Would you fly with a 3 mos old? Post Reply

[E_r_i_c_a]

Hello Ladies & Gents,

I am in need of a touch of advice. My husband and I are expecting our first child in August and we are considering visiting our family in California for a couple weeks in November for Thanksgiving. I'm afraid of so many things, and just want to do know if someone out there has travelled a fair distance with a child that small and what advice you might have for me. I'm prepared to give everyone in our vicinity a fun pack for having to deal with a squealing infant. But honestly, and advice is welcome. Thanks in advance!

[pinkhorse]

I travelled with my daughter from London to New York when she was 3 months old. It was a challenge but looking back (now that my daughter is over 3 years old), it was one of the easier flights we've had with her.

Some tips:
- If you are breastfeeding, breastfeed during take off and landing.
- I've read to bring about as much nappies as to number of hours of flight. So for our 6-7 hour flight, I brought 7 nappies. I didn't use them all but I felt it was better to be safe than sorry.
- Dress your baby in separates instead of baby grows so if he/she needs an outfit change, there's no need to replace the entire outfit. My daughter soiled her outfit 4 times during our 6/7 hour flight. All I brought then were babygrows. I've learned since and in subsequent flights, I dressed her in tops and bottoms instead.
- Compartmentalise your nappy bag. I put all the nappies and wipes in a clear ziplock. In another clear ziplock, I put her extra outfits. In another, I put toys. The different packs helped me especially because we were sitting in the bulk head row and we couldn't keep the nappy bag in front of us or under our seat. It was easy to identify the different ziplocks and take the proper one out of the overhead bins.

Hope this helps!

[E_r_i_c_a]

What a great response. Thanks so much!

[tooting_mummy]

We travelled to New Zealand last year when my son was 3 months old and it was a lot better than with my daughter when she was 9 months old. He slept reasonably well and I was breastfeeding so didn't need to take anything other than clothes, wipes and nappies.

Make sure you pre book a bassinet (the younger the baby the more chance you have of getting one so you should be ok), take your pram to the departure gate and take a sling for security, getting on and off the plane etc.

[AbbevilleMummy]

Definitely easier with a 3 month old than a 3 year old!!

I would definitely do it, and I don't know what your plans are re breastfeeding, but if I were you I would definitely plan to breastfeed until at least your travels are over as it will make everything so much easier! A breastfed baby is such a portable baby!

Have fun! xx

[lemonzest]

Great tips above.

I have, and definitely would, fly with a 3m old. Sounds crazy now, but relatively easy at this age (and you don't have to pay much to take them with you!!)

[emmabarkerjones]

A few weeks ago, my sister travelled with her son from Spain to the UK. Her son is 4 months old and she had no problems with him. My nephew was sleeping most of the time. She had to feed him once, but that was all. I don't think you will have any problems. At least I hope so!

[erinisle22]

Absolutely yes. Baby will sleep the whole way - the white noise on the plane puts them out immediately. I refuse to fly with my kids between 1 year and 3 years if at all possible
Good luck.
Aussie long haul veteran x

[JThomas]

Agree with previous posters.

I would make sure you have a sling that is more comfortable than a bjorn - something like a close carrier. There is a sling library in tooting where you can try various options.

Also make sure you have some spare clothes for you!

[SamJo]

Take lots of disposable change mats from the airport bathrooms. This saved me entirely!

[HannaMatNurse]

Agree with JThomas - Bring some extra clothes for you! For a long haul flight you are bound to get pooped/vomited on.

Also, an idea could be to burp your baby holding him towards your chest and not over your shoulder. You might have a surprise projectile vomit flying straight over some unexpected fellow traveller otherwise.. (Been there, done that!)

Good luck and hope everything goes well!

[asdfghjjkl]

I flew with a 2 month old from Dublin to LA (also at Thanksgiving time) and it was the easiest ever. If you are breastfeeding, it will make it even easier. Make sure you feed at take off and landing, that will help clear their ears, which would be the only real source of a screaming infant. You may have to work out your timing, but if you can't feed, use a pacifier during that time.

Good luck!

[theduchess1977]

I would definitely do it. After doing a 9 hour flight with a 15 month old I thought how much easier it would have been if he had been young and unable to rampage round the plane!. We travelled with him when he was 2 months old and if breastfeeding do it on take off and landing. Definitely try and get the bassinet.
Enjoy!

[mumoftwoboys]

Hi

I agree with the other posters, it's much easier travelling with young breast-fed babies than toddlers. I now have three boys (5, 3 and 6 months) and as a family we travel a lot and each we first flew with each child when they were 3 months and we now have very experienced travellers in the older two. So much so that I flew with the three boys on my own back from Dubai last week!

If you are calm and relaxed your baby will be too. If your baby cries, (s)he cries, try not to get stressed by it, all babies cry at times and most normal people will understand and for those that don't, just ignore them because apparently they were never children and they never cried!! It really annoys me when people turn to tut when a baby is crying on a plane! Most passengers are really kind and the airline crew are usually very helpful.

Happy travels!

[helliebee]

All great tips so far. We went to France with a 5 month old and Australia 4 months later. Five months old was easier as she hadn't learnt to crawl then so was just happy to sit and cuddle/feed.
Definitely agree on the spare clothes for you (at the very least a clean top, just in case) and really, really just try to relax. People fly with babies all the time - in all likelihood there will be at least a few others on your flight. Babies do pick up on parental anxiety and it sets them off, so just try and stay calm and happy. You're off on holiday! I remember being mortified when ours started screaming (over-tired) on the way to Oz and I knew I had to stand up to bounce her on my shoulder and try and comfort her - I plucked up courage to glance around the cabin once on my feet and everyone had headphones on watching movies! So I doubt they could even hear much. Try and enjoy yourselves - baby's first time on a plane!