Things We Love: For Flying

The gear you take on a flight with kids can either make your life easier or make your life harder, so choose wisely!  Check out what we use and love when we fly with Claire as an infant, baby, and toddler:

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Carrier: 

If your child is between the ages of 0-2 and are sitting as a lap infant, I have found it easiest to put them in a carrier during flight.  (For more detail on this, click here .)  When the going gets tough, loosen the straps a bit so they can stand on your legs, but can’t propel themselves in to the lap of the traveler next to you, and stick with it.  You can use whatever carrier you already have for everyday life.  In case you are wondering, we use the Baby Bjorn “Baby Carrier One Air”.  My husband loves it since it was one of the more breathable options as far as carriers go.  You can find it on Amazon by clicking here.

Still kickin’ it in the carrier at 22 months on a Mokulele flight from Maui to Kona.

Good times flying in the carrier at 15 months.

Stroller:

As far as travel goes, I do not recommend to buy a cheap burner stroller and here’s why:

  • You want one that will be comfortable for your child to sleep in so you don’t have to go back to the hotel every day for a nap.
  • Easy, one handed maneuverability is so important when your hands are full at the airport, getting around hoards of tourists who aren’t paying attention, or European cobblestone paths.

Everyone knows I love the Bugaboo Bee5 for every day life, but it also makes for a great travel stroller, too.  Make life easy for yourself and get a good quality stroller.  PLUS, the warranty is amazing and worth it in itself.  Stroller gets damaged while traveling?   Don’t worry, Bubaboo will fix it!  Check it out on Amazon here.

Stroller pouch:  We put things in here that we want to have on hand just in case while going around the airport that we don’t necessarily need with us on the plane mid-flight (like extra diapers or wipes).  We use this everyday with our stroller, but it’s extremely handy to put your things in when you are running around the airport.  Our Bugaboo stroller pouch fits any stroller and you can find it here.

Stroller travel cover:  Get yourself a good stroller cover to help protect your MVP -Most Valuable Product- for traveling.  We use the one that is sold by the manufacturer for a custom fit.

Car seat:   A car seat is not required for flying, but the FAA strongly recommends it as the safest place for a child.  Because of this, I know some parents do travel without bringing a car seat, sometimes putting their child on their lap in a vehicle, but that makes me uneasy.  When Claire was under 2 and traveled as a lap infant, we still always brought the car seat and checked it.   Yes, it’s a hassle to carry around, but for me, I get peace of mind knowing that she is traveling safely when we are in the car and I don’t need to waste time sitting around waiting for a car service that is equipped with one.  I loved Claire’s infant carseat, the Cybex Cloud Q.  It’s only 12.6 lbs, which makes traveling around with it easy!  Check it out here.

Car seat cover:  If you’re checking your carseat, a cover keeps it from getting God knows what kind of dirt and germs on it.  We use a cheap one.  It doesn’t provide any cushioning, but gives it basic protection and you can’t beat the price.  Our first one lasted about 30 flights without us feeling that we should replace it.  I recently saw our Car Seat Cover here on Amazon for only $12!

Car seat strap or cart:  If you plan on your child sitting in their car seat on the plane, you’ll probably want an easy way to carry it around the airport.  We are testing out a car seat strap next trip, but if that doesn’t work, we’ll be purchasing a cart.  You can find the $14 strap I purchased on Amazon here.

Diaper bag: I like using a backpack, as any thing on one shoulder is uncomfortable for me.  I really like the Honest backpack.  The basic black leather one matches everything, although I love the garnet and light tan, too.  You can see the three color choices here.

Reusable shopping bag:  I put all of our temporary travel things in here until we get to the airport: the car seat cover (since you need the car seat on the ride over and you won’t store it until you get to the kiosk), the carrier (I put it on once I get to the airport), the stroller cover (if I’m traveling solo and using the stroller until we get to the gate), and if I need more room than my diaper bag provides, the snacks for the plane, and the blanket and doll that Claire will sleep with on the plane.  Stashing all of these things in a reusable bag keeps them from rolling all over the back of the car just waiting for me to forget or lose them.  Then when I get to the airport, I’ll shove the reusable bag into the carseat when I cover it up.  The longer flights I tend to need more room for Claire’s blanket and snacks, so I just carry the reusable bag with me on board the plane.

Food: pouches, goldfish, cheerios (you can even string them on pipe cleaners or string to have your small child practice hand dexterity by pulling them off and on one by one), water bottle you can refill, special snacks that your child doesn’t normally get as a treat.

Age appropriate toys:

Whatever you need to get baby to sleep/sleep cues:

  • Blanket
  • Stuffed animal or doll that you can machine wash.  Claire loves this Moulin Roty lamb.
  • Pacifier and clip

Breast-feeding Moms:

  • Pump- electronic and manual.  I never had to use the hand-pump, but I had it in my carry-on just in case.  You can find the Medela manual hand pump I have here.
  • Converter and transformer: so you don’t blow out your wall adapter and charger!
  • Battery Power Pack with extra batteries- in case you do blow out your wall adapter and charger mid-trip.. like I did in Italy!  Handy for pumping on a plane or when you don’t have access to power.
  • Car Pump adapter if you are renting a car and will pump on the go
  • Cooler- In case you want to save any extra milk or your child goes on a nursing strike.. like mine did in Venice, Italy when she was 14 weeks old!
  • Ice pack for cooler
  • Bottles to transfer pumped milk in and bottle tops
  • Bottles and nipples
  • 2 or 3 sets of breast shields
  • extra membranes
  • Medela Quick Clean Wipes to clean pump supplies
  • Medela Quick Steam Bags– You can sterilize your pump supplies with these bags in the microwave!  If you don’t have a microwave in room, you can usually bring to the front desk and they can help you out.  You can find these convenient bags by clicking here.
  • Travel bottle soap
  • Travel bottle rack and brush: I didn’t have this when I was nursing/pumping, but I wish I did!
  • A few large gallon size zip-loc bags that you can toss your pump parts into
  • Nursing/car seat cover: you can put over the car seat of your arms to create a dark environment to facilitate sleeping, or of course, to use while nursing
  • Extra snacks and water for mom!  Don’t forget to take care of yourself to take care of your supply!

There are tons of new gadgets and gizmos that are marketed specifically for air travel that come out seemingly everyday!  Some I haven’t seen and some I view as just superfluous- but this list will get you through what you need to do!

Is there something you think we missed that is your lifesaver?!  We’d love to hear from you!  Email us at info@travelisforthekids.com

You May Also Be Interested In:

Our Complete List of Must Have Toys to Entertain Your Baby, Toddler, Or Small Child on a Flight

Ways To Entertain Your Child on a Flight