Our first cross-country baby airplane adventure began when our first son was just 6 months old- and we’ve been on tons of flights ever since! So many people ask me about tips & tricks, so I wanted to share my favorite tips and products to keep baby (and mama) happy. 

Flying With a Baby:

(Side note, this post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through them, your price won’t change- but you’ll be helping me feed a toddler who literally eats more than I do!)

Car Seats While Traveling

If your baby is flying for free on your lap, you should still bring their car seat to use at your destination! Rental car places don’t guarantee car seat availability, plus you have no idea what that car seat has been through (or who’s pooped on it). You can gate check your car seat and stroller for FREE- just get tags at your gate. It’s vital, however, to use both stroller and car seat gate check bags. Airlines are not held responsible for your car seat or stroller. We have used gate check bags every time, and they are filthy with oil and grease. If we hadn’t used bags, that oil would be all over our expensive baby gear! Plus, the bags have shoulder straps and make it so much easier to carry them through the airport! Do yourself a HUGE favor and invest in these! Click here for our favorite stroller bag and here for our car seat bag.

Babywearing on Airplanes

I am such a huge fan of babywearing, and perhaps my favorite way to use it is at the airport and on planes! So many perks: you can wear baby through security, leave your stroller at home (or carry it in your gate check bag on your shoulder), nurse while walking to your gate, and best of all, help baby take a nice long nap on the plane while your hands are free to read or simply relax! I even wore my nearly 2 year old while I was pregnant, and he took a nap on the flight! My very favorite carrier is the Lillebaby Complete 6-in-1, which I used with my 2 year old until I got too pregnant to use it comfortably (although if I wasn’t pregnant, I could have used it until he was 3 or older!). I then used it with my newborn. It’s so versatile! I tried out lots of different carriers and this one holds up so much better and is much better on my back. Plus the mesh version is great for the summer because my babies sure do sweat a lot!

Best Apps for Babies on Planes

Even if you avoid screens usually, you want this option in your back pocket. There will likely be a time when your baby will lose their ever loving mind. It just happens during a long day of travel. There’s nothing worse than a screaming baby when the seatbelt signs are on and you are stuck in your seat surrounded by annoyed people. The trick to screen time is making sure you have apps pre-downloaded that don’t require any wifi. You’d be amazed how many apps rely on data to operate. Here are my FREE favorites that our 6 month old absolutely loved, and that snapped him out of his funk:

Fisher Price Storybook Rhymes

Fisher Price Learn & Play

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Puppy

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Where’s Puppy

The best part is that these apps are educational and take up very little space. If you add any more apps, be sure to test them on airplane mode to make sure you won’t have a frustrated baby who tries features that don’t work!

What to Bring When Flying With a Baby

• First of all, did you know that you get to bring a diaper bag for each baby, for free?! What a reason to keep having lots of kids! 😉
• Bring lots of snacks, both kid and adult favorites! As the old saying goes, snacks cover a multitude of sins… or something like that.
• Bless it, hand sanitizer and travel Lysol wipes are your very best friends. Stock up! (I said this before we were in a pandemic but it sure is timely advice now!)
• It’s always recommended to bring a copy of baby’s birth certificate. Better safe than sorry! 
• Pacifier clips are a must have, as well as extra pacifiers! Nothing worse than an invaluable pacifier dropping on an airplane floor. Blech!
• If you bring formula on the plane, you’re also allowed to bring unopened bottled water. Yay for not having to buy a $5 bottle in the airport! Bring an extra… 😉 
• If you’re nursing, bring one of these amazing, earth-friendly HYDAWAY collapsible water bottles to fill up post-security. I’m such a thirsty breastfeeder and it feels SO long waiting for the snacks and drinks to be served on the flight. 

More Tips on Flying With a Baby

• Security checkpoints can be very stressful. Reduce the stress by putting all of baby’s “questionables” like formula, milk, liquid tylenol, etc, in the same part of the diaper bag so you can quickly get them out. Remember that TSA is very understanding of babies and kids, and as long as you’re friendly and smile, they are happy to take the time to check out all your extras.
• Direct flights are soooo much better. Too bad they aren’t offered from our city to our family’s city! Boooo. But trust me, it’s worth the extra money to only go through one takeoff/landing and no layover! 
• If you’ll need to warm a bottle on the plane, ask for the hot water WAY before you need it. It takes a while, especially if they are serving snacks or hit turbulence.
• Avoid ear pain for your baby by having them suck on a pacifier or bottle, or by nursing. 
• If you have a long travel day ahead of you, the best time to start is very early morning- like 4am. That way your baby arrives at their destination long before bedtime. On our first trip, we arrived at the hotel at 3am our time, and our baby had a meltdown like never before. Mess with nap times all you want, but babies like bedtime consistency. If your baby’s day starts several hours early at the airport, they seem to adjust pretty easily and keep their usual schedule.

Finding a Family-Friendly Hotel

We’ve learned that VRBOs (Vacation Rentals By Owner) are so much easier to bring kids to than a hotel room. There’s much more space and it’s a lot cozier, plus you don’t share walls with people who will be upset about your crazy baby’s middle of the night antics! Many of these rentals try to stand out by offering child-friendly amenities. Check to see if one in your destination city provides a pack n play for you to use. I can’t imagine bringing my kids to a regular hotel room now that I’ve been spoiled by 3 bedroom VRBOs that allow everyone to sleep separately!

Do you have any tips to add? I’m traveling with our two boys again soon, so I’d love to learn from your experiences!!