Plane travel with a 3 week old?! Help!

[bluestarfish18]

We're flying from Portland to San Diego on Tuesday, it's only a 3 hour flight, but I'm scared to death or his first flight!

What are some great tips to keep him quiet and relaxed. I now we should feed him at take-off and landing. Plus we bought a ticket for him, so he'll be comfy in his car seat.

And we're bringing his stroller to the gate...how can we avoid never seeing our expensive stroller in one piece again? I can't find any of those stroller bags near me.

Any tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks!:boogie:

[BillK]

No real tips from me - other than some encouragement.

We flew home with Zach as brand new (and clueless) adoptive parents when he was 3 days old from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh (4'ish hours) and he did fine. I just flew home from Seoul, S. Korea with Ben (9 months old) back in February - it was 15'ish hours - and he did fine too. I was worried sick about that 15 hour flight - but it turned out to be a breeze.

[tylersmama]

Honestly, it's SO much easier to fly when they're that young than it is when they get older! We flew with DS when he was 4 1/2 wks old, and it was a breeze. I nursed him during takeoff and landing and he slept pretty much the rest of the flight. I would do a diaper change right before boarding in the hopes that you won't have to do one on the plane, although there's certainly no guarantee with a newborn!

I've gate-checked my stroller every time we've flown (10+ times) and never had any loss or damage. I know it happens on occasion, but honestly, I think the likelihood is less than if you check it as baggage.

Make sure that you take at least one change of clothes for both you and baby in your carry-on. You never know when you'll get spit-up or poo'ed on.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

[sadie427]

You'll do fine, it's easier at that age than when they are older and want to be moving around. Bring extra clothes for yourself and the baby, as we did have a memorable diaper blowout during one flight and it got on me too.

[cca]

I agree with the pp. Its nerve racking but much easier to fly with young babies than active toddlers. DC will hopefully surprise you and sleep through the whole trip.


-chetna

[shilo]

i had to fly with sam at about 5.5 weeks cross country for a beloved friend's wedding. i was nervous as heck, but honestly, it really was one of the easiest flights (of many, many) i've done with him in the last three years.

i wanted him in his carseat for take-off and landing, so i did pumped milk in a bottles for both. they still let me fly with milk for sam at just shy of 3, so they shouldn't give you any trouble with carrying BM with you if you choose to do it that way. if you do formula, you can buy a bottle of water once you're thru security. just be sure you have a breast, bottle or binky in his mouth whenever you feel your own ears popping (if yours are, his will need to - going up and coming down).

the vibrations of the plane seemed to lull him into sleep i think twice on each of the cross country legs. he nursed in the middle and was really quite content to just be in one of our arms the rest of the flight - i think we walked him up and down the aisle once or twice just to stretch our own legs. i totally agree with a change of clothes for both YOU (and DH if he's flying with you) and the baby in your carry-ons. i have been blown-out on once on a plane (i think when he was about 4.5months iirc) and was soooo glad, as you can imagine, to have a change of clothes in my backpack. i still travel with 2 pairs of bottoms (onesies too at that age) for DS b/c he seems to pee A LOT on airplanes for some reason.

as far as the stroller goes, are you talking umbrella or book-fold? when i need to fly with one of my bugaboo's, i agree, i don't trust them to gate checking and i do send them in a padded stroller bag under the plane, but i'm just cautious that way. for shorter trips to see family where we won't be doing a lot of sight-seeing, i travel with a 'travel' stroller. i bungee cord my umbrella fold travel stroller and i haven't had a problem yet, knock on wood. there will always be horror stories of broken strollers, but the vast majority come thru A-ok.

if you're really worried, could you maybe pick up a snap-and-go type carseat carrier on craigslist or at a local consignment store or even just pay the $50 at target just to use as a travel stroller and then re-sell it in a few months? or, if you're going to visit family in SD and you'll be there regularly, what about buying an inexpensive stroller there to leave there? i have a friend who left a safety first allura (>$50) at her parents house, and altho it doesn't come close to her peg P3 she keeps for her full-time stroller, it's fine for a week every once in a while visiting her parents. as an infant - a little over a year, i most often had sam in a sling, not a stroller going thru the airport, and we just carried his bucket seat separately (much lighter). i didn't start using a 'stroller' in the airport until he switched out of the infant seat into a britax. if you have a carrier without metal (like a pouch/sling) you can use going thru security, it makes that a breeze to keep the baby on you while you disassemble and reassemble all of your carry-ons, shoes, etc.

overall message - you and he will do just fine. i very much remember how nerve wracking it was, but honestly, it's a breeze at that age.

hth, lori

[hillview]

SOOOO easy. They sleep a ton. Bring extra clothes (pressure change some times causes blow outs), extra diapers and extra formula unless you are nursing. If you are nursing and can swing it try to bring a bottle of pumped milk so you can leave the baby in the seat during take off and landing and feed him. Bring a blanket to put over him so you don't have to use the airplane blanket. Don't worry!!

