Travel Tips for Taking a Baby or Toddler on a Long Haul Flight

When you have a baby you begin to wonder when you can go on your first holiday with the new edition to your family. The idea of a squirming toddler strapped to your lap or a baby crying in pain that he does not understand during the descent does not sound like the perfect start to a family holiday, but if you are thinking of taking that first trip as a family I have outlined below a few tips for surviving that first plane journey with a baby or toddler.

Fly at night
Try and fly through the night so that he/she will sleep through the flight. Make sure you get some rest on the flight too as you may find that at the end of your journey you are exhausted and ready to climb into that welcoming hotel bed while your little one is wide awake and ready to begin his/her holiday

Break the flight
If the flight has a stop over in a country half way to your destination try and get off the plane and allow your toddler to walk or crawl around the airport to let them stretch their tiny legs and explore while they can. This will give your determined little explorers a much needed investigation and will be more likely to sit still once back on the plane

If you need one, bring two
If you feel that you need something for your toddler then make sure you bring another one just in case. For example a separate set of clothes, another dummy etc.

Dealing with the descent
Have at hand their favourite biscuit or snack and bring along a dummy, even if they do not usually use one, especially for a younger baby as it is difficult explaining the idea of swallowing during the descent and the action of chewing or sucking a dummy should alleviate any pain in the ears and prevent a lot of upset

Dealing with boredom
A great idea is to bring along a couple of their favourite toys and when they get bored and restless bring out a new toy to entertain them (try and make it a generally quiet toy for the sanity of the other passengers!). This worked really well for me, I also found that allowing my baby to walk and crawl along the aisle a couple of times in the duration of the flight really helped to relieve boredom. You have to be careful here not to disturb other passengers as it is not fair for them to be disturbed by your rambunctious little one, though people are usually very understanding of the problems of keeping a little toddler to sit still for hours on a flight.

Where does your child go during the flight?
Airlines tend not to bother to tell parents but you do not have to check in your pram or buggy onto the main luggage of the flight but take it with you and check it in at the gate instead, this is a lot easier though you may find there are weight restrictions depending on the airline. You could also bring a baby carrier which may be more useful, especially for free hands to retrieve passports.

If you choose to buy a ticket for your baby instead of them being on your lap you will have to bring your own car seat if they are under 2 years old. If you want your child to fly for free you will be supplied with a basket for your baby to sleep in which attaches to the front seat wall of the cabin. These seats provide you with more leg space than other seats to fit the basket in front of you. For landing and take off and for short flights you will be given a small seat belt that attaches on to your seat belt on your lap. Unfortunately when there is turbulence you are expected to take your baby out of the basket and put them in their seat belts even if they are asleep.

Security rules
As we all know since 9/11 security rules have become very tight. This affects parents in a lot of ways. The TSA or transport Security Administration does not allow any liquids or gels in your carry on luggage. This includes nappy rash creams, teething gel, Calpol and any other medication that you may regularly use.

Bottles on the flight
You are now allowed to take on powdered milk on to the plane although be prepared to have one bottle ready made to taste at the customs desk before you board. A good idea is to buy enough ready made sterilised bottles for the flight so you do not have to worry about trying to clean any bottles during the flight. I placed the correct amount of powder in each bottle and simply asked the flight attendant to fill with water when needed so no milk was spoiled.