Travelling with a 2 month old

[arinah]

Hi guys, mostly a lurker on MN but I could do with some advice. I'll be travelling by plane within the next month by plane with my DD, who is just turning 2 months. I'll obviously be taking her as a lap infant, and plan to use a carrier for the journey, which will be around 9-10 hours long.
Any tips for the flight? I'm already considering having an aisle seat to make it easier for nappy changes and needing to walk her. Has anyone here been on a plane with such a young baby? If you weren't able to get a front seat with a bit more legroom, how did you find it in the regular seats?
DH won't be coming with us since he's going to be working, I'm planning on staying with my in laws for a couple of months for support, as well as getting a bit of sun and relaxation

Certainly there are positives to sitting in a bulkhead row, but they don’t always outweigh the negatives.
Most bulkhead seats have a hard divider between each seat, which I found to be quite irritating. On several occasions, I found myself yearning to raise the armrest so our son could lie flat and stretch out between our two laps, but this seat design prevented that.
Often bulkhead passengers must put all of their carry-on baggage in the overhead locker which is definitely troublesome if you need a bottle, toy, or blanket — but aren’t allowed to stand up.
When we last flew, bulkhead passengers were supposed to use the rear toilets like everyone else in economy. This meant a longbwalk from your seat to the changing table, likely with a nappy bag in tow. It also meant that everyone closer to the lavatory had a head start on lining up for access.
If you do get a bulkhead, pack a black pashmina/scarf in your hand luggage and washing line clips. On some flights they often don’t dim the lights for the first few hours. I create a drape over the bassinet to darken it to get my baby to sleep.
If you cannot secure a bulkhead in advance, check in at the airport early (at least two hours) and request your seating preference then.
Don't be in a hurry to get on the plane, even if the airline invites you to board first. The less time a baby spends in a confined plane, the better.
Make the most of fellow passengers who take an interest in your daughter! Use them to keep her occupied and give you a break. Once some young teens happily played peekaboo with my little DD for quite a while (I think they were very bored!) and an oldish lady enjoyed having dd her on lap for half an hour. Another young teen girl jumped at the chance to cuddle DD.
Flight attendants are normally happy to watch small children while you go to the toilet. Just make sure you don't time it when want to be serving food and drinks. Sometimes, when a flight attendant notices an upset baby, they will offer to help by holding the child. Be my guest, is what I'd say!
Pack some extra clothes in your carry-on, for both DS and yourself. Also pack a snug fitting hat to put on if the aircon is bothering her or to pull over her ears or eyes to help her sleep or just to play peekaboo with!
Aircon is dehydrating so several small frequent feeds are best.
You should try and give your dd a drink whilst taking off and landing to relieve any pressure in her ears. Either that or encourage her to suck your finger or a dummy (that works for longer!).
If you're taking a dummy, bring a dummy clip to attach it to LO so it doesn't fall on the floor.
Some parents do prefer to sit near the bathrooms at the back, but noise levels can be higher towards the rear of the plane, this might be useful depending on how your baby responds to noise, take this into consideration.
Most airlines will allow you to take the pushchair right up to the plane door and then staff will pop it under with the luggage. Ask at check-in whether you get it back on the Tarmac once you've landed or whether it will turn up on the carousel.
Even though you'll probably get given blankets by the airline on the flight, still take LO's own blanket as it will have a familiar smell and texture.
Lastly, don't worry if she cries. Even though you may have eye rolls from travellers around you, just remember that you will probably never see them again and you are not the only one in this situation!

@Ricekrispie22 that's all really helpful, thank you! Definitely some things I didn't think about, such as lighting etc. And it's so great that you had people helping you on the flight :) if I don't go in the bulkhead seat, I'd definitely want to be a close enough distance to the toilets, but not so close for certain reasons

I flew when my DD was 2 months. Definitely the easiest age as she literally fed and slept the entire time (my 2 year old DS was a monster, but DH had to deal with him). I agree with most of the points above!

We had the bulkhead, but to be honest I knew that DD wouldn’t sleep as well in the bassinet as it’s basically just a cardboard box on the airline we use and you have to take them out every time the seatbelt sign is on. I just kept her in the baby carrier on my chest the whole time. Had to take her out for take off and landing and use a belt thingy, and obviously I let her sit up and look about a bit if she was awake. People are usually happy to engage with a little baby, so walking around and chatting a bit passed some time and an air hostess was happy to hold her while I went to the loo.

If you’re breastfeeding it is definitely easy. If formula then I’d recommend the premade stuff. Bring a lot more than you’d usually use for that time period. As well as more nappies than usual and at least 2 or 3 spare outfits for baby and one for you! Change nappy right before you get on the plane as it’s not easy in the airplane toilets.

Feed on takeoff and landing for ears and hopefully enjoy the easiest flight with your child for a while

@Caterina99 oh yes I forgot to mention I do exclusively breastfeed, so that'll be one less burden :) she hates sleeping anywhere that isn't next to me at normal times, so I do doubt she'll want to use the plane bassinet!
It is hard with a 2 year old, isn't it? I travelled with DS when he was 2 and it was a case of finding constant distractions because he was getting so fidgety.
Thank you for the advice!