Tips for Traveling with a Baby

Mar 05, 2020

It’s hard to believe Jasper is going to be turning a year old in just a little over a month. In his short year here on Earth he has become quite the little traveler! He has flown well over 8,000 miles and has a few 6+ hour car trips under his metaphorical belt. When I was preparing to fly solo with a baby, I was panicking. My mom would send me article after article about what to expect, other people’s helpful tips, and more.

Even though our month long trip back to the eastern side of the United States wasn’t my first time flying with a baby, I was still nervous. An active 9 month old is way different than a sleepy newborn after all. Since you’re reading this we clearly survived our trek and I wanted to make sure to share all of my newfound knowledge on traveling with a baby by plane as well as other tips for traveling with a baby that I’ve picked up over the last year.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert and ALL babies are different. What worked well for me might not work for your baby. Additionally, I was traveling with a baby on Alaska Airlines. Please check with your airline before assuming their policies will be the same. I also don’t know anything about traveling with breastmilk or pumping so while I may mention those later when we get to the feeding portion of this guide, please know that I don’t have any actual experience with flying while breastfeeding or pumping.

Traveling with a baby by airplane solo is definitely one of the anxiety-inducing experiences I’ve had as a new mom but trust me when I say that it really isn’t that bad. While there are a few additional logistics that need to be worked out to have a successful trip with your baby, baby travel needs are generally the same as what your baby needs on a day-to-day basis. To make this guide as helpful as possible, I’m going to break it out into a few different categories.

Packing Tips for Traveling with a Baby

First, let’s talk about packing for travel with a baby. Traveling with a baby equals traveling with a lot of extra stuff. You’re going to want to make a traveling with a baby packing list so you can ensure that you’re not forgetting any of their essentials. Be sure to grab all of the items they use in their bedtime/evening routines such as sound machines and sleep sacks depending on their age. Depending on what your travel arrangements are, you may need to account for checking items like a pack-and-play with your luggage. I didn’t have to worry about traveling with the pack-and-play on our most recent trip but you should be able to check it for free along with your luggage. Be sure to check with whatever airline you are flying with well in advance to ensure you don’t have to pay extra baggage fees or leave anything behind. If you are planning to travel with a baby car seat I have a ton of thoughts on that which I’ll cover later. If you want to skip ahead and grab my complete list for traveling with a baby, click here! Definitely figure out in advance whether or not you’re planning on taking your stroller through the airport. Taking your stroller through the airport determines a lot about the rest of your packing. You will get one carry on item and one personal item like normal when traveling with a baby by plane and if the baby has their own seat you should be able to have additional bags, however remember that you’re going to have to deal with your baby the entire trip and may need to be as hands free as possible, especially if you’re on your own. I didn’t account for this when I decided which bags to take and had to change my packing situation on the trip home by buying a second backpack AND a new diaper bag because ours was so dang heavy. Resist the urge to overpack because you’ll regret it when you’re hot, sweating, and dragging yourself and your bags and a cranky baby through the airport. Here are a few more tips I have about packing for traveling with a baby on an airplane:

You can fly with baby pouches, baby formula, and pretty much all other necessary baby items. When you’re packing, group all of the food items together so they can be easily removed and examined by TSA.
Wear clothes that are comfortable and shoes that are easy to slip on and off
Plan on babywearing at some point during your travel with baby! Pack your favorite baby wearing device in your carryon.
Pack extra diapers and wipes as well as a change of clothes for both you and baby. I actually found diapers, wipes, and bottles at most of the stores I stopped at in the airport but it never hurts to pack extra.
If traveling with baby formula powder grab two sets of these snack dispensers from Amazon before your trip. We’ve been using these for storing Jasper’s formula in the diaper bag his entire life and can’t say enough good things about them. They make traveling with baby formula (even extra) super easy!
Take a copy of your child’s birth certificate. I’ve heard rumors of airlines asking to verify children's information even though I’ve never experienced it myself so I recommend traveling with baby documents just in case.

