We took a long international flight with our six-month-old baby. Sharing some helpful travel tips that can be useful for your baby.

As you are all aware, recently we have been traveling like crazy with little Mishika. Our journey had started with our first flight from Toronto to London with our seven months old. Since then, it has been sixty days that we have been on the move and been to three countries and eleven cities.

Our travel itinerary: Buffalo (USA) – Toronto (Canada) – London  (England) – Oxfordshire (England) – Heythrop (England) – London (England) – Bombay (India) – Bangalore (India) – Lucknow (India) – Delhi (India) – Kota (India) – Delhi (India)

YOU CAN FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY HERE

Find some helpful travel tips for your next adventure with your baby.

  1. Always get a bassinet seat on the flight. Initially, I was skeptical and felt no use of the bassinet seat but nevertheless I decided to give it a try on our first flight from Toronto to London. To my surprise, I found the bassinet seat extremely helpful and a big relief. My seven month old was deep asleep cuddled in the bassinet which gave me some downtime to stretch, relax, and enjoy my favorite shows on the flight.
  2. Always wear your baby A big help and a huge lifesaver. I have the baby carrier from Mothercare and Mishika loves staying in it which for me means that my hands are free to use the phone, carrying tickets, eat, etc.
  3. Always breastfeed/bottle-feed the baby while take-off and landing to help with the cabin pressure. Another trick is to give the baby a pacifier while take-off or landing.
  4. Carry a boppy pillow with you on the long flight. It can come in very handy while the baby is sleeping on your lap in the flight or act as a support when you are holding the baby on your shoulder.
  5. Carry water for your baby to drink. Long flight and travel can cause dehydration to your baby, hence always make sure that you carry water for your little one
  6. Use trusted purified water for your baby while on travel. Water is the leading cause of travel illness as it changes from place to place. To avoid infections and illness make sure you use purified water for your little one.
  7. Carry 6-8 changes of clothes for your baby. The most important part! I practically ran out of all her change of clothes towards the end of our journey. Be prepared for unplanned accidents like spill-over, diaper blast and etc. It would be safe to pack 3-4 additional outfits along with the ones you will actually use on the trip.
  8. Pack 3-4 extra meals if you have a solid eating baby. Pack additional meals so that you are prepared for flight delays, cancellation, etc.
  9. Carry a sling purse. I found this handy as my diaper bag had all the baby stuff and my sling bag had my wallet, tickets, phones, and some baby stuff like her sippy cup, bib, and spoon for easy access.
  10. Pack each meal in a bag/small pouch/plastic Ziploc bags. For the meals that your little one will have while on the flight, you can create individual packets with a bib, spoon, and a container. It comes in very handy and eliminates chaos.
  11. Carry some toys to keep your little one entertained on the flight.
  12. Be ready to bend the rules while on travel. Be prepared that everything might not go as planned. For me, I have a baby who eats 4 meals of solids a day and milk in the night and early morning. But there were occasions when I had to eliminate the meal and give her a bottle. It’s all rite! You have to do what it takes to keep the baby at ease and satisfied.
  13. Carry a baby blanket on flight as it's easier to hold the baby in.
  14. Carry a baby stroller on these long travels which comes in very handy when your little one wants to sleep in at the airport.

My most important learning of all has been – “Always be prepared for the worst!!” There could be flight delays, missed connections, diaper bag getting lost. Always pack additional and in two separate bags so that you have a back up in case something does not go as per the plan.

I hope these travel tips were helpful to you.

Hope you all found my tips helpful. Enjoy and have a safe flight with your little one.