DH and I are going to Europe in a couple days with our 2 month old daughter to visit his family. Well be gone for 4 weeks since I'm still on maternity leave. She just got her first round of the big shots and the ped has given her blessing for us to travel. Anyone have any tips for traveling with a young baby? The flight is 8 hours and were hoping to get a bassinet but there are no guarantees. Anything special I should pack? TIA!

Originally Posted by Hikitten

DH and I are going to Europe in a couple days with our 2 month old daughter to visit his family. Well be gone for 4 weeks since I'm still on maternity leave. She just got her first round of the big shots and the ped has given her blessing for us to travel. Anyone have any tips for traveling with a young baby? The flight is 8 hours and were hoping to get a bassinet but there are no guarantees. Anything special I should pack? TIA!

Travel insurance - cause you just never know!!!
Also, try and carry children's liquid paracetamol.
A real pashmina or large cashmere scarf. It's light and easy to pack away but still warm enough to cover your baby from the a/c or just from prying eyes.

extra change of clothing ( at least a top ) for you and DH as well as a change of clothing for LO in case of an leaking diaper, spitup, etc...

My only advice would be don't rely on the bassinet provided by the airlines. Those things are TINY, and my son refused to stay in them at ~3 months. The most important thing, for your comfort, is to request a seat with more legroom.

Also, make sure you pack plenty of diapers and extra clothes for baby. I packed 3 outfits and ~10 diapers for my son for a similar trip. I changed him into the last outfit right before the plane landed! Extra baby blankets and a pashmina, as suggested above, are also a must since the cabin can get quite cold.

Also, if at all possible, try to travel on a night-time flight. That way, the baby should spend most of the time sleeping. If you are formula feeding, ready to feed formula is probably the best way to go, so you dont have to worry about having enough water and mixing the formula on the plane.

Finally, a baby bjorn or baby carrier will help you carry baby at the airport and still have your hands free. We found our bjorn to be easier to use than a stroller, especially at such a young age.


Good luck dear!!! Babies do much better than we expect them to on flights!

Smart of you to go now! Take advantage of the immobile stage, since it's too short. This is the absolute easiest time to travel with a baby.

Not sure if you booked a seat for baby. If so, I think that makes things much easier, but at 2 mo it's not a must-have (at 5 or 6 mo it is, IMO). Bjorn or carrier is definitely handy if you didn't.

I always pack as if we might have to live out of our carryons for a day or two. Definitely pack several changes of clothes for baby as well as a top and leggings for you. Lots of diapers. I also always take ziploc bags for poopy diapers so I don't stink up the bathroom and in case there are dirty clothes I want to pack away. Hand sanitizer. If you are using formula, take lots in case you get stuck. I pre-measure portions into separate ziploc snack bags; I can take enough for a day or two in very little space this way. The medela quick clean wipes are handy for cleaning bottles; I usually take three bottles for a long flight. Make sure you get a bottle of water when you get through security in case they run low on the plane. Nursing cover is a must if you are BFing.

Again, though, I think at that age you will be surprised how well it goes.

Great advice. Thanks everyone. We just landed in Copenhagen and she was such a trooper. Despite a flat tire on the way to the airport and being delayed 4 hours after switching planes because of broken instrument she only had one meltdown before take off. She slept the whole 8 hours only waking up twice to eat. We did get a bassinet which was pretty gross but nice to have the option to put her down and to have the extra legroom. We did bring a carrier, baby k'tan and I'm so glad we did. I definitely needed it when changing planes since we checked our stroller at the gate. The only thing I forgot were socks for her. She blew out her diaper before we boarded the first plane and dirtied her footie pjs. But we had plenty of blankets and she was fine. Totally agree that since she mostly sleeps at this age it was pretty easy.

I travelled by plane with my now 2 year old almost 5 times since he's been born. While he was still a baby it was quite easy I usually requested for any 2 empty seats together by telling the cabin crew that I will be breast feeding so need privacy which they were happy to arrange at all occasions. Also bassinet on Emirates was perfect for him when he was 3 months old.