/hillary

[Jen841]

At that age it is so easy! Pacifier or feeding during take off and landing always worked for us.

Bring and extra shirt for you. I met a Mom in the restroom bathroom covered with poop due to an explosion. I found her husband and had him buy her a shirt in the airport.

When I would travel with J that young, and for the first yr. I walked around the airport with him in his baby Bjorn. Everyone wants to touch a young baby, so with that they won't get as close. I would use it all large public events and it worked great. I traveled many times alone with him in lieu of a car seat, I would just strap him on. Security was funny about it, but years later they should know how to handle it better.

The biggest hassle is security, so know it is smooth sailing after that. You will need to fold the stroller, remove the child from the seat and send it all through the xray.

[MamaMolly]

Remember that you are going to have to take him out of the carseat/stroller to go through security. When we traveled with DD as an infant, I popped her into a sling (New Native ~which is just a piece of cloth sewn into a loop that you can fold up easily into your diaper bag) to go through the metal detectors.

You are also going to have to fold up your stroller and put it through the x-ray machine. I just have the Graco that came with our 1st carseat that we would gatecheck. It never got banged up, much to my disappointment! ;) I was hoping to get a new stroller out of it!

I agree with the PP who suggested you might want to get a cheapy stroller to use for travel. If it were me, I'd look at getting a used version of what fits my carseat on Craigslist or at a thrift store. I'm always amazed at the great used strollers at my local thrift store. OK, well they are great if you want a land yacht Evenflo or Graco, but they are nice and plush/padded an roomy. ITA if you can keep one at Grandma's (or where ever you travel often to!) it makes a huge difference to your peace of mind traveling.

Oh, and again, pack plenty of diapers and a couple of outfit changes. Just in case.
Happy travels!

[erosenst]

I flew alone with Abby when she was five weeks old. It was one of the easiest trips I've taken with her.

As PP's have said, nurse/feed on take-off and landing, and make sure to take a change of clothes for you AND DS. Consider putting DS in one of the one- piece stretchies - fewer clothes to keep track of during diaper changes, and at that age, they still look adorable in them. Definitely change diaper right before boarding - with luck, won't have to do it mid-flight. If you do need to, though, it's not that bad.

Definitely take enough diapers and formula (if FF) for 24 hours - they are the only things that are hard to find if you're stuck. If you're nursing, buy a big bottle of water once you go through security. Again, if you're stuck on the plane, as long as you're hydrated you'll be able to nurse. If you still get ravenous/sugar swings, make sure to take snacks for you, too.

We've travelled a lot, always gate checked, and our stroller has never been damaged. At worst, maybe a few scratches -but nothing major.

Going through security is a huge PITA. People will likely offer to help - let them. If you're having trouble getting the stroller through, ask someone from TSA to help.

Lastly, not to scare you - but there's a very slight chance you'll be randomly selected for an add'l screening. You can't have DS with you - but you CAN insist someone hold him where you can see him. Most people are great about this; if not, ask for a supervisor. (If another adult is traveling with you, obviously he/she can hold DS - couldn't tell if you were traveling alone or not.)

Have fun!

Emily

[tmarie]

Don't fret! I flew with dd#1 at 5 weeks old, and it was a very smooth flight. I was very careful about having her drink at take off and landing, but the pediatrician actually assured me that it wasn't even as critical at that age as it is later on. It is so much easier to fly with an infant than a 6-24 month old IMO. As they get older you need lots of gear and snacks to keep them occupied! :) Aside from plenty of diapers, formula if you ff, and a couple of changes of clothes, you should be fine. I brought extra zip lock bags in case we had to change a dirty diaper on the plane--which we did!

As for the stroller, I really didn't want my new Pliko P3 to get beat up, so we purchased a zooper on ebay at a great price. It was a new stroller but a year old model (thus the deal,$100 instead of the $250 list price), and came with a rain shield and sunshade. It took the car seat and fully reclined. It was made of a stronger material than the Peg Perego plastic, so it took a beating just fine at the airport. We travel a lot b/c my family is in Boston, so its been well worth the expense to have a "airplane" stroller.

HTH. Have a great flight!

tmarie
dd#1 5/05
dd#2 7/08

[shilo]

I brought extra zip lock bags in case we had to change a dirty diaper on the plane--which we did!

oh yes, that's a great tip. i bring a little roll of those diaper disposal bags in my carryon for the diapers (target has the sunshine kids brand little red tubes in a 3 pack for cheap - they're handy at your destination too when you don't have a diaper pail and don't want to take diapers outside every single change). but having at least one gallon sized zippy in your bag for messy clothes is a must too. you don't want to have to stuff a soaked outfit back in your carryon without a bag (speaking from experience here - ewww).

[bluestarfish18]

thank you so much for the wonderful tips everyone!

i feel much better about flying tomorrow knowing that it will probably be very smooth...

we've decided to stuff the stroller into DH's ginormous army duffle bag and check it that way, but i really appreciate all the input!

now, does anyone want anything from san diego? :)