Tips for Flying Across Country with a 2 Month Old Baby
We popped Aurora on a flight when she was just 9 weeks old. It was a bit daunting at first but we really wanted her to meet all her grandparents, so we decided to brave the West to East Coast flight over Labor Day Weekend.
Choose your Destination Wisely
Since grandparents’ beach house was the destination, we were lucky in that there was a lot of baby items already there. A pack n play, stroller and car seat were already there, so we didn’t have to bring any of that. However, we still needed to bring a lot for the plane journey. Read below are some of our must-haves.
Avoid Traveling on Holidays
Though we had to take advantage of the day off for LDW, we made sure to fly out on the Thursday of Labor Day Weekend, versus the Friday or Saturday. Going one day earlier made it a little easier as there was less traffic going to the airport and the airport itself was less busy. However, we didn’t have any luck with extra seats on the flight as it was jam packed.
Book a Window and Aisle Seat
My husband and I have been doing this for years now–never booking a middle and always booking a window and aisle, in the hopes that no one sits between us. If someone does, you can kindly ask if they’d prefer a window or aisle, so you can sit next to your travel partner. I doubt any person would prefer the middle. Or you can just choose to have a little separation from your travel partner and each of you can enjoy the modicum of more comfort with your respective aisle/window seats.
Let me just moderate your expectations: this rarely works. Especially now with flights being over-booked and standby, just about every available seat will be taken. However, once in a while it HAS worked and then we have a whole row to ourselves! It is the broke man’s first class! (I would even dare say better in some ways). This has not worked so far on our flights with Aurora, but it is worth a shot. An extra seat with a baby is ideal!
Bulkhead Rows
Our return was in a bulkhead on Alaska Airlines. If you can book that, do it. It is even worth the extra upcharge. I cannot tell you how much nicer it was to have that extra space. We were able to pass Aurora back and forth easier, even stand up to bounce her and we could step over the aisle passenger without disturbing them. The bulkhead also meant we got off quicker and were closer to a bathroom. It was too bad that we had to store our carryon for takeoff and landing, but it is a price that we were willing to pay.
Must Haves for Plane Travel with a 2-3 month old:
Though it is light, the Dockatot is a larger piece of luggage. However, we found it to be so worth it. We layed it across our legs and Aurora was able to nap in it, her only nap on the flight. She was still being swaddled at that time so something like a Dockatot gave her room, was familiar to her and allowed my husband and I to have our hands free. No, we couldn’t get up, but at least she was sleeping!
I feel like the overhead announcements are just getting louder and more piercing, but maybe that is because now we are more sensitive to them with a baby. I tested out the Hush Hat, since it looked more comfortable than baby noise cancelling headphones. With built in sound absorbing padding, this cute hat worked very well and Aurora had no problem with it! It doesn’t eliminate sounds but definitely helps mute them.
Finding Dory for baby. Wine for mom and dad.
TV (as a tool only)
Some people might disagree, but I only use a screen when I desperately need it. On a plane with an upset baby counts as one of those times. She was crying and overtired and the only thing that calmed her down, and thus calmed us down, was watching some Finding Dory. Sometimes, a screen can be very useful for everyone–including our fellow passengers.
No matter what carrier you prefer, it is so nice to be able to be hands free and wear the baby in the airport. I’ve done both stroller and carrier now, and it is far easier in my opinion to wear the baby. Our daughter is extremely interested in the world around her so when I wear her, she is delighted to look around and smile at everyone.
I personally have liked the Baby Bjorn when she was smaller, around 2 months, because it was easy to put on and felt comfortable. Now that she is a bit older, I have added in different carriers that are more secure for a forward facing baby (see my post on traveling with a 4 month old).
Toys
Obviously toys are key for the long plane ride. Definitely get a pacifier clip and clip any toys there if you can. The smaller, lightweight toys that don’t make too much noise are best. As you are on the go, they will be dropped so make sure to have several back ups, clip any that you can and also bring the toy sanitizing wipes.
Munchkin Arm & Hammer Pacifier Wipes
These are food grade safe, so you can use them to clean off the toys, teethers and pacifier that inevitably drop while traveling.
I use the Skiphop set as it is easy to keep everything together and get in and out of those awful plane bathrooms quickly.
I used this one as it has an opening at the top so I can see her (and she likes to see my face), while nursing. This was key when we were nursing during take off and landing.
Planes get cold and I like to make sure that she is fully covered (no missing socks!) so the full, one piece footed pajamas are my go too. I like the Magnetic Me for travel as they are lightweight but warm and the magnetic closures make them very easy for diaper changes.
Overall, no amount of “stuff” will make air travel easy, but it surely can help limit some of the stress. At the end of the day, the baby really just needs you, food, diapers and hugs. You can do it! The more you travel with them now, the easier it will get too.
xoxo
Kelley
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What else do you bring on the plane for little ones? Tell me below!
Aurora is adorable. She loves to snuggle, is growing very fast for her age (in the 99th percentiles), is very alert, follows us with her eyes, holds her head up and makes me laugh all the time. She is getting better at napping, but so far that has been a challenge (for all of us).
Both Saturday and Sunday offered a full schedule of speakers, and each gave compelling and useful travel advice based on their own expertise. I enjoyed learning how to better take advantage of my travel points from Brian Kelly of The Points Guy, and of course, learning about travel trends from Pauline Frommer. Other notable speakers were Rick Steves, Samantha Brown and good friends Juliana Broste, Sarah Dandashy and Angel Castellanos. 
Why? 
I only returned from exploring Suzhou, China two weeks ago and still am reeling from such an eye-opening, visually stimulating and immersive trip!
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