When I found out my family planned on meeting in Hawaii for my son’s first Christmas, I was beyond excited. I was a single mom at the time and I could think of far worse ways to spend my time than listening to waves crash on a not too distant shore. Plus, I couldn’t wait for my extended family to get to spend some time with my new little love bug. That was until the obvious dawned on me. I would have to fly from my native Texas to Hawaii and back with baby in tow. YIKES.

Luckily I have some amazing family who were willing to help out. My cousin accompanied me on the flight there and my dad and sister were on my flight back. But to say it was easy would be an understatement. So if you are thinking about taking a long haul flight with an infant, here are my tips how I made a long haul flight with my 5 month old son and didn’t lose my sanity in the process (in spite of an emergency deplane).

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Be Prepared

In this post 9-11 world, everything you can bring on a flight is regulated which can make traveling with an infant seem impossible. Add in that formula and diapers aren’t easy to find in most airports (million dollar idea right there) and you can have a recipe for disaster when it comes to lack of preparation.

The good news is baby formula and breast milk are largely exempt from TSA’s 3-1-1 rule, so you can bring “a reasonable amount”. But the caveat is that it will need to be tested for explosives (at least one breastfeeding mom somehow ran into the issue of her breastmilk testing positive), so allow plenty of extra time to go through security.

My son was already on formula at the time so I brought 2 large bottles of premixed Similac as well as a can of the powdered Similac.

Overkill? Maybe, but as my flight home taught me it’s always better to be over prepared than underprepared. Which brings me to my next point.

Bring Double

We boarded our flight home and I was already exhausted.

I had been up packing since  before my son woke up. We had booked an overnight flight hoping that he (and I) might be able to get some rest on  the flight home (after all a sleeping baby is a quiet baby).

So I settled in and prepped his take off bottle, everything was fine. Until the smell of smoke wafted throughout the main cabin. Then came the announcement that we would be heading back to the nearest airport.

We were met by firetrucks and other emergency personnel on the tarmac and then remained on the tarmac while an initial exterior check was completed.

By this point it was about two hours since we boarded the plane and my son was two bottles in (due to rapid take-offs and landings). We weren’t allowed to move from our seats and his diaper wasn’t up to the challenge.

So here I am sitting on a tarmac holding my infant and not only is HE soaked but he has managed to soak me as well.

Of course, being the prepared mom I was, he had an extra set of clothes, but I hadn’t thought to pack myself an extra outfit. So once we disembarked, I ended up having to purchase an unplanned pair of Hawaii sweatpants.

Then we settled in for a LONG wait as airline personnel tried to figure out what to do with us passengers who were now stranded at the airport.

If I hadn’t packed far more than I needed, I would have been in trouble. By the time we finally made it home it had been over 18 hours since we left our hotel and as you know that equals a lot of diaper changes and bottles.

When traveling you can’t just run to the grocery store, so be sure to bring everything you need and then DOUBLE that.

Rethink That Lap Ticket

I chose to fly with my son as a lap child.

Looking back, I’m not so sure why I thought that was a brilliant idea on an 8 hour flight.

I think my justification at the time went something along the lines of “I’ll just be holding him anyway” which, while partially true, pretty much prevented me from getting any rest while he was under my care.

I can rarely sleep sitting up in the best of circumstances. In an airplane seat, holding an infant, it was most certainly not happening.

About 14 hours into our ordeal my dad took pity on me and held him so I could get some sleep. If I would have been traveling solo, I would have been in trouble seeing as by the time we actually got home my son was well rested due to his sleep on the plane and was up for the day. As a single parent living alone, I wouldn’t have just been able to sleep. So the few hours my dad gifted me saved me from massive sleep deprivation.

So rethink that lap-child ticket. I know it’s cheaper. I know you are thinking they may just want to be held. But do yourself a favor and imagine an 8 hour delay and then an 8+ hour flight and never having somewhere safe to lay them down.

Prevent Ear Pain

One of the reasons babies often get so fussy on airplanes is their petite air canals can’t cope with pressure change as well as ours can.

If you were wondering why I stuffed my son full of two bottles in two hours earlier this is why.

One of the best ways to get the air canals to open and help the pressure equalize is to get them to swallow and bottles accomplish this well. So anytime I travel with my babies I always make sure they have a bottle at take off and landing (I swear it works).

Move

Obviously movement is pretty limited aboard a plane and you don’t want to constantly be in the walkway blocking bathroom traffic and flight attendants, but definitely get up and stretch your legs!

When my son would start to fuss I’d get up and walk the aisles. Seeing the different people and everything going on typically led to an instant change in his mood. He even made a few new friends among the other passengers.

Don’t Forget The Carseat

Even if you opt for a lap-child ticket you will still need your carseat when you get to your destination.

I’ve heard some horror stories about car seats becoming mangled in transit so be sure to package it right, whether it be through wrapping in towels and garbage bagging it or buying one of these nifty Padded Car Seat Travel Bags.

Most airlines also allow stroller/ carseat check in at the gate, although they are pretty strict about certain guidelines (like it must be 4 wheeled so your lovely jogging stroller may not cut it).

If you have any questions never hesitate to give your airline a call (I did several times), it’s far better to know you are in the clear in advance than to be in panic mode the day of.

In the end crazy delays and all I’m glad we went. Hawaii was gorgeous, it was great being with family, and it’s true what they say life’s better at the beach.