Tips to remember and things to pack when flying (travelling) with your baby

I have traveled with Lil General a few times on road and by air ever since he crossed the much-awaited 12 week milestone. Yet, traveling with him gives me the jitters every time. Sometimes, I feel I plan more than what is needed and pass my anxiety to otherwise non-hassled family members. I am an expert in drawing up a list of disaster situations and rehearsing what-if-this happens. Maybe it is all futile but it helps me to travel confidently and prepare better the next time. I am glad we haven't had too many (or any for that matter) situation that saw us running across the airport to get food for the baby or hunting for hot water. Traveling with a baby leaves no room for mistakes, carelessness or blaming each other.

Here's a list of what has worked for me :

First things first, the baby bag is on the top of my list. But this is one that invariably gets packed the last.

What goes in the baby bag :

I have 2 baby bags - a small one for city travel and a bigger one for travel outside.
I usually keep both the bags with essentials to last me for 8 hours, ready at all times to leave within a 10 minute notice.

1. 4 diapers


2. 1 Nappy liner with 2 nappy pads


3. 2 long pants and 2 short pants


4. 4 shirts


For long travel :


5. Tissues in the side pouch


6. Water bottle in the side pouch


7. His medicines in a zipper bag along with the prescription


8. Formula and 2-3 sterilized bottle half filled with warm water. So that if you have to mix the formula inf light after sometime you can just add remaining hot water and it will be lukewarm for the baby to drink. This was you don't have to find a way to cool it.


9. Bananas, biscuits - these are handy foods to feed the baby at airports


10. Cereal


11. Thermos flask with hot water. You can also get these at the Coffee shops in airports or heat with tumbler heater in trains.


12. something to chew on during take off and landing. If your baby is the cranky sorts, then make sure you carry along his/her favorite toy too.


13. Bottle brush


14. A small baby blanket and socks


15. Small towels to clean after feed in the front punch


16. Lastly, don't forget baby wipes. Atleast, One toilet in airplanes are quipped with a diaper changing table.

Other stuff that I carry around :

1. His favorite pillows


2. More clothes


3. Toiletries - towel, soap, shampoo, comb, shampoo hat etc


4. Porridge mix


5. Baby thermometer

General tips :

1. If you are traveling by one of those low budget airlines, then choose Spice Jet. It is better than Air Deccan. Spice Jet allows you to choose seats while booking tickets at an extra fee which is worth it.


2. While traveling by train, though Second a/c gives you that extra space, it has always been a bad experience for me because of the cold temperature. LG as invariable ended up having a cold every time. But it helps having those extra inches especially if your child is someone like LG who sleeps on a queen size bed all by himself rolling around the whole night.

Most of our baggage when we travel comprises of his stuff now. The 78 cm member of the family rules our lives now. We have always been very light travelers, so it's hard to find a balance between taking all his stuff and comprising on ours.