10 Tips for Traveling with a Lap Infant (Solo)!
Tips for Airplane Travel with a Baby
Thank you to the lady who insisted on carrying our car seat to our seats for us!
Thank you to our row partner who offered to hold the baby or help out with anything!
And thank you, thank you to every single person who didn’t say “It looks like you have your hands full!”
Traveling with a baby by yourself is no joke! We had done a few flights before then (easy peasy, right?) with Nate & I was feeling very confident about our trek. Well, I was wrong. I don’t think there’s really anything that prepares you for the complete and utter helplessness you feel when you can’t get your baby to stop crying on a plane-especially when there’s nobody there to take over for a minute or two. Now that we’ve done it & ripped off the bandaid, I have definitely learned a few things that I will do again & won’t do too. If you’re flying with a lap-infant solo (or even with a set of helping hands) hopefully these 10 tips will help you! From one mom to another- you’ve got this!
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Traveling with a baby soon? Not sure what to pack?
Our top 10 tips for traveling with a lap-infant (solo)!
P.S. Most of these also apply if you have a helping hand too!
#1-Pack Light or Plan on Checking Your Bag!
This is probably the most important thing. I only had the following & it was a task getting on the plane: my backpack, Carry-on/Diaper Bag for Baby Graham, the baby (obviously!) and his carseat/stroller. If I had another bag with me, I would have done best checking it!
#2-Bring a Baby Carrier & Use your Stroller to Carry Bags!
You can either check the stroller with the rest of your things or take it to the gate & gate check for free which, in my opinion, is the easiest way to do this. That way, you can use the stroller throughout the airport-to transfer the baby, change the baby if it lays flat, or pile bags into it! We usually do a combo of the three of these things. When solo, I was able to use it more as a carrier for stuff because I brought our Ergo Baby! Don’t forget to get a gate-check tag for your stroller (& possibly car seat) right when you get to the gate, this is where you can ask about the seat availability too (see next tip!) We have this travel system & love it!
Want to travel with your baby but don’t know where to start? We can help you plan the perfect family trip. Check out our Curated Itineraries!
#3-Get an Extra Seat!
There are actually two ways of doing this: Trying your luck or buying. Before the age of two, babies qualify as a lap-infant & can fly for free. This is typically what we do as we can just take turns holding him if we don’t get the seat for free. How do you get a seat for free? Just ask! When you go to the gate to get your tags for your stroller, ask if the flight is full-if it isn’t the flight attendant will try to find you seats together so you can just take your car seat with you! This is the safest way to travel by airplane with your baby and also helps give you a break from holding him or her the whole time. For this particular flight, I knew it was my first time flying solo with him so I opted to just buy the seat and not take my chances. It was only a one-way flight and it was less than $50, and so very worth it. I don’t know what I would have done without this seat! Although Graham didn’t sit in it more than 5 minutes total! What did I use it for? Stuff! The bottle, toys, milk cooler! It gave me an extra place to sit things down while I was holding him!
#4-Hair Up
I made this mistake on our very first flight with Graham. I wore my hair down, we had to wear face masks, and the air on our flight was not working while we sat on the tarmac. It was hot. It was not fun. Add in a curious 6 month old pulling your hair to the mix & there’s not much more explanation needed. When I was sweating bullets after boarding (during Graham’s meltdown) I was so happy I had thrown my hair into a ponytail that day!
#5-Blowout Bag
It’s pretty inevitable that Graham will have a blowout on a long travel day. It happens. Every Time. When by yourself, or even with extra hands, you don’t want to be scrambling to grab everything you need for the dreaded airplane bathroom diaper change. This is where the blowout bag comes in handy! It includes: a diaper, plenty of wipes in a ziplock bag, a change of clothes, and an arm & hammer diaper bag–all in a larger bag!
For more baby travel tips & how to assemble the blowout bag, follow us on Instagram @theduhlsdo!
#6-Awake & Happy is better than Tired & Cranky!
Graham was cranky for our first solo flight and there was really nothing I could do about it– I let him nap on the drive to the airport in hopes that would help, but we were on the end of a 12 day vacation, he hadn’t slept the best the night before, and were nearing the end of his wake window when we boarded… I think we pushed the limits a bit too much. Thankfully after takeoff I was able to get him down for a much needed nap. Sometimes this can be avoided, and sometimes it can’t, but if anything, DO NOT keep the baby awake in hopes that he’ll just sleep on the plane!
#7-Entertainment
My good friend gave me the advice to always have a new toy for a flight. It doesn’t have to be something fancy or expensive, but just new! Graham had just gotten this banana teether and it was his new favorite toy. I was so thankful I had it! Another fan favorite: Crinkly books. These are super easy to pack, small and always keep him entertained. If you have the space, the travel version of the Busy Baby Mat is a lifesaver & you can attach toys to it-just suction it to the tray table & attach the toys! We love ours for on-the-go & at home!
Also, it helps to have a favorite show downloaded on Netflix. We use screen time sparingly for situations like this. When we had a two-hour delay after boarding the plane a few months ago, it was Mickey to the rescue.
#8- Plenty of Milk & a Feeding at Takeoff & Landing
They always say a fed baby is a happy baby! We follow a pretty set routine most of the time with feeding, but that all goes out the window when flying! Another pro-mom tip I learned early on is that it’s best to nurse or bottle-feed at takeoff & landing to help with the pressure in their little ears! As much as you can try to time it perfectly that it’s time for a full bottle, things happen–delays, etc.--so we always have plenty of the Similac 2 oz. ready to feed bottles on hand (Don’t forget a bottle nipple). On this particular flight, Graham had one at takeoff & landing even though these were extra feedings! It was what finally got him to calm down & go to sleep. For more about feeding on the go & how to transport milk, see our Baby Carry-On Essentials Post & Follow us on Instagram! (@theduhlsdo)
#9- Hands-Free Pumping
I have tried pumping on the plane both ways-the traditional pump and the hands-free and I will always travel with my Willow now! Take note that if you use the bags, it’s not recommended to use them while flying. I’ve used them in the air (by car & ferry, too!) many times with the reusable container with no issues! For an even quicker way of expressing milk, a manual pump works great!
#10- Positive Attitude
This is something that is always needed when traveling with a little one. It might be really hard, but it’s always really worth it!
This is Graham the day before our flight loving the pool!
Most people are going to be helpful!
Most people are going to be really nice!
And most people have been in your shoes!
Remember that babies aren’t perfect & they’re probably going to cry at some point. That being said, the memories you are going to create with your little one are what it’s all for! You got this!
What should the Duhls Do next?
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