O My #CBC10 Week baby travel advice

I stumbled upon Harmony’s blog, Baby To Go, recently and when I read that her 14 month old baby has flown on 14 different flights, I instantly began devouring the ‘airplane’ category of posts.Because let’s be honest: mama’s a little nervous about this flying with a squirmy about-to-walk 10 month old thing on Thursday. OBaby is a very, very happy boy when he’s allowed to explore. I wouldn’t consider him high maintenance by any means, but I definitely would consider him high energy. (This is the part where you start to understand why I’m nervous about cooping him up on a plane for 4 hours.)We will be flying to Utah for The Casual Blogger Conference, and honestly I just wanted to hear every. single. thing. Harmony has learned in her experience with flying, so I started to send her an email. But then I thought that it’d be awfully selfish of me to keep her wisdom to myself.And so I’m pleased to present to you O My CBC Week: baby travel advice, a guest post by Harmony of Baby To Go!Back in January, I was flying alone to North Carolina with my then-9 month old son. On that trip, I started to reflect on all that I had learned traveling with baby C. So I decided to start Baby To Go, which I call part new mommy blog, part travel site. And when AllisonO  contacted me for flying advice, and then to write a guest post, I realized I had fulfilled my initial goal of starting the site to provide info to moms to gain the confidence to travel with their baby.To date, my 14-month-old son has flown on 14 different  flights, and has visited 13 states and Puerto Rico. Not that makes me some sort of expert, but I have learned from these experiences and here are my thoughts. Booking your TripTraveling domestically, a child under two can fly for free as a “Lap Infant.” This means they are not entitled to their own seat, but can sit in a parent’s lap. If you want your infant to have a seat, you have to pay (I believe at a reduced rate) but for budget conscious folks like myself, it is worth it to hold the baby (although I imagine that as your child approaches the two year mark, the money saved may no longer be worth it). If a seat is open, the airline will work with you to try to give the open seat to your infant. Sometimes, once on board, you can politely ask folks to move around so your family can sit together.As a general rule, we try everything possible to fly direct, and since we live in NYC, that is almost always possible. I think this is even more crucial when traveling with a lil’one. The shorter the travel time, the better.Checking bagsIf you do not pay for your infant, you do not have any extra baggage allowance. Different airlines have different fees for checked bags, so check with the individual carrier. However, you can check a child’s car seat free of charge.In the airportIf you are traveling with an un-ticketed infant, your ticket must say INFANT IN ARMS in order to take the baby through security. If it does not, someone at the ticket counter can help you. When traveling domestically, you do not need an ID for the baby, however, I always keep a photocopy of my son’s birth certificate in my diaper bag… just in case. I have also heard that if your child looks like he/she could possibly be over two years old, and you do not have proof that they are not, the airline could insist you pay for a ticket.Going through security these days is always a bit of a shuffle. And when traveling with an infant… it can be a bit of a challenge. I have started putting my son in a baby carrier (Bjorn when he was small, we use a soft-structured carrier now) while navigating security. This allows me to have my hands free to take off my shoes, fold the stroller etc. You must carry the baby through the metal detectors (you can keep the baby in the carrier) and you must fold up your stroller and put it through the x-ray machine. Since I am a breastfeeding mom, I have never had to take liquids though security. However, I have been allowed to take multiple jars of baby food. I believe you are allowed to bring a “reasonable amount” of food/formula/milk/breastmilk for your baby.Boarding the planeBefore boarding, I try to let my son crawl/run around the gate area to let off stream. The last thing I do before boarding is put him in a fresh diaper. Some flights have offered a “family pre-board” time, some have not, and frankly, it does not take us all that much longer to board than others. In fact, I usually don’t care to be the first person on the plane. When boarding, I put baby C in the carrier, so I once again have my hands free. We have always traveled with a stroller, which we use to navigate the airport and then gate-check it planeside. To do this, the ticket collector will give you a pink tag for your stroller and/or car seat. There is no charge for this and you receive these items as you deplane, not at the baggage carousel.Snagging a seat for your un-ticketed childWhen arriving at the gate, you can check with the gate agent regarding availability of an open seat. I know moms have different desires about trying to snag an extra seat. I personally like having the option of putting baby C in his car seat because he will nap better, there is somewhere to put him down and it is safer. However, a car seat can ONLY be placed in the window seat. So if you really want to try your best to have your baby in their own seat, I have found it best to book a window. If I am traveling with hubby we book the aisle and window with the hopes that no one will book the middle seat, and if they do, we hope they would be happy to move to the aisle. If in this scenario there is an open seat on the plane, hubby can move to it, baby in the window and me in the middle. When traveling alone, if you have the window booked it is possible that the person in the middle seat will want to move to another open seat on the plane. And if you end up holding the baby, it’s not so bad… and it’s free.On the planeWe have flown 7 round trips. Our longest flight was four hours in length, from NYC to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  My son is generally well-behaved on the plane because he nurses on demand, and sits in my lap. He is a snuggle bug like that. But of course, in anticipation of the flight, I advise packing fun snacks and toys, anything that can be used as a diversion and provide some entertainment.  I would advise packing more diapers/bottles/burp clothes/wipes/snacks than you anticipate needing. I always fly with an extra outfit for my son (which proved a smart idea on a recent flight to Puerto Rico). Some moms, especially those with children prone to spitting up, may want to carry on an extra shirt for themselves.I hope OMyFamily readers find these tips useful! Please feel free to add your own suggestions in a comment below. Bon voyage!~~~~~~Wasn’t she just full of knowledge? You like how she mentioned that you should always pack an extra outfit for your baby, possibly even one for yourself?Funny, I feel like I could have used that advice about 2 months ago.Happy CBC Week!