have a problem anyway - the car seat was stowed in the overhead lockers by some lovely stewardesses for the journey.

• we had a bassinet but actually found it more useful for storing the various baby paraphenalia than for DS! Mostly he slept on one of us, with a baby seatbelt for take off and landing and when there was turbulence (we were told he couldn't stay in the bassinet, even strapped in, when there was turbulence). You can take sheets and blankets but on our airline we were given fresh ones in plastic wrappings. Probably best to chat to the airline loads beforehand so you don't waste space with stuff you don't need.

• I did find that the drone of the plane made DS more sleepy than normal but I've seen plenty of babies entirely unaffected. Yours is a daytime flight so be prepared for your usual daytime routine.

• bfing on takeoff is great for ears. You may find that your DS wants to suck anyway, as a comfort thing when his ears start to hurt. Not much I can suggest here other than try as much as you can to time feeds.

• plenty of baby changing facilities in the loos on planes so you'll be fine there. They usually carry a few spare nappies but best if you can take as many as you can.

• take some toys to keep him occupied. A few familiar things and a few new ones. If you are flying from Heathrow, you can usually pick up stuff from Hamleys after check-in, which helps with baggage allowances!

• I've been really lucky whenever travelling with DS. Partly because he was surprisingly easy on the plane but also because the other people on the plane have also been fantastic. Make friends as early as possible - it'll make apologising for screaming much easier. Most people go gooey over a 14wk old and expect some crying so you'll get a lot more sympathy than parents with toddlers. With a bit of luck you'll get some offers of help to give you the odd five minute break to eat and go to the loo etc.

• also, when you do check-in, explain that you are emigrating and be super nice to the check-in staff. Again, no guarantees but in our case we were way over our luggage limit but they didn't charge us because we were emigrating with a baby. Very, very nice of them.

Excellent advice above. I think it's a brilliant age to fly with, once they can walk it all changes.
If he has a dummy they can be very useful for take off and landing. DD slept all the way from Muscat to Heathrow when she was about 4 weeks old.

Can help with some of your bassinet questions, hopefully someone can cover the carseat angle (although I have checked in a carseat before ... taken it out of the car, covered it in binbags, bubblewrap, heavy duty tape and address / fragile labels - it survived!!! Bear in mind that they are designed to withstand a forceful impact like a car crash.

You can use the bassinet any time except when the seatbelt light is on, when you have to have baby on your lap (in a baby seat belt that just loops through yours and then goes round his waist). He doesn't HAVE to use the bassinet at all. Babies don't suffer from ears popping so no need to feed on take off or landing unless he's hungry or needs soothing - it's a fallacy that you have to.

Put him in layers of babygros (think what you would wear on a plane compared to normally - I used to do one shorty and one long sleeved with feet and extra socks with a spare top), take extra in case of leaks / spills, take a blanket and a few muslins - you can strap around blankets and they will want to check. I've always found bassinets clean and just lined them with a muslin. I've also changed tiny babies in the bassinet - there are change tables in loo planes but they are just like tables, slidey and not padded. Unless you have a poo-nami, change in the bassinet and go to the wc after to dispose of diaper and wash hands.

Tbh, a small baby crying on a plane barely registered - when my 2 year old screams and kicks, that's when people get annoyed. The noise of the plane tends to soothe babies and drown out noise - it will be easier than you think.

Couple of tips - double check that you have already reserved your bassinet - if they tell you that you have to do this at the airport, try to see if anyone else can help reserving in advance - also you'll need a bulkhead seat so make sure this is reserved in advance too.

Consider using a sling at the airport and giving up your buggy at the check-in. Much easier, especially when you have to remove baby from buggy, fold buggy, scan buggy, remove shoes, scan self and baby and then do everything in reverse at security.

Don't expect any help from BA. I've traveled long haul more than a dozen times with small kids in the last few years (often by myself) and I have found they are the least helpful airline. As you have your partner with you, you'll have another pair of hands so don't worry.

Enjoy the flight and have a brilliant trip.

