Flying and Travelling with Baby

Flight

When Baby T was 9 months old. We went on a 6 week adventure travelling Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. To be honest, I was quite nervous about the journey and how Baby T would cope on the flight. Would he be an easy baby on the flight? Or would it be crying the entire time? I knew that he would have at least six flights that he would get through. Baby T ended up going on 10 flights and he did pretty awesome for all of them. We had two long haul flights and other flights were less than 6 hours.

Toronto > Taipei (14 hour flight with a 17 Hour layover) > Brisbane, Australia
Brisbane, Australia > Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand > Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic flight in Queenstown > Milford Sound and Return
Christchurch, New Zealand > Sydney, Australia
Sydney, Australia > Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, Australia > Brisbane, Australia
Brisbane > Taipei
Taipei > Toronto

Packing List: For The Flight

• Baby Banz: I found that these were such a great investment. I would put these on Baby T after he has fallen asleep. This was used mainly to cancel out the noises from other passengers, the flight attendants and other background noises. This also helped while we were out for late dinners and he has fallen asleep, or weddings.
• Muslin Blankets: I brought a total of two. It’s always handy to have these blankets to be used for a variety of things
• Turkish Towel: Now, after discovering how awesome Turkish towels are because they are big, super absorbent and can double as a blanket. I used this on the flight for Baby T and myself. It was handy when I was breastfeeding. Another perk was, during our 17 hour layover in Taiwan, they had free showers for us to use – and it was helpful to have the towel with me to dry Baby T and myself.
• Snacks and Food for Baby: For our long haul flights, we were able to request for baby food for the flight. Baby T is sensitive to the packaged baby food. We fed it to him on the way there, and he was super itchy during our layover in Taiwan which made him very uncomfortable. After that incident, we made sure to have some snacks that he could munch on and one that I know that he would not have a reaction to.
  • Some snacks we brought were: Teethers, rice crackers
• Wet Ones Wipes (for baby and the other one): Baby T loves to put his mouth on anything and everything. Planes are pretty gross. So before we even sit down on our flights – we wipe down everything. Especially the trays, the seat belt, and the arm rests. When we’re sitting down by the windows, I wipe the windows too because I couldn’t take any chances.
• Small bag with diapers, wipes and Honest Company spray: I didn’t want to carry my entire diaper bag into the tiny and gross bathrooms. I would take my wet ones wipes with me and wipe down the table before I put Tristan on it. I also had to have my dad come with me, because my son is super squirmy and it would be a challenge to do it myself. It was handy to have a tiny bag to carry everything (and that I could carry it on my shoulder so it doesn’t touch anything while I change him). The spray came in handy for the long flights and when he had a poop and I wanted to clean his bum so that he’s super fresh and clean.
• Blue Pee Pads: At this age, Tristan doesn’t lie down during diaper changes, but I did bring a couple of the blue pads just in case. I found that I didn’t need them at all because of the stage my son was in, but it was good to have with me.
• Boiron Camilla: This was key. My naturapath doctor actually recommended giving him this on the flight if he was irritable as it would calm him down. Now, I don’t know if it works -but it’s harmless and Baby T was awesome on the flight
• Boiron oscillococcinum: My naturopath doctor also recommended this as a booster. I would give Baby T 5 before the flight, and 5 afterwards. I also would take half of a container there, and another half after.

  I don’t know if its placebo or not –  it worked. I forgot to take it during my flight home, and maybe that’s why T and I were both sick at the end of the trip?

Tips for the Flight

Buying a Giant Water Bottle: We made the mistake of bringing our own 2 L reusable water bottle. It was such a hassle to lug it everywhere we went. I suggest buying a giant water bottle once you are at the airport and have cleared security.

Requesting for a bassinet: During long haul flights, if you call ahead of time, you may be able to request a bassinet. You do need to make sure that you baby is within the weight restrictions.

What’s nice is, at no cost you are able to move to the bulk head seats. You can only put your baby in the bassinet when the seat belt signs are off. When there’re turbulence, of course you would want to hang on to your babe. On one of our flights, the turbulence was pretty bad that Baby T stayed in my lap for most of the time. What’s also nice about the bassinet is that you have extra room to put things.

*Tip: Always ask to sit in the centre. Some flights have these seats available by the windows but I find that those seats are crammed because the armrests are built in and you can’t lift it up. When you request for the centre, very often you are lucky to have that entire section for yourself (if it’s not a full seat)

Road Trips:

Another concern I had was the road trips. Baby T was such an awesome babe with sitting in the carseat for his first 6 months of his life, then something happened and then he started to hate it. I’m talking about crying from the moment he realizes that he’s going into the carseat until after the car has parked at he wanted to get out. My key survival tip for myself is to get him in the carseat when he is about to take his naps. Overall, he did alright in the carseat but I was grateful for travelling with my parents and brother who could entertain and distract him during the car ride.

Packing List for the Road:

• Car Seat: Australia has pretty tight regulations with car seats, and so I ended up asking my cousin to buy and set up the car seat for our arrival when we got to Brisbane. Check the regulations, if you can bring your own – I would because it was easier for me to navigate and use. ISO FIX is so much better than anything else.
• Sun Shade: I wish I brought it but I totally forgot to pack it
• Anything that can entertain your baby: Toys, boxes, books, anything that can keep your baby entertained during the car rides.

The Baby Stuff:

So, it was really easy packing my things. If it was just me, all my stuff can probably fit in a carry on. Travelling with a baby, now that’s another story.

I packed so much stuff and luckily most of the items I brought, I used.

• Umbrella Stroller
• Diapers
• Swim Diapers
• Wipes
• Baby First Aid Kit: Travel doctor- antibiotics, hydrocortisone, tylenol, Boiron for teething, colds, and flu, baby band-aids
• Packaged Snacks and food
• Sunblock
• Bug Spray
• Baby Laundry detergent: Put in a plastic bottle, we only use a little and I tried to do laundry everywhere we stayed
• Clothing: Now, we had to pack for 3 different climates. It was spring in New Zealand
  • For Cold:
    • Peacoat
    • 2 warm hats
    • booties
    • 2 pairs of pants
    • 2 sweaters
  • For warmer weather:
    • Sun Hat
    • Sun glasses
    • Bathing suit
    • Sun Suit
    • 2 pairs of shorts
    • 1 romper
    • 4 tank onsies
    • 2 short sleeve shirts
    • Fancy shirt

Mama Stuff:

• Kobo
• Lululemon scarf: blanket, nursing, warmth
• Jujube backpack:
• Amazon collapsable bag: I didn’t buy it but my brother did bring it and I used it all the time.
• Baby Carrier: Ergobaby 360
• iPhone and Charger (with adapter if necessary)
• Portable Battery Charger: because hey, sometimes I forget to charge my phone at night
• Mother’s Milk Tea
• Travel Pillow: I left mine at one of the airBnBs but it was very useful when travelling
• Clothes, shoes, and stuff: I wasn’t really worried about myself. It was just making sure that I had everything that baby needed. Everything else, I can get on my travels.