Flying/Travelling with a 5mo

[belfie]

Hey Belinda,

We flew with DS at 3 months (just to Tassie, so nice short flight) and I found the following:

1. I got caught by the scanner gates - I had to take off my boots AND belt (wearing jeans) all with DS in the baby bjorn harness!!!! I could NOT get them back on myself and DH had to do it. The entire queue enjoyed the sight I'm sure! So don't wear anything with metal (I was in sneakers & trackies on the way back! Oh and on the way back I had to take him out of the harness and put the harness through separately.. I'm like..WTF?!?!?!
2. He had a cold on the way back so I was worried about his ears (plus he's a congested baby generally)... BUT he feed on both descents after a brief grizzle (we basically shoved the bottle in lol)... and that kept him happy (he is very easy-going tho...).
3. They make you take baby out of the harness and put this feeble infant restraint on (it has a loop that your belt goes through and then is a lap belt for bubs). Pretty useless IMO, but you can have bubby quite comfy on your lap sleeping. I was told to sit him up (at 3 months!?!?!) which I promptly ignored.
4. On the way back we found it was easier for DH to hold baby and I was the "getter" of things from the nappy bag (DH is 6'4" so couldn't reach down to the nappy bag easily in such a confined space).
5. Think about taking a snack & pop-top drink bottle for yourself... I found it was difficult eating their food & juggling bubs in such a small space.
6. And I agree with others that the routine might be a bit out in a new place.
7. Have a spare teat in your bag JIC you drop the bottle!

Otherwise, have a great trip! Overall, ours was easier than I'd expected

Cheers,
Belfie

[Cassius2]

this is fantastic advice! i wish i had of know about BB when DD was little!

i too recommend a little blankie/swaddle thingy on the plane over a jacket. in our case we used our ring sling (carrier and comforter in one LOL!).

one great piece of equipment i got for travel (we have travelled way too much LOL!) is the kinderkot. folds up nice and tiny and fits into my suitcase. i think P&T do something similar. this takes out alot of the hassle of lugging around too much stuff (i travel solo most of the time).

HTH

[teruteru]

we'll b travelling both interstates & overseas next month within the week so would b interestin to know what to pack etc...
for international flights take note of restrictions, luck baby products r exempt.
jetstar website under travel info/family travel has pretty good info for travelling. there's even a packing list generator
i jst read abt the slings/carrier, pretty stupid if u ask me!
another thing, u can carry a nappy bag & hand luggage if u need. just check the airline u're travelling with as they may be allowed baggage allowance for baby too.

snowchickie- instead of bringing the whole steriliser, could u possibly use the microwave steriliser bags? ive seen them at target before...

i'll pop back to see whether there's any other suggestions or if i can think of anything

[Snacks]

one great piece of equipment i got for travel (we have travelled way too much LOL!) is the kinderkot. folds up nice and tiny and fits into my suitcase. i think P&T do something similar.

Yup - if you are going to be doing lots of travelling with bubs, this is a worthy purchase. We bought the P&T for a camping trip (looked into the Kinder-cot but DD was already toddling, so we wanted something more like what she was used to sleeping in. Kinder-cot is kind of like a tent, P&T travel cot is more like a port-a-cot). It is a really light frame, rolls up like a small tent. Possibly still too big for your suitcase if you are already carrying a lot, but it only weighs 4-ish kg.
Just out of interest, do the hotel not have port-a-cots that you could hire with the room? You can take your own bedding of course, but we found on a trip to NZ a year and a half ago that all except 1 place we stayed had port-a-cots we could borrow or hire with the room...
Is the flight around sleep time? When we flew with Natty, both when she was 4 months and then when she was 9 months, she slept for most of the flight, each time. I suppose we were lucky with the timing of our flights, but just wanted to reassure you that your DD will probably be happy as Larry having a sleep in mummy's arms for a few hours!
GL