how to fly with a baby?

[Ellibam]

Arquene and i will be flying to sydney in november, what i would like to know is how do you fly with all the parafinalia(sp)??
do i need a capsule to go in the plane or taxi's?
What about a pram?

thanks guys

[{sarah}]

You can book taxis in Sydney with capsules, so that shouldn't be a problem & you don't need it on the plane. Prams are fine to go in the luggage compartment, although it might be easier if you have a carrier / sling for her instead.

[lanaktb]

Oh good thread... we are moving to Port Hedland soon and will be flying with bubs.

[Kaydee]

I flew with Ben from Germany - Uk when he was only 6 weeks old, and also from Germany - Oz when he was 15 months old. I 100% agree with Sarah, use a carrier or sling! That would be my number one advice! Then you can have both hands free, and you dont have to carry your baby (and everything else)and have you tickets getting soggy whilst you hold them in your mouth!!

Have Fun!

[lilima]

Great thread/ Keep the suggestions coming. I a flying with James from Aus to UK when he will be 18 months old. Kaydee any advice on how to amuse him on the plane, and how to get him over jetlag??

[Erin_25]

Is it a holiday? I agree a sling is the best way to go, they keep your hands free - also although the taxis say they have seats for bubs they are really hard to get. The sling comes in handy there too as you can have bubs close to you if you choose to take a taxi without a seat. I thought WTF when the taxi lady said "sorry no baby seats available, but you know legally you can hold him on your lap"!!! If it's a holiday & you're staying at a hotel find out prior if they have a porta cot you can use, saves you taking one along. If you are going for a while & want a pram a cheap stroller is a great idea. They pack up heaps better for taking in a taxi & to the airport & if they get broken in transit it's not such a big deal. Otherwise if you want to take a big pram putting it in a bag of some sort first would be good, we also used zip ties to make sure ours didn't unfold. I took my baby bag as carry on luggage, had all the gear incl bottles. Lots of people say to feed bubs or give dummy when taking off & landing....my bubs didn't even stir either times so I was very lucky. Or you could massage just in front of bubs ears, that's supposed to help too.
Just hope & pray bubs doesn't decide to do a big stinky no2 up in the air, those change tables in tiny little toilets are horrible! Charlie was only 6wks when we flew back to WA & I was just getting the hang of the nappy changing, but doing it on the plan was a challenge in itself....think it took me 20mins LOL.
Hope that helps.

[krisp]

We flew to the UK with our DS when he was 9 months old. Make sure you book for your bub (not a seat but let the airline know you will be travelling with a baby) and they will seat you where there is a fold down basinette. At 9 months Ewan was only just small enough to fit into it though!

We took the night flight out of Aus so he would sleep and he slept like a champion all the way from Aus to Singapore. We had to wake him in Singapore to get off while the plane refuelled and then he wouldn't go back to sleep as the plane was then absolutley full and he'd slept for quite a long stretch.

It was difficult but you manage.

You can hire cars and sometimes taxis with baby seats/capsules.

Also most airlines are a bit more flexible with the prams and take on bags when you are flying with a bub. We flew Qantas and they let us take the pram to the gate and it was boarded by the flight attendants at the last minute and given back to us when we got off which was great.

I don't really have many suggestions abpout how to keep bubs amused as sometimes there just isn't any way to do this. With a packed flight you can't let them crawl around and it is a challenge and they will cry but just do the best you can.

As for the time difference adjustment that was hard for our DS. He would fall fast asleep during the day and be so cranky if we woke him. We just let him adjust in his own time and he took a few days, coming home was harder for him and it took ages to get him sleeping again. I don't want to scare you but he has only just started sleeping through again in the last month and our hol was for Christmas! We have moved house twice since January so maybe that's part of it.

Good luck, try not to stress about the flight just do what you can and don't worry about your little one crying on the plane, it's only a short period of time and will soon be over.

Have a fabulous trip and enjoy the experience of showing the world to your bub!