Our First Trip with Baby on a Plane

I'm in sales and I travel all the time. I am also a single mom so I take my son & my granny nanny (my mom) with. My son had taken 18 flights by his second birthday. Here is what I can advise:)

Take your car seat with you to the gate. If there is an empty seat on the plane they will move passengers so you can put your daughter in her seat. This is a life saver if you can do it. Kids are used to riding in their seat and my son usually did really well. If there is not an empty seat they will simply check it at the gate.

I had a theory to fly when my son would be tired so he would sleep on the plane. He was so social that did not always work well. The thought of him up and missing a nap, was not a happy thought for me flying. He did ok the times I tried it, but rarely went to sleep. If she goes to sleep easily in public you may want to fly during nap time. My son did not. I did try fly during an "eating" time. I would bring his favorite things to eat and that would take up a whole bunch of plane time. I also brought a mini dvd player (if she likes movies), some quiet toys, and books.

I usually gave him some sort of decongestant with the theory that might help his ears. You might want to check with your doctor on that one. I also made sure I had something good/special to drink during take off & landing. That way the sucking action really helped his little ears pop. I nursed until he was 12 months old so he would just sit under the blanket sucking away happy as a clam. He never really seemed to have problems with his ears.

Good luck. Have fun and don't stress about it too much. Anyone that has kids knows sometimes they cry. Anyone flying that doesn't want to be disturbed should bring a head set:)

We just got back from a FL to visit my in-laws (they're snowbirds) and I couldn't even sleep the night before the trip. I was so nervous about being that "crying baby on the plane". Luckily- my daughter (8 mos) was perfect for both flights. We brought her car seat and stroller with to the gate and checked it there. You have to take the baby out of the stroller and send that through the x-ray machine when you go through security. I didn't know that and I wish I knew that ahead of time. So be ready. The flight was packed (both ways) and we didn't buy her a seat. We had to let the airline know we had her- she had her own boarding ticket and was considered a "lap" baby. There was even a small fee for this. My husband asked what this went to and they couldn't answer. But- it beat paying for a full price ticket. So she sat in our laps. I had changed her diaper right before boarding- I just didn't want to have to do this on the plane and the flight was short enough that I didn't have to. I am still nursing so I was able to nurse her during take off and landing. I was a little freaked out about doing it in public, but I brought a big sheet to cover up and you are so tucked in to your seat so I don't think anyone around me even knew. My sister-in-law is a flight attendant so I asked for her advice before we left. She just said that some people start to feed their babies too soon after they taxi away from the gate. She said sometimes it takes forever to take off and then it takes quite a while for the air pressure to regulate and for the plane to get to cruising altitude. The best thing we did was bring along hershey bars that I had wrapped in our own labels. I thought that chocolate could cure everyone's bad attitude. The labels on the front said "SO SORRY" (in Hershey's font) and on the back it said: Please accept this small token from our family. We hope the flight is relaxing & peaceful. Usually our daughter is as sweet as chocolate. In case she’s not, we are so grateful that you understand that sometimes . . . babies cry. We handed them to the row in front and back of us and the person sitting next to us as soon as everyone was settled. It was such an ice breaker and made everyone relax a little bit. The row in front of us actually gave them back to us as we were landing because our daughter had been so good. The others had already been eaten! We brought books and toys in her diaper bag. I kept it organized and put it on the floor in front of my feet so it was easy to get to.

When we got to Florida my in-laws had actually rented a high chair, jumperoo, and pack and play. I'm not sure if every area has this service, but in Florida there are a lot of Grandparents! You might want to check on this for your trip. I couldn't imagine traveling with more than we did.

Best of luck. Don't stress as much as I did. It is much easier than it seems!

definately your convertable car seat, i bought a few new books, snacks, change of clothes, new top for you just in case, i attatched some toys to his car seat straps with those rings, its hard to pick up toys in an airplane, give the baby a drink or paci while taking off and landing, a favorite blanket, my dd sleeps well in her car seat so she always naps well on the plane, my husband's laptop plays movies in a crunch if necessary, if you are bringing a stroller take it with you to the gate it gets less damaged that way

I just flew to Phoenix to visit my sister last week!
My daughter is 17 months and is great in her carseat in the car. I did not think for 1 second that she would sit quietly on my lap for 4 hours, so I got her her own seat and brought her carseat (a Britax Decathlon).
She was so good, I was so proud of her. I really think her having her own seat is what did it. She actually slept for a while both ways. I also think that is is safer for them to be in a seat. You never want to think the worst...but even bad turbulence could jostle a baby out of your lap or something.
To get the seat around a friend recommended this to me:
http://tinyurl.com/2nlrb3
BEST THING EVER!!! It was so easy and I had lots of parents with kids asking where they could get one because it suxks to lug a carseat through the airport! LOL

My daughter slept in a pack 'n play. Never for a second did I think she would, but she slept and napped in it with no complaints.

I brought yummy snacks and I hid her favorite books for about a week before the flight so when she got them it was so awesome she just couldn't put them down :)

Give your daughter something to suck on during takeoff. It is supposed to help their ears. My daughter never gets juice at home, so I let her drink some juice during takeoff and landing and she did not seem to have any issues with her ears.
Good luck and have fun!