I’m currently gearing up to head back to Stockholm after a short stint with my six month old to the States. This was my first time traveling solo with her across the Atlantic and gratefully, I’m blessed with a baby that isn’t too finicky. She takes everything in with large curious eyes, is extremely social, and always wants to be in the midst of action.
So in general, travelling solo with her was a (slight) breeze. While other babies screamed their lungs out onboard, she was calm, flirted with the flight attendants, and just ate and pooped to her heart’s content with the occasional nap thrown in there.
While there is no shortage of excellent travel sites that list out what to pack, what to do, what not to do, and all about traveling with babies, duplicating them here solely for SEO reasons isn’t my thing. So here are a few things I personally won’t do on my next long flight with baby.
Wear black
Well, this should have been a no-brainer, but I wanted to look a bit put-together while traveling. Thinking that a cloth bib would suffice for a teething drooling baby wasn’t smart. I was already drenched in white baby goo by the time I reached Heathrow.
Wear a belt
Setting off the security buzzer multiple times and trying to unbuckle and re-buckle a belt while a baby is strapped to your chest without head butting her can be challenging.
Wear anything higher than one inch
I obviously wasn’t running through terminals in heels but I do like low wedges. Having always pushed a stroller and leaving the Baby Björn duties to the hubby, I noticed the slight bounce as I rushed around the airport and oftentimes had to support her head with a palm.
Feed her with my finger
No matter how furiously I wash my hands or how clean I think my fingers are, airports and planes are germy incubators of nastiness.
At least she waited till we’d reached the US to projectile-vomit.
For those of you with babies/toddlers, any lessons learned while on long haul flights?
I took my daughter on a long haul flight to Pakistan, PLUS there was a transit in Dubai. All in all was a good journey but, i would agree on the not wearing black dress code haha. Also i normally just let my toddler use the aisles to roam around as she hates being strapped in. Another thing i found out was that she gets super excited and so sleeps less, however I assumed she’d just fall asleep. How wrong was I !
Unfortunately I learned a hard and tiring lesson, NEVER take more than one hand luggage bag! I had a stroller, and 2 on flight bags which I eventually had to get help with from a fellow passenger as he saw me struggling. Oh and dont be shy to ask for help hehe
I definitely hear you! No black clothes and definitely one hand luggage for convenience. Because I often carry pro camera gear and a laptop too, I sometimes have a diaper bag and a roll-on bag but the lighter, the better.
@Heather – Exactly! 🙂
I hear you on wearing practical clothes, especially when you need to get through security. The time it takes to put on a belt is more than enough time for a toddler to run away!
@Tatiana – Haaaa….sleep! I treat it like treasure now 🙂
You know, the first thing people tell you is “Sleep when the baby sleeps.” Silly me, but I forgot that this applies to toddlers on long-haul flights, too. On the last leg of our trip from the US to Germany, I wanted a nap, but my son was wide awake! Lesson learned. 🙂
@Terri – Haha! Thanks. White spit tracks running down black clothing isn’t cute anymore 🙂
@Andi – Thanks…Wait?!!! Did I miss an announcement? I hope not! 😉
I love love love that you’re already traveling with her, you’re SO inspiring to me as I get ready to approach becoming a Mom!
Thanks for the tips! I have to say that I would totally wear black, but your explanation makes total sense. She seems like a pretty chill baby, which is a good thing. 🙂