Airport security personnel really were all smiles. In San Antonio, as soon as one saw me, he lifted a rope barrier and said "You can go in this line," which is to say, absolutely no line, no wait. They did scan my baby's milk for bomb creating activity, but it was over within a few minutes. (Drawn by a sleep-deprived mother, aka Althea Peterson)
It was amazing how quickly my fellow passengers went from eyeballing the open seat next to me, to quickly looking elsewhere once they saw my baby in my lap. She was 12 weeks old then, and handled flying like a little trooper. (Drawn by a sleep-deprived mother, aka Althea Peterson)
"Why do you need to travel with so much stuff? It's only a baby." People without kids say the darndest things.
An important family get together prompted us to attempt to air travel with our not-quite-3-month-old daughter a few weeks ago. It was a learning experience, which I hope that you all can learn from as well.
1) If there's any question, bring it along
"I need to see her birth certificate or her most recent vaccination record." I think my jaw hit the floor when the airline worker said this, because we had neither. Immediately, we were working the cell phones to get people to drop by our house to fax/email us something that would work.
This week's recommended reading (scroll to the bottom of this blog entry) has links to airline sites on traveling with babies and young children, as well as Transportation Security Administration's. I made the mistake of only reading TSA's, not our airline's as well.
Here's the big list of what we brought. And no, we didn't have a lot of room left for our own stuff:
- Baby's vaccine record and application for a birth certificate (after a friend emailed it to us)
- Baby rocker (for sleep)
- Diaper bag with pacifiers, wipes, ointment, diapers and spare onesies
- Breast pump and full bottles (don't forget the pump's charger!)
- Car seat (because once we arrived, we were renting a car)
- Boppy pillow (don't know what this is? Here's a link)Make sure to carry baby food with you. Yes, even through security. Speaking of...
2) Don't worry about security or boarding
As the TSA link will show you, they are incredibly accommodating for baby and baby's parents. In fact, I think the baby made the TSA agents smile more than usual. Of note:
- You can carry more than an ounce of milk or formula through so long as you declare it. Make it over obvious. Tell several security people about your medicine/milk/formula/sanitizer. Make sure coolers and bags are fully open when putting it through the x-ray. They'll screen milk again in a different machine, but it's fast and worry-free.
- You can carry your baby with you through the metal detector. You'll still have to remove your shoes, but you fortunately will not have to remove your baby.
As far as boarding, you'll likely be able to get on the plane near the front of the line, even if you fly on one of those airlines that has boarding order based on how soon you check in.
- Nobody will want to sit next to you. They'll be as friendly as TSA until you board the plane. Then, they'll try to pick a seat as far away as possible.
- Feed your baby during takeoff and landing The air pressure will be easier to handle this way. And, if a bottle is in their mouth, they're not fussing and making an embarrassing scene.
3) Just go ahead and do what you need to do
When I suspected that she was about to start crying, I got up during a flight to bounce my daughter. Up and down the aisle, bounce bounce bounce. Flight attendants offered me something to drink, passengers knowingly smiled.
I also ended up using airport changing tables at every stop. Baby's favorite was Jacksonville's, which had a big mirror next to it.
When we didn't switch planes between flights, I got out my cover and breast pumped in my seat.
Everything will seem weird. But, if you have to do it, then that's all of the justification you need. Do it for your baby!
4) Be patient with the public
"All carry-on luggage must be stored in the overhead bin during takeoff, including the baby."Mr. Flight Attendant, that might have sounded like a funny joke in your head, but I wanted to slap you after you said it outloud. Fortunately for you, I had a seat belt on, as well as a baby in my lap.
Like with Mr. Flight Attendant and me, baby parents will have some weird comments, many creepy staring eyes, and perhaps even some loud whispers in your direction as people search for seats as far away from the baby as possible on the plane.
But then, when the older children they chose to sit near start fighting and bawling mid-flight as your baby daughter sleeps silently, you can smile.
-- Althea Peterson
PS: Please join me again next Monday as I share the wonders and horrors of baby breast feeding.
Trimesterly tribute: I took my only flight during pregnancy when I was two months in, and unfortunately, a delayed flight meant we were running from one end of Salt Lake City's airport to the other. Gasping for air, stomach pains and sweating were just as bad as me yelling to every gate attendant along the run "PLEASE ASK GATE X TO HOLD THE PLANE!" Us runners arrived, happy that we made our flight. Then, 20 minutes later, the non-runners from our previous flight arrived. Pregnant mommy ran the Salt Lake City airport for nothing.
Mommy moment: Due to motion sickness problems, I took medicine shortly before a flight on the baby trip. Shortly after, my eyes felt heavy and I was having trouble staying awake. Soon, I was sleeping along with my baby on the flight. With all of the baby travel worries, I had forgotten that motion sickness medicine often causes drowsiness.
Baby bit: While she cannot crawl yet, she has figured out a way to move while on her back. Kicking her feet and wiggling her butt, she slowly moves in a circle while staring up at a mirror. Mirrors are like baby television.
Recommended read: Here are links to airline and TSA sites with information on traveling with babies and younger children:
tulsaworld.com/tsababyformula: TSA page for air travel with baby formula, breast milk, juice, etc.tulsaworld.com/tsakidtravel: TSA page for traveling with childrentulsaworld.com/aababytravel: American Airlines page with baby and child travel informationtulsaworld.com/deltababytravel: Delta Airlines page with baby travel informationtulsaworld.com/southwestbabytravel: Southwest Airlines page with baby travel informationtulsaworld.com/unitedbabytravel: United Airlines page with baby travel informationMost airlines allow you to hold a single child on your lap during the flight for no additional charge. However, you will not be able to sit in the emergency exit row and it might get a bit crowded if you have passengers on both sides of you with a child in your lap.
Althea Peterson is the proud mother of a three-month old girl. Althea returned to work at the Tulsa World in May after two months of maternity leave. Baby advice, baby questions or baby words of encouragement can be sent to althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com. Also, follow Althea and other parents on Twitter at twitter.com/twbecauseisaid
