FLYING WITH LITTLE BABIES.
Do it! Oh my goodness! Do it now! Do it immediately!
Friends ask often about travelling with babies under 6 months and I cannot say “YES! DO IT!” fast enough. I honestly believe that, the earlier they get used to all that flying entails – the easier it will be later down the track.
Trust me – you’ll look back at this stage and wish you had done it even more!
The downside is that you need do more ” stuff “– more nappies, more spare clothing etc. but in terms of looking after baby?! It is the easiest age to physically carry them, entertain them and their ticket is still a freebie!
Click here to see what the practical part of my hand-luggage nappy bag looks like. Here is the rest (and more baby specific-info.)
MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS TO PACK:
- Baby carrier (in case you need to pace . Also my kids always slept longer in one too although most airlines made me have baby out for take off and landing)
- Double the number of nappies you’d normally use during the amount of flying time so that you are prepared for delays etc.
- Swaddles /wraps – these can be “peek-a-boo” tools , clean up messes , work as a feeding /sleeping cover and be placed down on seats or airport floors so baby isn’t touching germy surfaces.
- Spare clothing for Mum &/or Dad
- 3 sets of spare clothes for baby (for an overnight flight or longer)
- Medication that your baby has taken before (don’t try anything new) See here for medication that is allowed to be brought into Japan.
ADOPT A “2 ON 1” APPROACH WHERE POSSIBLE
If you can, “tag-team” the nappy changing business (my hubby or I would stand outside of the cubicle door to grab the freshly changed baby while the person on nappy-changing duties tidies up and packs all the stuff away. )
One tip that I feel that I must throw in….
When I travel with kids on my own, I also take a photo on my phone of each of our passports and one boarding pass.
Then, its really easy to fill out the immigration forms mid-flight from my seat without having to fuss around.
BASSINETTE & SLEEPING WORRIES
I know that everyone freaks out at the prospect of the “what if we don’t get a travel bassinette ?” problem (yep. That was me!) but when they are that little they often want to be held and cuddled in the new plane environment anyway. It was good to have a bassinette for those lucky flights when the baby actually gave my arms a break and slept – but often it ended up being used simply as handy, additional storage space. All I’m saying is I don’t think that it is the ‘be all and end all.’
CHANGE OF SCENERY
This is the most stressful part of being on a plane. There is nowhere to RUN TO when times get tough …so you need to get creative.
When our babies got wriggly we would take them for a walk around the plane etc but, more effective than that was the trip to the bathroom cubicle, (in the middle of the flight when there isn’t much of a queue. ) This “loo trip” is not for a nappy change but a different view, different noises etc.
We would make faces in the mirror, take socks off and have a baby foot-bath in or next to the sink. These rooms are also slightly sound-proofed so I would rock out some nursery rhymes and make baby “dance” on top of the change table etc. This can buy you a good lot of 10 minute sessions and really helped keep me sane too.
WHEN THEY ARE A TINY BIT BIGGER….
The age that your babies start to need entertainment and stimulation brings new challenges – they also have a minute attention span and put everything in their mouths. (Well mine certainly did.) This is also tricky as they don’t have the attention span for anything like a tv show or more than a minute or two of one single game.
My kids have both always loved wallets , shiny labels and paper, ribbons and lots of variety. So I made them little entertainment wallets out of old purses. (In fact, I still did this when my little guy was almost 2.5 years old as still he still loved it.)
This is a cheap wallet I purchased from the sale rack at a bag store for 3 dollars.
When they have taken all of the treasures out? It gets repacked and the fun begins again.
Another things to considering including:
- pictures of random babies faces stuck on cardboard.(My kids both loved babies faces and would laugh and look at them for so long! Creepy. I know.)
- Balloons (We blow them up to tennis ball size and then throw away at the end)
- Pictures of favourite cartoon characters on straws as make-shift puppets
QUIET BOOKS
Quiet books are books made of fabric with velcro, buttons, things to thread etc. I have purchased a few of these. They are so good for little babies to play with. Highly recommend.
Don’t forget to pack for the flight home too….
A friend of a friend recently took bath toys with suction cups that moves and spun. She then put them on the back of the seat in front of her so baby could touch, spin and play. Brilliant!
