Traveling (ALONE) With an Infant…do you dare? April 11, 2013 | Had you asked me this question before or during pregnancy my answer would have been a quick and easy…”hell NO!”After having the baby, and not only being far away from friends and family, but also knowing more about your baby specifically…their eating habits, demeanour, and how easy (or not) it is to soothe them…made me re-think my decision. I was DYING to get back home to introduce my little lady to her great-grandparents, aunts/uncles, and her BFF (aka first cousin Annie who was born three days after she was). When my husband had an unexpected work trip come up that would take him away from us for 4 days—that sealed the deal—I was going. I booked the trip only 2 days before we were scheduled to leave (which I think helped me because I did not have time to dwell on it all). Also booking so late and not really wanting to sell my soul for the direct flight, I took a layover. Total travel time (with the 1hr additional delay @ layover was 5hr 30min). Here’s what I learned along the way… 1. Gear: This is what worked for us… Ergo Carrier. I think that every new mom needs this anyway. Puts the Bjorn to shame. The hip support is amazing…LK was around 12 lbs when I took her and it felt like I was about 5 months pregnant carrying it around…no biggie. On top of that, there are fun (what I like to call) Inspector Gadget pockets on the front of this baby where I put cell phone, passport, boarding passes, and credit card for super easy access. Seriously, you need it. Its the only way housework gets done around here and the girl loves it! Eddie Bauer backpack diaper bag. I bought this for my husband because never in a million years would I want to be caught dead with a backpack…so dorky, right?….Wrong. I was to thankful to trade in the cute Kate Spade for dorkville because wearing that on my back and the Ergo on my front still gave me full use/range of motion of both hands….which is KEY. Inside of the diaper bag: Diapers, obviously. Soft case of wipes. Burp cloths (one for each planned feeding). Gallon sized Ziplocs (in case of an accident). An extra change of clothes (one for each planned feeding). Gripe Water (in case of gas/annoying hiccups). Pacifiers and Paci wipes in case of an accidental drop. Lysol Spray and wipes (I wiped down each seat before making ourselves comfortable). Your wallet (I did not bring a purse as a carry on, I packed it.) Blankets (I used lightweight swaddle blankets because the Ergo does make them a little warm). In our case, we needed two bottles of BM to make it (see below under feeding). Breast Pads. Hat/socks (it was very cold when I traveled). I think that’s it. Hooter Hider. Just typing that made me LOL. Oh the joys. Anyway, I had this on the entire time and it served as a nice little shield over carrier and baby. It still blows my mind how many people are fascinated by a newborn and have no problems getting all up in their your space. Then when she had to nurse, it was already in place. Mine was not the best though. Do they made them with Velcro or a more secure close? If so, go with that one. Checked bag….was never more thankful for a 4 wheeled suitcase. Thankfully D and my dad were pretty good at taking it from me as soon as they could. Rules/Regulations: I booked through Travelocity and had to call the airline to ensure that LK was accounted for. Delta did NOT require any paperwork for her at check-in. Baby Gear flys FREE. Hey Hey! I did not know this! I our case, my mom had carseat, rock-n-play, pack-n-play, etc. but for future travels the carseat, stroller, pack-n-play…all fly for free! That’s such a relief. You just need covers for them all to avoid damage. When you get to the desk, put your “poor poor pitiful me” face on and ask if the flight is absolutely full and if not, could you possibly have a seat next to an empty one “in case your have to breastfeed.” Merely speaking the word “breastfeeding” sends people into orbit and in their awkwardness, they usually give you what you want…Hey, whatever it takes people. Delta was very accommodating and on all 4 flights I was given seats by the window that was vacant on the other side…AMEN. When going through security you still have to take off your shoes (which was a commotion for me because like I said it was cold…wear flippies if you can) and take out all liquids. You DO NOT have to take the Ergo carrier off or the baby out. PRAISE GOD. You go through as one unit, but they do require that they swab your hands for explosives. Surprisingly enough, the lady with the newborn passed! Shocked anyone? If you have breast milk in your carry-on…which I did…about 12oz. You can totally have as much as you want and its NOT required to be bottled in the traditional 3oz liquid limit. They do require that you turn it all over to them and they take one of the bottles and test it with some sort of litmus test thingie. Again, we passed…another shocker. I would add about 5-10 min onto travel time for this because on our first flight there were 4 other people getting liquids tested in front of us and it takes about 1-2 min each. I thought that this website was great with spelling out the regulations. Now this only happened on ONE of the flights, but just be prepared. The flight attendant required me to take the Ergo OFF completely and hold LK in case I was incapacitated in an emergency situation. I was not a happy traveler as I knew that this would wake her up. And it did. Thanks a million lady. Feeding: With the flight times I had carefully planned out her schedule (and my two girls’ as well) around take off, lay-over, landing, etc. Of course, it NEVER goes as planned…being moms we all know that…but friendly reminder in case. In any case, I brought 12 oz (all cold) in the diaper bags nice little cooled pocket with the intent that they would reach room temperature by the time I needed them. NOT–that little pocket it like an Igloo. So I end up being the wierdo warming up a bottle under the restroom hand dryer. Keeping it classy, ladies. My advice would be to warm up ONE bottle before leaving…you have 4-6 hrs from that point for it to stay good. The one thing that I continued to read over and over was be sure to be feeding them during take off and landing due to the intense pressure changes. I nursed her on takeoff (hooter hider in full effect because I am fairly modest) but she did not seemed to be phased by the pressure. Since the flight was only 45 min I did not want to stuff the poor kid and tried a paci during landing. Seemed to work like a charm. Since our schedule was so messed up from the additional delay we incurred and the other bottle I brought had expired by that time, I nursed on demand for the remainder. Side note: I DID bring the BP but packed it in my checked bag. Bathroom: I had SERIOUS anxiety about this. Like.Serious. I am already such a wierdo and have to go at least 5x before we board because I have such a phobia of airplane bathrooms. I get hives even thinking about them. My husband was honestly a little worried about how I would pull this off. Come to find out MOST restrooms have a family room between men’s and women’s. Hallelujah!!! It was so easy to go in there to change LK’s diaper and then leave her strapped on the changer and go to the restroom myself. Not going to lie…push come to shove…it can be done with the Ergo and the backpack still in place….but I wouldn’t know 🙂 In regards to diaper changes…OVER CHANGE. Since they are so tight in the carrier and are usually sleeping soooo well, I probably did not change her diaper enough (even though I did change her 3x in 5 hours). I would say every hour and put lots of Vaseline/Buttpaste just to avoid the dreaded diaper rash. Ok. I think that’s it. Did I miss anything? Feel free to ask additional questions. And remember these are my personal opinions and product recommendations and are strictly what worked for us. Overall, I have been blessed with a pretty easy-going baby so that DID make things easier I will say. Oh and get ready for “the looks.” When people look at you like you are a leper or have a walking case of gonorrhea rather than like you’re a mother of a newborn! It’s insane all of the stares and glares that I got. Hey people…guess what?! I checked over and over with the pediatrician and they actually encouraged it! Saying this was the easiest time to travel, by far. So keep yo’ eyes to yourself =) Happy Travels…you can do it and will come back a more confident mama than when you left! (excuse the Instagram from 5 am…lookin’ a little rough but you get the picture) xoxo