Holiday Travel With Baby: More Tips

Our mommy blogger shares advice based on her adventures in the quasi-baby-friendly skies.

By Julie Feinstein Adams

I can't believe that in a few weeks we'll be taking our boy on his fifth plane trip this year. Every time we travel, I poll friends and search the Internet for advice. Here are a few things we've tried that worked, and a few things we haven't but that sound good.

Tried and true:

Booking a ticket for the baby, if affordable, is the way to go in my opinion (although you can gamble on the possibility of getting a free seat -- see below). Not only do you get the whole row to yourself (assuming you're also traveling with a partner), but in our case, the boy was pretty content to stay in his car seat throughout most of the flight and play with the procession of toys we provided. On a more paranoid note, I personally can't understand why one is allowed to hold a baby in one's lap during take off and landing but one's bags have to be "properly stowed." On our recent flight in which we didn't have a seat for him, I tried putting the boy on my chest in the Ergo during landing but the stewardess made me take him out. She said that FAA regulations prohibit you from attaching your child to yourself. I'm at a loss here. Any thoughts?

If you travel with the baby as a "lap child," you can ask at the ticket counter on the day of the flight if there's an extra seat available -- which they will then give you for free. We've had good luck with this several times.

In flight magazines, plastic cups, and tray tables make great toys (the latter being a bit trying for the person stuck in front of you).

One day I may try:

You apparently can gate check your car seat (if you didn't get that free seat) and your stroller no matter how much luggage you checked the normal way. Shhhhhh. Don't tell the stewardess.

Book the bulkhead and bring a blanket to make a play/nap area on the floor. (This one has never worked for us because either we've flown airlines that don't reserve seats, or the bulkhead has gone to fancy-pants business class select blah blah blah people.)

Wrap a few new toys as gifts and bring one out every hour; bonus points if the child likes to play with wrapping paper.

Most planes don't have changing tables in the bathrooms. Bring "overnights" diapers to cut down on the number of changes.

Pass around earplugs to people sitting near you.