Airplane Tips

As I began packing for my and Kiran's trip to DC tomorrow, I remembered that I had promised a post with tips about flying with babies.

My number one tip- and this is really for parenting in general- is to LOWER your EXPECTATIONS. If you expect your kid to scream through the whole flight and they only scream half the flight, you'll be relieved instead of frustrated. If you expect your kid to wake up 7 times in a new place and they only wake up 3, you are proud of them! I know this sounds a little pessimistic but honestly, it relieves a lot of stress and tension. You'll end up being more relaxed and able to deal with the situations you find yourself in instead of being unprepared and shocked at your angel child! I really learned this lesson through Kiran's napping. All these other babies were taking long naps- 2, 3 hours. Kiran mostly slept for 45 minutes but sometimes 1 1/2 hours and sometimes 3! I never knew when I put her down how long she would sleep. I used to get really frustrated when she would wake up about 45 minutes. Finally, I just started expecting her to wake up after 45 minutes. When she did, I was ready to welcome her because that is what I was expecting. When she slept longer, it was like a party!

Now for a few more practical things I've learned through the 14 flights with Kiran before she was 10 months old:

1. Arrive early. really early. You never know when your kid is going to have a blow out right before boarding or when your ticket is going to be screwed up and its easier to deal with if you are not pressed for time.

2. When you arrive early, ask for the bulkhead. We have gotten the bulkhead on nearly every flight. Also ask for a bassinet (you can request this ahead of time but its not guaranteed). Even if your baby doesn't sleep in the bassinet (Kiran rarely did although she got better about it as she got older), its a great place to put stuff :).

3. Bring your car seat. Ask at check in if there are any seats available and if you can put your baby in the empty seat. Sometimes you have to wait and do this at the gate. If they have an empty seat, most airlines are more than willing to let you use it. If they don't have an empty seat, you can gate check your car seat and it doesn't count as a piece of luggage. The best was the people at Lufthansa in Munich- they gave us 4 seats on the bulkhead for our flight back to India. Then they lost our luggage. But it was still good.

4. Bring your own baby food (within regulations of course). If you order baby food and they tell you it will Gerber Stage 2 and you are on a flight leaving India, it will be mashed up something from the kitchen that the air hostesses will beg you not to feed your child. By all means, order the baby food meal if available but have a back up plan.

5. A lot of parents get new toys for their kids for trips. I think the best is a combination of new and old. I think the best of the best is toys they already love that they haven't seen for a while. We regularly switch out Kiran's toys so I just go to the bin that she hasn't seen for two weeks and pull from it. For tomorrow I did get play-doh (new) and crayons and coloring book (old).

6. Babies' ears can hurt with the pressure changes of taking off and landing. Its best to let them suck on something to help release the pressure. However, if your baby is sleeping peacefully there is NO NEED to wake them to suck. If they get extremely uncomfortable, they will waken and you can offer them a paci, a bottle, a boob, etc.

7. Practice installing your car seat so you don't hold up the whole plane. Maybe this just applies to people who live in countries where they don't have carseats :). I do have to go practice putting Kiran's in forward facing since she is still rear facing in our car. I know it should be simple; I'd rather not test my luck.

8. If you are pregnant, wear clothes that accentuate your pregnancy. People love to help pregnant women.

9. Have a packing list. I keep a packing list for me and one for Kiran and I update it after every trip. This helps me cut down on time required for packing as well as giving me peace of mind that I haven't forgotten anything.

These are things that came to my mind today. I hope they are helpful.

For tomorrow, I'm planning to put our carry-on backpack on my back, my purse on one shoulder, the car seat with strap on the other shoulder and push Kiran in her stroller to get us from check in to gate. I have play-doh, crayons, coloring books, books, and a few other random toys for her to play with. I have cheerios, craisins, starburst jellybeans (who am I kidding? those are for me!) and suckers. She has only had suckers when she had to give blood at the hospitals and she loved them. The flight is only 90 minutes. I'm expecting for there to not be an extra seat and for Kiran to spend the whole time jumping off my lap and running down the aisles. I think actually there will be an extra seat, I can strap her in her seat and that she will be so enamored with all the new people and gadgets that we won't use half of the stuff I'm bringing.

I know many of you travel with your babies and toddlers often. Any tips you would like to share? I'm especially interested in traveling with toddlers for obvious reasons.