Jessica McDougall » Blog

Stacy - The easiest kid travel is when they’re infants. In the early months, I’d bring the baby on the plane swaddled like a little burrito. We would nurse during take off and she would be out like a light. I could hold her in one arm and hold a book in the other. Easy-breezy.
Now, toddler travel, that is a different story. Once your baby starts crawling and walking and finding it torturous to sit still, that’s when plane travel becomes more of an ordeal. Travel as much as you can during the immobile period. For the first six months, they don’t move, you don’t have to bring food, they can sleep most anywhere, and it is so easy to just wear them around. I assume you have a lovely looking sling or carrier, right?

cam - Hi Jessica, I just read all these comments and I had to chime in. These are all wonderful convenience concerns, but what about safety? I may have misunderstood, but checking a carseat, while proving convenient, is terribly unsafe. A newborn, infant, toddler, ought to have a seat of his or her own, and buckled in. In the event of enough turbulence or worse, you cannot possibly hold on to your precious child – and the precious child gets hurt. Would you “fly” down the highway without it? Of course not. I know it is “legal” to have babies without a seat of their own, but that is not in the best interest of the child, in my opinion. Also, as a warning – I used a Baby Bjorn once, thinking I could save some money and it made good sense, but the pilot himself came to me before take-off to tell me this practice is illegal. You cannot have a baby “tied” to you in any form. Now, whether or not this is actually law, or airline policy – its worth looking into. Also, if it is allowed, look into the reasons this may not be allowed in some instances, because there could be a safety concern that us land-folk (non-pilots) may not be aware of. I didn’t check into it. I promptly paid for a seat for my little one, and we were off (thankfully they had one available!) And I’ve paid for a seat for my children ever since. They’re worth it.

Maryn - When my daughter was an infant, I took her everywhere with me and it was always just me and her and a sling and an extra-large purse or backpack. Never worrying about struggling with a stroller or a giant diaper bag really made it easy for us to just GO. I never found myself lacking something I needed because I packed simply but carefully. Granted, there were times when I found a diaper in my purse when I got to work, but it was totally worth it not to have to struggle with a purse and a diaper bag all the time.
She was always close to me and at eye level with adults, in a sling at first and later in a Baby Bjorn, so she could see lots of things and still feel cozy and safe next to me. I think that contributed to her being very well-behaved as a baby and to how good she is now, at almost seven.

lacy - Oh how completely exciting! You already have the best travel advice and experience I can’t wait to see what this will teach you, I know that we will all be excited to see the tips later! ps- love love love the green dress on you! SO CUTE!

Cindy - I travel with my infant son quite a bit. The best tip I can give you is to feed your baby during take off and landing. This will encourage swallowing to help with the ear pressure. Also – Pack your childs complete outfit in a large ziplock bags. (socks/shoes included) This will help keep your luggage tidy and make for quick and easy dressing time. I also recommend packing outfits like this in your diaper bag. Then you will always have an empty bag to put soiled or dirty clothes when you have to make an outfit change away from the hotel. I recommend carring a blanket from home along with you. I like to find a quite carpeted corner in a airport lounge or coffee shop and spread the blanket out on the floor with a few small toys. This helps to allow my son to stretch out and relax a bit before the next leg of our journey. Hope these help.