First Vacation - Syracuse,NY

If he's comfortable in his car seat, buy a ticket for your son, or pick flights that are not popular and have empty seats. If he hates the carseat, or you don't want to spend the $ for a seat, wear him with a carrier & he'll be cozier & you'll have your hands free.
Bring a medium size lightweight blanket that you can use on the plane to cuddle, AND use in the airport during your layover. Airport floors are gross, but he'll enjoy the chance to stretch out & play a little, especially after being cooped up in the plane.
Bring infant Motrin or tylenol on the flight for the teething, or in case of emergency earaches at your destination. Bring lots of bottles or be ready to breast feed a lot - milk is the best soother for ears popping, or restlessness on the plane.
Check whether your airplane has a changing table - your itinerary will tell you what kind of plane you're on, and you can check seatguru.com for whether the plane has a changing table. (Boeing 757s don't, Airbus 319s do, etc.). If it doesn't, plan to bring extra hand sanitizer, and something to lay down in the galley, or on an empty seat, or god forbid - the toilet seat in the lav, etc. to do a change.
Make small mini diaper changing "kits" with 1 diaper, some wipes & a onesie. You won't want to lug your whole diaper bag to the lavatory, if you could just take a little quart ziplock with your essentials.
Plan to check your bags. Try to limit the amount of stuff you carry on. You NEED: 2 extra 1-pc jammies for your son, 3-4 mini diaper kits, an extra shirt for you (in case of blowout incidents), bottles, small snacks (if he's on solids), a few critical toys (At 6 months, we always traveled with a book, something to shake, something that lit up, something to cuddle, and something to suck), a bottle of water and snack for you, your essentials (wallet, keys, lipstick, etc.) and a magazine for you. Nearly everything else is a hassle. Make sure you can justify anything else you bring onboard.
When you get to your seat, put all of your essentials in the seatback pocket, so you have bottle, pacifier, diaper changing kit, a toy, book immediately at arm's reach.
Keep in mind: your priorities are first to your & your child's safety, then your comfort; lastly, the experience of those around you. If you have a rough time, because of the teething, or whatever happens on your first trip with baby, know that the plane ride WILL END, and if other passengers give you a hard time, you'll likely never see them again. Another poster thought that is not good to say - I don't mean you should disregard your fellow passengers, but I do mean that you have to keep your responsibilities in perspective. I don't mean to invite bad karma or anything by allowing your son to scream uncontrolled on the plane. What I mean is that, sometimes, there just isn't anything you can do- once you try bottle, changing, toys, a book, a new outfit, a walk in the galley of the plan, etc, you're out of options. You're stuck on a plane. You can apologize to the folks around you, but you sometimes just have to take a deep breath and know that it will end once you land, and it will be OK.

If you are breastfeeding, it's the biggest help ever! I always breastfed on take-off and landing and we never had the screaming kids because of the pressure on their ears.

We've started flying with all of our babies at 3 months of age and they are rockin' travelers.

We use a combo of Hyland's teething tablets, Calms Forte 4 Kids and liquid calmag from Bluebonnett. Our kids sail through teething.

You'll be fine. Have a great time!

a day or 2 before you leave, you may want to take him in for a quick nurse check at his pediatricians office, just to check for ear infection etc.....and yes if you are nursing, this will be a big help.....i also loved the hylands teething tablets....good luck

Are you flying at night? If so, that's good....try to keep your baby up as long as possible, so perhaps he will sleep most of the flight. If your flying during the day, just try to keep him awake, active, dry and well fed when you are ready to board, then he may nap when you are in the air.

I agree with the poster that suggested you speak with the airline to make sure of all the guidelines. I do not agree that the comfort of the other passengers should be your last consideration. That would just be BAD Karma!

You will probably be among those who are allowed to board first. I wish you a wonderful vacation. I once flew from San Francisco to Hawaii and back with a small baby, he was very good and the flight crew was right there ready to help me....I hope they will be there for you and your baby too.

Blessings...

I flew with my daughter when she was about 5months old. The BEST thing I did was have my daughter take a bottle (or breastfed) during takeoff and when landing. Depending on the length of the flight the baby might not drink much but it will create a sucking that will help with ear pressure.

If your little one takes a pacifier that could also help by sucking on that if the baby will not take a bottle/breast.

If your baby has a "favorite" toy/stuff animal that is a must to dsitract them through out the flight.

Lastly check with your little one's doctor and ask if it would be ok to give advil (or whatever is similar and safe for the little one) because that can help with any swelling in the ear/nose/sinus area where the pressure of the air changes effect you most.