I wouldn't worry about peoples reactions to your DS crying, better to stay calm yourself then you have a better chance of calming him down iyswim.

I've flown long haul many a time in the past (before DS) and TBH I zoned out from the crying noise after a while.

We recently flew with DS at 9 weeks then 14 weeks, no problems with his ears at all.

Agree with being super nice to check-in staff, we did and the favour was returned by overlooking our xs baggage weight. We checked our car seat in a large see through polythene cover in the hope that the baggage handlers wouldn't throw it around - it came through unscathed.

We bought a travel changing mat (few quid from mothercare), it's lightly padded and ideal for use on the fold down changing tables.

Not sure about taking the carseat to the plane, you'll need to check with BA, but on our recent flight we had to leave our buggy folded down at the steps ready for the handlers, it was raining and they didn't seem in a hurry. If it were me I would check the carseat, at least that way you know it's got a protective cover on it whilst it's in the hold.

Good luck!

Some great tips here - meant to add, make sure you wind your LO lots and lots, much of the crying is due to wind expanding uncomfortably in little tummies due to altitude, especially on take off.

Lots of great advice here. We live overseas and our now 11 month old DD has flown many times already. At 14 weeks I think you won't have many problems as your LO will probably sleep - being in a plane is like the ultimate white noise place!

When DD was smaller, we use to out the car seat on the pram base (the main pram and pushchair part we checked in) and then used the pram right to the gate. On most flights we have been allowed to take the car seat on. Most times the cabin crew have then taken it from us and stowed it until we arrived, but twice we have had an empty seat next to us and we've been able to keep it. She wasn't allowed to be in it whilst we took off as it isn't airline compatible (maxi cosi), but she's been allowed it once we were up in the air and has sat, slept in it quite comfortably.

Make sure you ask to pick up your pram at the gate once you arrive. I say this because once I forgot and then had to carry DD to the luggage belt in Brussels and it was a long walk with a heavy carseat!

I'm doing a flight to Central America next week alone with my DD and am dreading it - I think it gets harder the bigger they become!

Good luck with your move.

Thank you so much for the truly great advice. Hurray, this forum is fab. Right, am going to call BA and ask about car seat/excess outsize bags ( like the baby hammock).

I will probably keep coming back to this thread with more random q's over the next few days!

I have travelled extensively with my Amby - don't panic. No need to call. Just turn up and say it's a travel cot, they will check it (they require you to take it to a special spot by the main check in but only steps away!). No probs. You are entitled to it as additional baby gear so we've never had a problem.

One other tip is that if there are things that you want to take that you could buy air-side then obviously that frees up some baggage space. One friend stocked her entire medicine cabinet from Boots in Heathrow. She rang them and asked them to put aside the things that she really needed (calpol!) and checked what they had in stock.

The other thing is to make sure that your friends/family know that you will have limited space and so not to give you lots of 'going away' presents at the last minute that you have to leave behind try and cram into your bags

Oh good luck, sounds like a great move and it is an easy age to fly.

My tips would be - don't ever expect anything of BA cabin crew so if you chance on the rare one who isn't a total bitch you will be pleasantly surprised, phone the day before you fly to confirm the bassinet, and finally - if your baby screams all the way look around you, make eye contact with the people without kids, and say "I am so sorry, I am doing everything I can but nothing seems to pacify him". Make it personal. DH and I have been known to walk babies up and down planes to allow parents to eat/rest while we look after baby. Any hint of a smug "oh look, isn't he SOOO cute and we know you don't mind the screaming" look and you are on your own!!

The only thing I would add is make sure you take extra clothes for you and DH in your hand luggage, not just for baby.

Baby will probably projectile vomit all over you but leave itself entirely untouched.

In an ideal world you'd know the sizes of the people seated in the surrounding three rows and bring clothes for them too, but rain ponchos should do the trick

Seriously, it's a great age to fly. Would rather go around the world three or four times with a three-month-old than fly London-Birmingham with a three-year-old.