Traveling with infant

As I promised, this post is meant to share some tips on traveling with infants.

Weeks before my departure, I did some internet research on the do's and dont's when traveling with infants. I will give you the link of one of the best posts I came across at the end of this writing.

• Kids have problem to balance the pressure of their ears during take-off and landing. Provide them with something to chew/suck on such as pacifier, bottles or nurse them directly. Technically, because their seatbelt is attached to one of the parents (if you are purchasing on lap ticket), the mother can always nurse them directly during take-off and landing. We don't want to introduce pacifier to our baby, but we brought one, just in case, and Faliela kept spitting it out from her mouth. So, we did our best to hold the pacifier on her mouth. Fortunately, by the time the plane took off or landed, Faliela dozed off to sleep already!
• Dress yourself comfortably. As Faliela is exclusively on breastmilk and I didn't bring any expressed breast milk(EBM) on board, I decided to wear loose or button-shirt and don't forget to bring your nursing cover! You can actually bring EBM or your own baby food on board but make sure to declare during security check point and bring it in smaller quantities (about 3 oz). Some airports require you to 'taste' your own EBM just as a safety precaution.
• Dress your baby comfortably. We dressed her in her pyjamas so that I don't have to put her socks on. Bring extra clothes for your kids as well as for you in case you have a major spit-up. Faliela used up all 4 clothes that we brought on board. Terkena poo lah, milk spit-up lah etc. So do bring at least 5 extra clothes for your baby.
• Try to get flight that is during your baby's nap/bedtime. Both of our flights were at night, and from the total duration of 20 hours, she slept about 2/3 of the time. 
• Bring some toys on board. We brought some toys such as rattles so that she won't get bored whenever she's awake. In case for toddlers, I saw some parents brought their own portable DVD player (especially if you are on a short-duration flight) and played cartoons to occupy their kids.
• If you need to carry a handbag, a sling handbag is recommended. The strap of shoulder handbag will usually get in the way when you are holding your baby, so when using sling handbag, you will have 2 free hands!
• Usually on a long-haul flight, they will give you a bulkhead seat (where you have wall in front of you) which means you have to stow your bags in the overhead compartment during take-off and landing, so don't forget to bring out the important stuffs such as toys,pacifiers/bottles, washcloth. I separated them in one transparent bag (such as Ziploc bag) so that whenever we have to put our bag away, I can just pull out the Ziploc bag from my handbag.
• You can also put diapers and wipes in one mini bag (again, Ziploc bag) so that you don't have to carry diaper bag into the toilet. There is not enough room to begin with, so make sure you bring only the necessary items.
• Last but not least, if your baby is crying, try your best to entertain or distract her. It is really annoying to let your baby crying and parents did nothing to calm their baby down.

       Good girl on board playing with rattles!





And, check out the article here!