Part 1

Travelling with tiny humans, especially newborns, can be scary and anxiety producing. I know, I have been there. When Penelope was 2 weeks old, we took our first flight together. I was a mess. I was scared, nervous, anxious, and exhausted. But we had no choice. We had a family emergency and the only option was to fly. I was a brand new mom. I was struggling with the challenges of breastfeeding and doing combo feeding and pumping. Penelope had her tongue tie released the day before this flight. How was I going to breastfeed? How was I going to pump? How was I going to do her tongue tie stretches? How was I going to manage toting around this tiny human through an airport? How was I going to keep her quiet on this flight? What about sleep - where was she going to sleep in the hotel when we got there? These are all the things I navigated when I was 2 weeks postpartum. And I don’t regret it. It made us expert travelers. In fact, that first year we took 3 flights! We became pros, and I am here to share all my tips and tricks with you.

Luckily, the first flight at 2 weeks old, I had my husband to help us. We packed a small rolling carry on so we had plenty of changes of clothes with us, extra diapers, and wipes. Our newborn car seat was very portable, so we carried Penelope in that through the airport, but checked it at the gate. There are mixed reviews on checking car seats as you don’t know what kind of impact it might go through when it travels, but we felt this option was the best for our family. I had not yet figured out wraps or carriers so we switched off on holding her once the car seat was checked. As for my pumping situation, I had 2 sets of pumping parts, medela travel wipes to quickly clean the parts after use, travel milk bags, and a set of 5 clean bottles so I wouldn’t have to clean them until we got to our destination. I did not have any sort of “stash” yet, and since we were not effectively breastfeeding yet, I decided to just pump and bottle feed during the trip. Any excess milk I did make on the flight, I asked the flight attendant for a cup of ice and poured that ice into a separate milk bag as a makeshift icepack. I remember being obsessed with having her latch during take off and landing so that the pressure wouldn’t affect her, but she had no interest. I was so stressed she would cry, but she slept the entire time! And looking back, who the heck cares if she cried - she was a freaking newborn! So if you take away anything from this post, leave the guilt of noisy babies at home. Don’t stress over it. Babies make noise (we were all there one day), and if someone has a problem with it, that’s their problem, not your problem to fix. I also learned that if I stayed calm, so did Penny.

We arrived after a very peaceful flight. My brother-in-law picked us up at the airport and we had a bit of a drive. So I started thinking of all the things we did not have for this trip. Remember, we were not expecting to travel with a 2-week-old newborn. So we made a pitstop at Target. I purchased a very small travel size dish soap to clean bottles and pump parts at the hotel, a roll of paper towels, a small travel bottle brush cleaner set, and a co-sleeper bassinet. Before you jump on me for co-seeping, this is what worked best for our family. Do what you feel is safe for your family. But remember she was 2 weeks old, and she was not sleeping in a crib at home, she was in a bassinet. So how could I expect her to sleep in a crib in a strange place. We purchased the Baby Delight Snuggle Nest Bassinet and we were able to safely co-sleep during this trip. All things considered, did ok!

Our next flight was when Penny was 2 months old. We were travelling to Denver. I was part of a platform presentation at the APTA Combined Sections Meeting - this was a project our group had been working on for a year and I felt like I could not miss it. This time, Taylor could not travel with me. I was travelling solo with a 2-month-old…what was I thinking?! I was scared and nervous again. How was I going to manage the suitcase, car seat, tiny human, pumping, and my basic needs of using the toilet in the airport? But I did it with it ease. Here is what I learned.

Wear the baby. I had figured out baby wearing and it was amazing. The only time I did not wear Penny was when I was using the bathroom - I placed her in the car seat, and we used the family bathroom at the airport so we had more space. The flight attendants also did not let me take off or land with her in the carrier so I kept the carrier on, but took her out of it so that it was easier to slip her back in. I made sure I had plenty of time at the airport to use one of the Mamava pods to pump prior to take off. Unfortunately, I had a 5 hour stretch where I couldn’t pump and hold her effectively, so there was some engorgement which is not ideal. Changing an infant on an airplane is surprisingly easy, just make sure you have an extra change of clothes in case of a blowout!

I did not take a stroller on this trip. It was too much to manage. It was easy to carry her in the carrier, and then wrap the car seat around the handle of the suitcase and push that through the airport, so that is what I did. Luckily, my sister met me in Denver the next day to help me finish out this trip. Again, travelling with a 2-month-old was surprisingly easy. They have very minimal needs. I feed her, changed, her and cuddled her. I did not pack any stuffed animals, pacifiers (mainly because she hated them), or any other toys. As long as I kept my calm, she did too.

We took one more flight during the infant period. This time we travelled when she was 9 months old, right after some of the immediate COVID restrictions had been lifted. We felt it was important to see our family at Thanksgiving. Given the events that had unfolded for us at the beginning of the year, family was important as we took all the precautions to make this trip work. But travelling with a 9 month old is a little different than a newborn. THEY MOVE. Penny had just learned to crawl, and she was very active. She had no interest in just being cuddled for a cross country flight. So we had to get creative. This time I did have a stash of milk and to make things easier, I had bottles prepared. Yes, you can bring milk through TSA. I was not a fan of them touching the milk or testing it or doing whatever they do, especially during covid. So I prepacked each bottle with exactly 3oz - I prepacked 4 bottles. I figured 12 oz would be enough to get us through the flight. Once we were through security, I redistributed the milk so they were prepared in 4 oz bottles ready to serve, and then I had an extra bottle to put pumped milk in. Again, I made sure I had my spectra and charger to plug in just in case, travel milk bags, more clean bottles, and the medela wipes. Another tip with travelling with milk. On the way home, I had a bit of excess. The night before we left, I again separated all of the milk into 3 oz travel milk bags and froze them. I then put them in one big ziplock the next day with a frozen ice pack (one that was cheap in case I had to toss it). But if you a traveling with milk, you do have the right to travel with icepacks as well. Again, check the TSA website, but you are able to travel with as much milk as you need. To prevent them from touching the milk or inspecting it, I chose to separate it into 3oz bags so I didn’t have to debate them when I got there, but do what feels most comfortable for you.

We also had food! Since she was 9 months and we were doing baby led weaning, we had some snacks prepared. This was a great way to keep her entertained. I had different textures, and I made sure they were things I knew she loved already. I had fruit, some puffs, and applesauce. Things that were going to be too messy, but keep her occupied. I also packed one stuffed animal and one soft book that had some interactive pieces that attached like keys, a mirror, and different tactile stimuli. This was like an all in one - I was able to pack a book that acted like a toy which was key. The biggest thing we learned - DON’T PACK TOO MUCH! I get you want to keep your baby occupied so they don’t make noise, but that is more stuff to lug, and as they get bigger, they get heavier! 2-3 snacks, one toy, one book - limit it to their favorites of each and you will be good!

The theme of these 3 trips was, leave the stroller at home. Seriously. It may seem easy, but it is one more LARGE thing you have to manage in the airport and just takes up space. Wearing the baby as much as possible keeps the calm, connected, safe, and pretty dang happy. Pack the basics. Remember, unless you are going somewhere exotic, there will likely be a store wherever you are going. If I ran out of wipes or diapers, we bought a pack while we were travelling. Packing a ton of toys is unnecessary, especially if they are under 1. There is no space on an airplane for all of that, and it just takes up space in your limited carry on.

For those of you travelling with infants - I hope this is helpful. Again, you don’t need much! The basics, a calm mindset, some breathwork and meditation to help, and a baby carrier. Stay tuned for the “Travelling with Toddlers” edition coming soon :)

In good health,

Dr. Megan