air travel with baby | minimum age to fly alone

Do you get nervous thinking about traveling on a flight with a small child? There is no doubt that children start behaving strangely while traveling, but you do not have to worry. If you plan well then the journey will be very easy for you and baby. If in a few days you have to take the baby and sit on the flight 

Are newborn babies allowed to travel in flight? What is the minimum age to travel in flight?

Yes, new born babies are allowed to travel and till the age of two years they are called infants for which a concessional charge is made, however, no seat is allotted to them.

But before boarding, a suggestion from Doctor for few days old babies is required as the health condition varies from baby to baby.

Also, don’t forget to carry the Birth certificate of the baby.

Tips to travel with a child in flight

 Do you know what you should and should not do while traveling in a flight with a child? Well, while traveling with the child, here is a checklist of some things which will not only make you comfortable during air travel, but these things can increase your and child's facilities.

 What are those tips, let us know; 

1. Child's age: 

Before making a travel plan in flight with a child, you should know a few things. Newborn babies spend most of their time sleeping, so they settle down soon. However, eating and sleeping time of slightly older infants (2 - 4 months) is not prescribed, due to which you may have difficulty. So if you are thinking about traveling in a flight, then keep in mind the age of the child so that it can be easily managed. 

2. Extra needs of the child

 Keep in mind that you should also pack enough diapers, wipes, burp clothes, baby clothes and other essentials to travel with the child. In addition, during the flight, you also pack a small blanket or a sweatshirt to warm the baby. Pack things well so that you do not lack for anything because children may need anything at any time. 

3. Try to take a window seat 

Book a window seat for yourself in advance. With this, you will not only get privacy for feeding the baby, but you can also sit and relax with the support of the window for more support. Also, you can use as much light as you need, because you will find it easier to open and close the shutter of the window. Some children are very happy when they look out of the window.

4 . Give the baby milk during take off and landing

 the same way children feel because of changes in air pressure during landing and takeoff, and this can cause the baby to cry. However, the baby should not cry very fast, so you should try feeding him so that the pain in his ear will be reduced due to sucking and swallowing. 

5. Try to travel on the time of the baby's nap. 

The biggest advantage of traveling by airplane is that you do not have to travel long and if the sleeping pattern of the child is set, then you can complete your journey easily. Can. Make a plan to travel at the time of your baby's nap. In this way, the baby will be sleeping mostly during the journey, so you will have less difficulty. 

6. Travel with someone if possible 

 There is no doubt that children are very demanding and have to be constantly looked after during the journey. All these things can make you tired. So travel with someone on the flight. Just think how would you be able to take a toilet break while traveling alone with a child? A little difficult right? So you travel with someone so that you too can relax. 

7. Keep extra clothes for yourself

 it will be fun but believe it or not, you will need it. During the journey, the child may get potty, dry and may throw more things than usual and sometimes it can even spoil your clothes. If you can travel with dirty clothes, do not pack your clothes. However, we would recommend that you should keep some clothes for yourself too. 

8. Keep the travel gear of the child

 There can be no light travel with children because convenience is the first priority if the child is with you. Therefore, you should also check in the child's stroller, pram, car seat or other heavy things and many airlines do not even charge for it. If you also want to take traveling gear with you, then you should first get help from airlines to board. 

9. Pack the child's favorite toys 

                           

If your child loves to play with toys, then pack his toys for air travel as well. By this, the child will not only be entertained and happy but he will also be able to create a lot of problems. However, do not pack toys that are very loud, because this can cause problems to the passenger sitting near you. Also you must pack some toys because the kids are a little weird and they can throw toys on the floor and you won't want to give your child toys with germs. 

10. Be ready to feed the baby again and again

 there is nothing more convenient and comfortable for the child than the breastfeeding experience. This not only fills the baby's stomach, but also keeps him close to the mother, which makes him feel safe during the journey. Therefore, wear comfortable tops and bras to make it easier for the baby to feed. If the child drinks formula milk, you should also pack a sufficient amount of sterilized bottle and lukewarm water to make milk. Sometimes airlines also offer lukewarm water for the baby but we would advise you to pack lukewarm water as it will be healthy and hygienic for the baby. Keep a pacifier for the child as he may not be hungry but needs something to suck or chew. 

11.There are huge benefits to traveling with a baby under 1

They can’t run around (this is major), they can’t talk (which is both a blessing and curse, from what I hear), they still sleep a lot, they are light weight & portable, and everyone loves them! Nothing will make you friends around the world like traveling with a baby.

12.Gate check strollers and car seats

You can take these all the way to the gate and they will check them for you for free at said gate. Sometimes you do need to get a tag for them when you drop your luggage, so make sure the agent gives you one. So if you’re a stroller person, stroll right up. And if you’re bringing a carseat, I highly recommend that be attached to that stroller! A two-in-one is the only way you won’t end up miserably lugging it all over. We didn’t travel with a stroller for most of the first year, preferring to just use a carrier.

13.Don’t worry too much over the “nap schedule”

Okay, this admittedly might not work for everyone, but we have never had a “nap schedule” for Eula. She sleeps when she is tired wherever we are. That said, this is a guide for babies *under 1 year old*, now that she is older it is more difficult for her to sleep in any old situation, though she’s still pretty adaptable. Under one she largely napped in the carrier on one of us or in a stroller. We never rushed back to the hotel for “nap time”. I found letting her listen to her body and perhaps one of us stepping out to push her around or bounce her around to give her that extra nudge to sleep meant she slept as needed, but we weren’t tethered to her schedule. It was our experience that she did great on ours. You want to make sure baby sleeps during the day (2 hour at least depending on your baby to prevent an over-tired baby— the worst of beasts to be avoided at all costs), but whether it’s a stroller in a café or a pack n’ play at the hotel, it’s all the same to baby so long as she gets that good block of sleep.

14.Babies don’t need a ton of baths, and sinks & buckets work fine

We didn’t obsess about bathing our baby nightly. Babies, when they aren’t walking, don’t really get that dirty. We found so long as she was thoroughly wiped down, she was fine. So there was no transporting a baby tub or stressing about bath time. If we had a tub, great. If we didn’t, the sink always worked fine for when she did need a bath. The older she got, the more frequently she needed to be bathed as she explored the environment, but still at 13 months we bathe her a couple times a week at most. Common sense would dictate if baby is stinky or visibly dirty…perhaps a bath is in order! Otherwise, no worries.

15.Introducing food at 6 months on the road, a bit of our experience

Eula actually clocked in 6 months old in Morocco, and we waited to let her try solids until Paris just because we didn’t want to take any chances with food born illness. Now at 13 months, I happily let her nibble off of my street food here (I’m writing this from my friend Emma’s flat in Marrakech!) Once we did introduce food, we let her try things at her own pace and we really let local norms guide us. If local children ate it, we let her eat it. I still avoid giving her raw foods (like salad) in countries where the water isn’t very clean because not only is the food not cooked to kill bacteria, it’s washed in the water. That said, I make an exception for fruit with skins and things that can be peeled.