by Amy Ulekowski

Created on: July 18, 2008   Last Updated: July 19, 2008

Traveling on a plane with a baby can be quite challenging. Plan ahead, be prepared for anything, and always ask for help if needed. During take off and landings I gave your child a pacifier or a bottle to suck on. By doing this it allows their ears to pop. Some babies' will actually ended up falling asleep during take off and landing due to the vibrations. Some will sleep during the flight, some may wake-up occasionally, and some will not sleep at all. Make sure to pack toys for them to play with. If you have a portable DVD player and baby movies then make sure to bring them. This is a great device to occupy children especially during layovers.

When I took my daughter on her first plane trip I was extremely nervous about her getting upset on the plane and bothering people but she ended up being an angel. Also, most people were very helpful on the plane and at the airport. If your child is in a stroller most airports will let you go to the front of the security scan line (which is great!) Just make sure to look for an airport employee to be able to do this (sometimes they are around and looking for people with children in strollers). You can take your stroller up to the gate and they gate check it so you will have it as soon as you get off the plane and you can board the plane first since you have a small child (which is great so that you can get settled with your child and not be in other peoples way). You are also allowed to bring your baby's formula, breast milk, juice, or water with the formula powder. No one gave me a hard time about it. I brought several bottles all 7oz full. There was only one airport where they actually tested the water to make sure it really was water. All of the other airports just passed us through. If you should have a problem with bringing water in the bottles then don't worry. Simply ask the flight attendant for a bottle of water once you are on the plane.

Key things to bring with you:

Extra changes of clothes than you normally bring (In case of an unexpected layover)

Bottles or sippy cups

Snacks

Toys

Portable DVD player with movies (if you have one)

Pacifiers

Blanket

Extra Diapers and wipes (More than normal in case of a layover)

Extra formula and baby food

Favorite blankie

It is always a good thing to bring MORE than you need. During my travels I ended up being put up in a hotel twice by the airline due to flight cancellations (on connecting flights) and weather related problems. I was very happy that I had packed more than I needed for my daughter. FYI-airports don't sell formula, diapers, or wipes. (I tried to find some just in case I needed it)

This may sound like a lot of things to bring but believe me if you end up stuck somewhere you will be so happy that you lugged all this stuff around with you!

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