{"id":4903,"date":"2017-08-08T04:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T04:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.diningtraveler.com\/?p=4903"},"modified":"2017-08-10T08:28:31","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10T08:28:31","slug":"thoughts-flying-with-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diningtraveler.com\/2017\/08\/thoughts-flying-with-baby.html","title":{"rendered":"La Piccola Travels: Flying with Baby"},"content":{"rendered":"

I would like to preface this flying with baby post by stating that: Don’t worry, I am not going to become a mommy blogger.! Ok, that’s done. However, I have received several emails from readers and friends asking me about flying with la piccola so I wanted to have a point of reference in sharing my experience. When people started to find out that I was pregnant I recall many folks saying “oh, you’re not going to be able to travel”. Must say, carrying a human is so exhausting that I didn’t even have the energy to challenge them. To those people I say.. “watch us”. So here we are nine months after our little one was born and she’s already been to 3 continents, eight countries, traveled over 22,000 miles by plane, and a few thousand more by car.<\/p>\n

Booking a Ticket with Baby<\/h2>\n

The Dutchman and I have decided to try to get in as many miles as we can before la piccola turns 2. Infants on lap fly for free. The only thing you have to pay for is taxes. Note that can add up when doing an intercontinental flight. We paid around $150 for our flight to Holland. My hubby got a United Mileage Plus account for the baby, but sadly she doesn’t accumulate award miles yet! Staying at a hotel? \u00a0Call or email hotel ahead of time in order to have the crib ready in your room upon arrival.<\/p>\n

Booking a Seat<\/h2>\n

Flying with baby is not easy, but it’s not hard. Just takes a little planning and creativity. Our first flight was when she was a little over two months. We were headed to The Netherlands to see her grandparents and to Belgium to see our friends. I had a friend who advised me to request<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>the bassinet in advance<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0and book the bulkhead seats. She was so tiny then and it worked great as she slept most of the flight. The flight is quite long so it’s nice to have free hands and the baby has a comfortable place to sleep. Note that bassinets are not available on all flights. We had them on our United flights to Europe but not on our Avianca flights to Colombia.<\/p>\n

\"Flying<\/a>
Baby Dining Traveler in Colombia at 4 months old<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What to Pack<\/h2>\n

I am a notorious light packer. Checking in luggage is the bane of my traveling existence. Some people are used to flying with baby strictly carry-on and God bless them! I just wanted to make sure that we had everything we needed for her so I took a full sized bag and packed half my stuff and half hers. Most of her half is filled with diapers so it’s nice to have that extra space to bring back souvenirs. In our case, wine and cheese from Europe and coffee from Colombia! Needless to say, her side was filled with lots of extra onesies and bibs. PSA: if you want to buy someone a baby gift and don’t know what… buy them bibs! There are never enough (clean) bibs in our household!<\/p>\n

What’s in My Carry-On when Flying with Baby?<\/h2>\n

I try to keep my carry-on items light since I am hauling a child. During my first two trips I was breastfeeding which made it much easier since I didn’t have to worry about making formula. My last trip I had one bottle pre-made and some packages of baby food and it went very smoothly with TSA. Just make sure to have them out for inspection. Even if you have TSA Pre-Check.\u00a0I also pack a few extra onesies, a blanket, and pajamas for the baby. For me, an extra shirt. Thankfully, I haven’t had to change but I still do it because I know my luck! \u00a0Flying with baby is a logistical challenge!<\/p>\n

Side note:<\/strong><\/em> Formula is sooooo cheap in Europe! Like a 1\/3 cheap. We paid $10 for ORGANIC formula in The Netherlands! Crazy. Needless to say that free space from the diapers in the end was filled with wine, cheese, and formula! \u00a0If anybody knows why formula is so ridiculously priced here, please fill me in.<\/p>\n


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