US Trip: The Plane & Travel Tips

We just got back from our first family trip to America last Sunday! The picture above was us about halfway through the flight. I was pretty nervous about our first flight with Amélie. Though I know she's usually a very chilled out baby, I just wasn't sure what to expect of being up in the air in a confined space for more than 7 hours. I have to report, she was the best little flier ever. In fact, A and I thought it was even easier flying with her because 1.) people are extra nice to you when you have a little baby 2.) we were able to sit in the economy plus seats = tons of extra legroom for us plus a bassinet for the baby to sleep 3.) keeping a baby entertained makes a long flight go by faster.

First off, we gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the airport. I also like to round down the time of the flight, so even if it's at 10:45am, I'll tell A the flight is at 10:00, but I think he's now caught on to my little trick :) We used a valet service to park our car rather than hauling all of our luggage + stroller + baby on the long term parking shuttle, which was less expensive plus so convenient. I put Amélie in her Baby K'tan (best decision ever over checking the stroller at the gate) and had the Baby Bjorn on hand in case A needed to carry her. Amazingly we only brought my diaper bag plus a tote bag as our carry ons. I love the large tote we used as a carry on, it has a great zipper compartment on the bottom, which fit all of Amélie's stuff within easy reach.

After security, we found a restaurant where we could all eat comfortably before the flight. When I am travelling by myself, I usually rush to the gate to find a seat and stay there, but finding a comfortable place to relax and walking to the gate right before boarding was definitely the way to go this time around. We did a quick diaper change and before we knew it, we were already in line to board the plane. By the way, did you know they stopped boarding families with young children first? Not a big deal, but I do like getting on the plane first for overhead compartment space. 

For more than half of the trip, Amélie was awake. Keeping her entertained wasn't so bad because there were so many new things to look at plus a new toy to play with. As you can see from above, the bassinet was also used as extra storage space for our stuff. Bringing the nursing pillow was a great decision. I thought it would be too bulky to fit around me in the tiny airplane seat, but it was just right and made nursing Amélie more comfortable for both of us. 

Above is little Amélie's second nap on the flight. I was even able to watch a movie since she was napping in the bassinet. She was great throughout the whole flight to America and back to the UK. The flight back was a little bit easier since we left around her bedtime. She slept most of the way and only cried for literally a few seconds two times. Though I tried to nurse her during take off and landing, she only takes about 10 minutes to eat and the whole take off/landing process can be much more than that so for the remainder of the time, she was Mrs. Chattypants - like SO loud, but I'll take that over crying any day. 

We were so happy to finally land and arrive in America (top left) and have Amélie meet her grandparents (and Ginger the dog!) for the first time. The next part of travelling I was worried about was jetlag. Amélie adjusted as I thought she would (though it took a week and were ready to go back home). The first couple of nights she was up at 3:00/4:00 in the morning, but so were we so that was ok. Towards the end of the week she was sleeping about 7 to 7 instead. We are still adjusting now back at home, but are just about back on schedule. With that said, more posts to come about the rest of our trip in the following week, I've just been so busy to getting us all situated/preparing for our move later this month. 

Travel Tips

1. Reserve a bulkhead seat with a bassinet if you can 
2. Use a baby carrier in the airport, check your stroller with your bags
3. Do a quick diaper change right before you get on the plane 
4. Baby + PJs on the plane = comfy, warm and easy to change 
5. Try to time feeding with take off and landing to help with ear pressure
6. Bring a nursing pillow if you are breastfeeding (this doubled up also as a comfy place for Amélie to hang out), I used this travel roll bag so compress the pillow and save some space
7. Bring one new toy to surprise your baby during the flight, this Lamaze one is great
8. Pack an extra outfit for yourself and baby in an ziploc bag in case of any accidents 
9. Pack snacks for yourself (I brought chocolate covered pretzels & kale chips and bought a bottle of water after security because breastfeeding makes me so thirsty!) 
10. Prepare yourself for a total crying session and try not to worry about everyone around you. A and I talked about this before hand and were ready to take turns calming Amélie down if necessary.