We took our first trip as a party of 3!!! We flew to Houston, Texas to visit my sister and it was amazing. I was very nervous about air travel with an infant. Kira was only 4 months old and the idea of air getting trapped in her ears and being ‘that mom’ with a screaming baby almost made me stay home. I even considered driving (it’s 24 hours- yikes!). But I am so glad we went and it went smoother than I could have ever expected. Now that we’ve done it I have so many tips for you for flying with an infant that will make your life so much easier! I’m actually excited to do this again.

My first piece of advice is to STAY CALM. Navigating the airport with a baby and baggage can be a bit stressful. Go in knowing that you will have to roll with the punches. Babies can be unpredictable at times especially in new situations. You never know. And if you’re anything like me you may be used to charging through airports and running up escalators in a hurry with just you and a carry on. With an infant, you will now you will be looking for elevators and you can’t exactly run. So plan to get there early.

Here is a bit of good news: Your stroller and car seat fly for FREE!!!! Yes, I said FREE! Not many things in life are free so this was an exciting perk that I found out before we traveled. We were able to have Kira comfortably in her stroller at the airport and have her car seat with us for the rental car when we arrived in Texas. You can even use the car seat on the plane like we did if you paid for an infant seat or if there are extra seats on the plane prior to boarding. Definitely a win!

We opted to get travel bags for our car seat and stroller. Although you don’t have to do this it will protect your investment. We have an uppababy stroller & car seat and their travel bags comes with a warranty that will replace items damaged by the airline. Check to see if yours comes with something similar or get a universal travel bag so you can keep yours clean and damage-free.

So you basically have two options here. You can check your car seat and stroller at the gate OR check them at the counter when you arrive at the airport. We checked our items in at the gate when we were leaving and checked them at the counter on the return trip home. Having done both I am listing pros and cons for each.

Another thing to note is that your baby’s milk also flies FREE and is not counted towards your personal item and carry-on allowance! I was able have my carry-on, personal item, and an extra cooler bag with her milk in it. There is no size limit on the milk bag.

Checking In Car Seat & Stroller At Gate

Checking In Car Seat & Stroller At Counter

I personally preferred to check our items in at the gate. Breaking down your stroller may not be easy to do if traveling alone but since it was the two of us it worked out pretty smoothly!

Another perk to flying with an infant is that you are among the first to board the plane. No first class? No problem!! You will have plenty of time to get settled with your baby before it gets crowded and you’ll have first dibs on overhead cabin space. It doesn’t matter what group your boarding pass says. Listen for the announcement at the gate during boarding for families traveling with infants under 2 years old.

Air Pressure & Your Baby’s Ears

Once you get settled with that, you now may be worried about the air pressure changes from takeoff and landing. Pro Tip: FEED YOUR BABY!!! Try to time your feeding to occur during takeoff and landing. The sucking and swallowing will keep air from filling baby’s ears. This worked like a charm for us. The only snag was that our flight got delayed on the return trip home for an hour. That was enough to throw off Kira’s feeding schedule. So unfortunately I was the mom with the crying baby on the plane right before takeoff. Oh well. But after she ate she slept the entire ride and we didn’t hear another peep from her! Lol. People around us were really nice and understanding anyway. Don’t let your worries get to you.

Take-aways of Air Travel With An Infant

You can do it. It will all be fine. Even if things don’t go perfectly all that matters is that you arrive to your destination safely. Have fun flying with your baby and make incredible memories!!!