We have shared lots of tips for flying with babies. But up until recently we have only had to fly with one child. Since we had our second daughter last July, we have been able to go on one trip that involved flights together as a family. I was kind of nervous about what it was going to look like with two kids and two adults but it ended up being great! Today I’m going to share some tips that made our most recent flight as a family of four successful.
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1. Communicate Expectations
Communicating expectations can go many ways. We made sure to communicate to Lucy what the flight was going to be like with a new baby. We talked to her about what to expect and reminded her about how we should act when we are flying (it had been a while since Lucy was last on a flight). Ben and I also talked about who would be in charge of which daughter and we talked about when we needed to switch responsibilities. By making sure everyone knew what we were getting into made our flight much more enjoyable.
2. Tap Into Novelty
For Isla, this was her first flight so everything was new and exciting! She enjoyed just being held and looking at all of the things going on around her. We also were able to walk the aisles with her frequently which gave her new things to look at and new people to smile at. For Lucy, we loaded up her backpack with some of her favorite travel items as well as a few new ones. We try to keep these items apart from her everyday toys and activities so they seem extra special and fun when we travel. Some of her long time favorites are Melissa and Doug Water Wow books, stickers and coloring books (make sure to get triangle crayons so they don’t roll off the tray table!), and stuffed animals. Some of her new favorites for this trip were her Boogie Board and a Paint By Sticker Book. We also don’t let Lucy watch a ton of TV or movies while we are at home. But she knows that when we are flying she can watch show after show (until she gets sick of them!). We LOVE these headphones for little kids. They’re comfy, don’t get too loud, and have a long enough cord to reach to the screen on the back of the seat.
3. Snacks
We always recommend this tip 😂 but it is always a good one! Recently when we have flown, in addition to Lucy’s backpack of activities, we also pack her Skiphop lunchbox full of her favorite snacks. We always bring a snack cup to refill with various snacks from the plane or from her lunchbox and we also like to bring pre-portioned snacks like fruit leather, fruit snacks, crackers, pretzels, raisins, and applesauce pouches. We have never had any trouble with this going through security. In addition to snacks, we always bring Lucy’s water bottle to fill after we’ve gone through security (make sure to unscrew the lid once you’ve reached altitude and re-secure it before your kid takes a drink otherwise you will have a water explosion getting you and your neighbors wet). And we also bring an empty sippy cup (these are our favorites) to put her juice or soda in when the snack and drink cart comes through so it doesn’t spill all over. For Isla, she was too small for snacks this time, but we made sure to have plenty of bottles filled with water and pre-portioned formula to make quick bottles easier. Again, we didn’t have any trouble getting through security with these. You will just need to go with the TSA officer and they will have to check the contents of the bottles and the formula but it usually isn’t a bit deal. Make sure to have a bin that just has food and baby bottle stuff in it so it is easier to pull and go through.
4. Wiggle!
Before you board your flight, let your kids wiggle and get out as much energy as they can. We like to have one of us take Lucy on walks up and down the concourse while the other person sits with Isla. If Isla is awake, we lay down a blanket on the ground and let her wiggle and roll so she will be more content with being held or in a carrier while on the plane.
5. Make a Luggage Plan
Babies need a lot of stuff. Especially while traveling it seems! Make sure that you’ve thought through your luggage and how you will be getting it on and off the plane. Are you checking it with the car seats? Are you checking a stroller or will you do that at the gate? Are you just doing carryons? For us, we had 3 carry-ons, 3 backpacks, and a diaper bag that we were bringing on the plane plus a stroller that we were checking. That was a lot of stuff for two people! Luckily my mom was on our first flight and she helped us with one of our suitcases and on the way back she offered to check some of our bags so it was easier to navigate which was super helpful. But I think next time we travel we will have a better plan for getting our stuff on the plane. Lucy can do her own backpack and then Ben and I would have our own backpacks and then one of us would have the baby plus one suitcase and the other would have two suitcases with the diaper bag on top of one of them. Lucy and the adult with the baby would go first and get to our row then the other adult would get all 3 suitcases up into the bins while the other person and Lucy started to get settled into the row. It was definitely a lot of work but it is doable!
