Traveling with an Infant.

Traveling with an infant, or should I say, flying with an infant is interesting.  I found some things that really worked well for us and some things that did not work well at all.  Also to note, our flight was only about 2 hours and 15 minutes so it was a breeze compared to what some parents must do with their babies.  And, I had my partner in crime, the handsome Taylor with me.  I don't know how some moms travel by themselves with babies.  Superheroes for sure!

So here is what worked for us...

Packing:
I was determined to pack me and Gideon in one rolling carry-on.  Mainly to avoid the $50 checking fee.  But, I did it!  We were only going to be gone for five days and had the option of washing our clothes while we were there (even though we didn't need to).  I packed my clothes in the suitcase first.  Just minimal basic things like pocket tees, jeans, etc.  I wore my moccasins (Minnetonka) on the plane and also wore them to church with capris so I wouldn't have to bring nicer shoes.  I packed all of Gideon's clothes in a large Ziploc bag.  This way I wouldn't have to dig through to find his clothes vs. mine.  I bought the XL ones and they are ginormous.  Probably could have used a smaller one. I also bought travel size bottles of all lotions, shampoos, etc we would need and put them in a gallon ziploc bag in the front pocket of our carry-on (easy to get out at security).

We invested the $20 for a car seat travel bag.  And because car seats are checked for free, I used another XL Ziploc bag to put a pair of shoes, Gideon's sound machine, and a crib sheet inside strapped to the car seat.

I also brought my purse (which is large) for my camera, wallet, sunglasses, etc. (I had a small cooler for Gideon's Rx and a bottle of breast milk inside my purse) and Gideon's bag with diapers, wipes and a few toys.

Airport:
At the airport and on the trip we borrowed my sister's Maclauren umbrella stroller (similar).  It was much smaller and easier to use than the one we have.  Considering we had to fold it down at security and send it through it was nice to have!

Most airports have a family security lane that you can use to skip the long lines if you have kids.  It was so nice to take advantage of it.  I let the TSA agent know I had a bottle of breast milk and Rx (their website says it is fine in "reasonable amounts," you just need to let them know.  On the way there, they just checked it out, on the way back they didn't even pull me to the side about it! Once through security, I used a sandwich Ziploc bag I had brought and filled it with ice at the Burger King drink fountain to put in the cooler with the milk to help keep it cold.

Airplane:
I nursed Gideon during takeoff and landing.  Nursing is more comforting to him than a bottle (I had the bottle with me for his bed time feeding since we do it every night or for emergency).  He fell asleep while nursing on both flights during takeoff and slept for about 45 minutes to an hour.  Until turbulence.  Dang it.  No, it really wasn't bad.  I had some toys and a paci for him to hold which distracted him and my family passed him around a little too.  On the way home we had Puffs which my sister bought for him while we were there.  She wanted to spoil him she said.

My sister's kiddos moved around a lot on the flight, wanting to sit in my parents laps so Taylor and I ended up with a whole row of seats for us and G at one point each way which was awesome to use to change Gideon's wet diaper. We had decided if we peeked in and it was a dirty one we would change him in the bathroom but he was only wet.  Way nice, considering I don't know how anyone changes a baby in those airplane bathrooms.  Especially with turbulence.  It's enough to get G to lay still while at home.

I also made little candy bags with a note "from Gideon" for those sitting around us, in case he got fussy.  No telling what could have happened and I wanted to be prepared.  In all honesty, I probably didn't need them, because he was golden each time.

What I wish I had thought of:
I wish I had brought the Ergo carrier.  It would have been nice to wear him through security to have free hands and not to mention it is comfortable for him.  He also didn't nap well once we were at my grandpa's and I think I at least could have gotten him to fall asleep in the Ergo for a bit if I had it.