Traveling with a Baby and TSA

I cannot say enough good things about my experience with TSA and traveling with a baby. While I’m usually not that big of a fan of TSA all of the agents I came in contact with on our travels have been nothing but nice and accommodating when it comes to traveling solo with a baby. Here are a few tips I have about navigating airport security with a baby:

As far as I know, there are no limits to traveling with baby food, traveling with baby food pouches, or traveling with baby formula powder, breastmilk, or pumping equipment. However, all of the baby items will be screened. Here’s a link to the TSA website where all of those baby products are mentioned.
Give yourself plenty of time to get through security and to your gate
Familiarize yourself with the airport layout ahead of time (look up family restrooms, play areas, etc.)
If you’re gate checking a stroller (which I highly recommend) get all of your items as well as the baby items situated on the belt before removing the baby from the stroller. TSA will take the stroller and you’ll carry your baby through the screening process.
Take your time getting your items situated before and after getting through security. Don’t let anyone make you feel rushed especially if you’re going through airport security with a baby solo!

Traveling with a Baby Stroller on an Airplane

One of our big purchases before Jasper was born was the Uppababy Vista. We have been using the Uppababy Vista since he was born and have traveled both to and from Alaska using it. On our most recent trip, I once again decided to travel with our Uppababy Vista stroller and car seat. Traveling with the Uppababy Vista is honestly a dream while Jasper is still young enough to use the infant car seat. I took the infant car seat since he had his own seat on the plane and it made getting through the airport pretty simple. I’ll be talking more in-depth about traveling with a car seat on a plane in a minute but for now I wanted to focus on traveling with the stroller. Here’s some quick tips:

You can gate check your stroller for free at the gate. They let you keep it with you until the minute you’re getting on the plane (which is first or second on most airlines these days when traveling with anyone under 2 years old).
Check for construction zones at the airport, may have issues navigating stroller
Baby wearing frees up your hands so you can easily collapse strollers when boarding

How to Travel with Baby Car Seat

Honestly, car seats are a pain in the ass to travel with. I only have experience flying with an infant car seat and I am so glad that we won’t have to deal with that ever again (for Jasper at least). Airplanes are not really made for getting a car seat onto them and I had a heck of a time dragging our Uppababy Car seat onto the plane due to the size and weight, especially with Jasper in the car seat. All of that being said, I’m glad I chose to travel with the car seat on our solo trip this past January because Jasper slept extremely well in it almost the entire four flights to Washington, D.C. and back to Alaska. I’ll definitely need to look up some more tips for how to travel with a convertible car seat next time. Here are a few more things I didn’t know about traveling with a car seat on a plane:

Carseat must reside in the window seat, remember this when booking or talk to gate agents before boarding to avoid awkward conversations later
Car seats cannot be placed in the row before or after the exit row
Car seats must be “airplane approved” (didn’t know this was a thing and your car seat will have the symbol of an airplane on it if it is, I only had one person check this and it was on my last flight).

Answering Your Questions on How to Travel with a Baby

Q: How does checking the car seat/stroller thing work, what do you have to pay extra for?

A: Car seats and Strollers should be free to check on most airlines but call with them ahead of your flight to double-check. Additionally, you can choose to gate check both of these items once you arrive at your gate.

Q: How did baby adjust with changing time zones?

A: Babies are pretty resilient when it comes to time zone changes. We didn’t really struggle much with Jasper in any of our trips to or from Alaska. He would get up a little early or stay up a little late for the first couple days but since I was adjusting also it wasn’t that big of an issue! Keeping his routines generally the same definitely helped!

Q: How did you keep him calm on a flight with changing altitudes?

A: If you look up anything on traveling with babies you will see 100 people telling you to nurse/have a baby sucking on a pacifier at all costs during take-off and landing. We didn’t have any issues with either and Jasper hardly made a sound for the most part. I just made sure I had a bottle ready to go if it was close to his feeding time and/or a pacifier in hand in case he needed either of them!

Have questions or additional tips for traveling with a baby? Leave them in the comments!!