Flying with infants can cause jitters in the calmest of people. The new parent who is already apprehensive about taking care of this little baby whose life is literally in your hands is almost beside herself with apprehension.

Doctor, I have to take a long flight with my two-month-old baby! It is going to be a long flight. How will I manage it? How will my baby cope when I have a problem with my ears popping during take-off and landing?

With the advent of the jet age, more and more people are flying to more destinations and more frequently than before. Flying is no longer only optional and for leisure. Often, one has to relocate, get to grandparents’ house, or even travel in an emergency. And flying is hard (not only for infants but adults, too)!

The earliest age we recommend flying with an infant is one month (if optional).

Some tips to help make your journey safer and more comfortable for both you and your baby:

• Do not fly if your child has an even minimal cough or cold, as the blocked nose or sinuses can cause severe pain to the child that may last many days. Here is a situation where one should be proactive and get the baby checked by your pediatrician to detect and treat any problem well in advance, or you may have to postpone your trip.
• Children below two years fly free! While that is undoubtedly attractive – it makes for a lot of carrying and lugging around your infant and is very tiring on the arms of the hapless parent. Try to wear your baby (in a harness attached to your body) when you are outside the plane. If you can afford it, buy a seat (it is 50% off anyway) and place your baby in a car seat that you can carry with you. This is much, much kinder to yourself if you are traveling on your own.
• Try to time your flight! If possible, book your flight around the time that coincides with the time that your child sleeps. Most infants are colicky in the early evening and would prefer to sleep – try to avoid flights that start at that time since, in the hurly-burly of boarding, it is improbable that your child will get any sleep.
• Travel light with only baby essentials. Yes, there is a lot of stuff to carry with you, but you need not have one month’s supply of diapers! You can buy some from whichever place you are going to. Try to take only one carry-on item and check in the rest. The one carry-on item should include baby supplies, 2-3 clothing changes for the baby, and some of your things. Do not carry expensive electronic gadgets that you will likely forget at different places when you are focused on your baby. Remember that travel by itself makes you very tired and weary; forget caring for a vulnerable and fragile child also.
• Strollers: Ask if your airline allows you to carry your baby through in a stroller. That way, you can wheel it up to the boarding point, and somebody can fold and stow the stroller away. The stroller will be available to you when you are ready to deplane.
• Be aware of and take advantage of all facilities offered to infants and their caretakers:
  • Try to reach the airport after confirming flight details so that you spend the least time waiting.
  • You will usually be pushed to the front of all queues so that you don’t spend the least time carrying your baby around.
  • Don’t put shoes on your baby. Otherwise, airline security will insist on removing them (rightfully so)
  • Wear comfortable clothes yourself: avoid accessories like belts, coats, etc. – otherwise, you must remove them at different locations.
  • Choose seats wisely. If both parents are traveling, book the aisle and window seats, hoping that nobody takes the middle seat (and if they do, a polite request works well). If only one is traveling, choose the aisle seat. If traveling alone, avoid the aisle seat—movement in the aisle will stimulate your baby. You get nothing to lean yourself or the baby against, and those trolleys hurt when pushed at your body! Ouch!
  • Ask for help from flight attendants—holding on to the baby while you visit the toilet, providing extra bags for soiled diapers, and providing bassinets (if available) for your baby to sleep in.
• Don’t get upset by other passengers irritated by your baby’s crying. The same people must have cried more when they were babies!
• For take-offs and landings: If your baby is nursing – feeding your baby at these times and swallowing will help lessen the discomfort. If not nursing, give formula feeds. If the baby refuses to feed or take a pacifier, gently rub the neck from the chin down to the chest several times – this will cause a swallowing motion, which will help with the ears popping. Avoid putting them to sleep before taking off and landing, as this will increase the chances of the pressure building up, and the child will wake up with ear pain.
• You can carry as much formula as you need without limit if your baby is traveling with you.
• Baby nail clippers or scissors are not allowed.
• Other baby care products, such as wipes, oils, ointments, etc., are within the 100 ml limit—carry small bottles in a transparent plastic pouch.
• Ask for the front seat (more legroom) and a bassinet that attaches to the front wall to put your child in (however, you can not use this during take-offs, landings, or turbulence).
• Diaper change – Respect your fellow travelers and change your baby’s diapers in the toilet, not the cabin.
• Carry your baby’s medical record with you and have the numbers of your pediatrician and a proposed pediatrician you can visit if required at your destination.

Bon voyage! I hope you have a safe and smooth flight!

For general tips on traveling with older children, have a look here.