7 Tips for Traveling With an Infant

Hello everyone!

We are halfway through baseball amateur scouting season and boy has it been a fun but tiring ride!  Traveling with a baby is complicated enough (all the planning and prepping) but when the baby starts getting older and wants to crawl and move around and explore, it starts getting a little bit trickier, especially if you are flying solo. Having him on my lap for the duration of a flight or having him strapped to his car seat for long periods of time takes a lot more thought and planning. Been there? I feel ya!

It’s even worse when your plane was supposed to leave at 12:50 PM and you end up delayed with an actual departure time of 4:15 PM.  I’m one of those moms that’s always ready and organized, of course, until this time.  This was the one damn time when I figured there would be no need to take more than what we needed. I also had {still have} bad back pain so I wanted to avoid any additional weight in my shoulder bag/diaper bag/Mary Poppins bag O’tricks. Luckily, we were OK and I was able to manage Alfie’s hunger with what I had plus a banana and blueberry yogurt that I got at the airport. The little dude behaved like a champ. Whew!

Today’s lesson? Always pack your carry on bag with feeding and entertainment that will last approximately 24hrs. I know it sounds ridiculous, but when you have a little one (and an airport that doesn’t sell any diapers or baby food WTF!) you have to be ready. God for bid your flight gets cancelled, your bag can’t be retrieved from the airplane’s cargo area, and you have to stay overnight at the airport. #NotIdeal

Here are seven tips for traveling with an infant in case you plan on doing this soon.

1. Baby carriers are awesome when traveling with a baby. They make TSA a breeze. You can leave your baby in the carrier as you walk through the machine. Yay!
2. Take your stroller. You don’t know how long you’ll be at the airport, so having a stroller as a back up for your baby or any additional bags is a win-win. Plus if you have a layover and might have to pull a “Home Alone” sprint through Chicago O’Hare, I’m sure it will come in handy. My City Mini  is freakin’ awesome! It collapses completely with one quick tug and I can haul it up into the TSA machine with one hand because it’s so light! Gotta love that!
3. Don’t order a beverage on the plane, unless you plan on chugging it. You’ve got no hands.
4. Dress your baby in comfy clothes and easy to maneuver pants/onesies. You don’t want to get caught in an airplane lavatory (that word only gets used on planes, fyi) for 13 minutes while you attempt to zip, button and tie your baby’s outfit. The plane’s aisle is not a runway.
5. Pack a sack full of patience and get to the airport with enough time.  (Yes, even more time than normal folks sans bebé). You’ll need it.
6. Get into the plane last. I’ll do that if it’s a full flight. The least time you spend on the plane, the better. If you’re flying with an airline like Southwest, maybe getting in a bit earlier is best, so that you can secure a window seat and potentially an entire row. Babies are people repellers on planes. LOL! It works.
7. Get a window seat. Babies love windows. The aisle has too much action and less restraint.

As we normally do when we travel with the hubs in season, we don’t get the opportunity to do a lot of touristy stuff because of game scheduling conflicts, weather and travel time but at least we’re together as a family enjoying each others’ company. It’s all worth it when I see my two loves share some time together.

Thus far this season, Alfie and I have been on six flights, three states and six cities in 1.5 months. We might have more to go but for now we are enjoying being at home.

Thanks for reading!