Travel Tips from a One Time Traveler with a Child

We just completed our first family holiday, overseas, with Stone. It went far better than I expected and so, I thought I would share some of the tips and tricks we did to ensure a smooth journey. Firstly, let me preface this by saying - you cannot predict children. They are their own being and will behave however they please, so don’t beat yourself up if your child cries the entire flight (though fingers crossed they don’t).

A few things we learnt as first time flyers with a child is this. If they are under 2, therefore not getting their own seat, they won’t be served a meal. The plane has pouches (mostly just apple puree) but not a lot of other options available so be prepared to take your own food for your baby! You are allowed to take food onto the plane, just be mindful that things will need to be heated by hot water. Some great ideas are pre-making soups and putting them into reusable pouches, sandwiches, protein balls or anything that you’re baby likes that doesn’t need to be heated up. I did the ‘snackle’ box for Stone which I filled with grapes, blueberries, strawberries, seaweed sheets, crackers, yoghurt drops, rice cakes and veg straws. I also took a few store bought pouches on with me, thankfully, and his formula.

We were pretty conscious of his ears popping so always either had a bottle ready to go for take off and landing or dipped his dummy in Gripe Water (or Bonjela) for him to suck on. I think this is a major thing to ensure a happy flight! Also do not be afraid of baby Panadol - it will be your best friend and honestly, use it as much as you need on the flights.

His baby carrier was our secret godsend. Not only does it keep you hands free in the airport but it was our saviour when trying to get him to sleep on the plane. I’ve heard that you don’t have to take them out when going through security but that wasn’t our experience, though it wasn’t that big of a deal to be honest. We used our Chekoh Clip Carrier which also allowed me to wear him on my back as well - great for long distances or if you need your hands totally free. I do wish we had packed our other carrier that lets them face forwards for the actual holiday but you learn from your mistakes!

Make sure you pack extra clothes for baby in your carry on. If you are going a long way, you’ll probably find they need to be changed during your layovers, clothes get messy or they pee through their nappy (yep, that happened ON me) so being able to change them is paramount.

A travel stroller is a must. There are heaps out there and you can check it in for no extra cost, it just has to be in a stroller travel bag. We didn’t want to spend big bucks on something that wouldn’t get a ton of use so we went with the Karion Stroller. It compacts down into a backpack that you can literally take with you as check in and my lord was it handy. We had a six hour layover on our way home and it was so nice to be able to put him in the pram while we wandered the airport. We used it a lot while on holiday, it can be unzipped so they lay flat and honestly Stone slept in his most of the time we were out. It’s small, durable and perfect for what we needed. I saw on the reviews a few comments about the little sun shade not doing anything and, while I found that to be true, we just tied a sarong around it to create shade and that worked for us. You can’t have it all and honestly it didn’t bother me in the slightest.

I packed a few toys for him too. Things like a quiet book, one of those popper things, some small books, plastic finger puppets and one of those UFO toys. They entertained him for a little bit, not much though but it was still worth bringing along. His favourite thing was the pre-downloaded shows on my phone. I did Peter Rabbit, Thomas the Tank Engine and Daniel Tiger and it honestly gave us a good 20-30 minutes of peace while he had a snack and watched his shows. I am totally pro screen time when necessary (or not, let them live their best lives) and this was the biggest win for us. I did buy him little head phones but to be honest, the plane is so loud and almost everyone has headphones on that I didn’t even bother.

We took our baby earmuffs with us too which we put on the first time he went to sleep but again, the plane creates so much noise (kind of like a white noise) that I didn’t use them after that one time. It was more for the announcements waking him but they never seemed to bother him too much.

In total we were in transit for 26 hours going there and 36 hours coming home. It was a huge journey but Stone handled it like an absolute champ. We couldn’t of wished it went any better. You get priority in everything at the airport with a baby so that makes things a little bit easier too. All the flight attendants were amazing and loved on him so much. I think he loved all the attention he got from everyone as well.

It is scary traveling with a child but don’t let that stop you from going somewhere. Prepare as much as you can and then just hope for the best. It’s a crazy adventure but watching your child discover the world is priceless and makes everything worthwhile.