Travel Series - Part 5 - Flight Planning

I know the thought of travelling with children can be stressful, and sometimes, quite frankly terrifying! So I have decided to do a travel series with all my top tips, advice and essentials, walking you through every step off the planning and preparation, the travel, the holiday and return travel, as well as how to reset on return.

So if you’ve got the urge to travel with your kiddos, but are feeling overwhelmed, please read on. My travel series is a comprehensive guide that will give you the toolkit you need for staycations, short-haul, and long-haul travel.

The travel –Short haul and long haul flights

The day has finally arrived, and you are all set to jet off abroad. If you are travelling overnight, you may prefer to stick to your little one’s usual day time routine. It may be worth offering an additional early evening nap if you have late flight time.

However, if you are flying during the day, have a think about their nap timings and how you can slot them in. It may be a case of squeezing in a nap en route to the airport.

At the airport

Once you are all checked in, there can be a long wait before you are able to board your flight. If you are flying overnight, I would suggest changing your little one into their sleep wear at the airport. This will save you having to do so on the flight, and can help signal sleepy cues to your bubba. Do also make sure you pop a fresh nappy onto your little ones just before boarding too.

If your little one is likely to want to snooze at the airport, you can always take along your buggy and offer them a nap in there if the timings align. Please do consider the SnoozeShade sun and sleep shade for your pushchair. It creates a lovely and dark sleep environment, which will help your little sleep easy. SnoozeShade (Coupon Code – SDREAM10) FOR 10% off.

For younger babies, you may want to pop them into a baby carrier, which can free up your hands for older siblings, or luggage.

Airports usually offer early boarding for families, so please do take full advantage of this, so that you can avoid huge crowds, and settle your little ones on board first.

On the flight

Quite often, airlines will provide bassinets and allocated seating with extra leg room for families, but I always urge you to clarify this when booking. It can honestly make the journey a little bit more bearable.

Scope out the toilets on board so that you can plan your nappy changing spot ahead of time. If you are travelling solo with your child, please do let the staff know of this, so that they can be at hand if you need any assistance.

Let's talk about take-off and landing when the air pressure changes. Babies and children are more vulnerable to ear pain during these times, so it is really important to ease this as much as possible to keep your little ones comfortable. The best way to do so is by offering your bubba a:

·         Milk Feed

·         Dummy

·         Drink

·         Snack

·         Lollipop

during take-off and landing. Select the most suitable and age-appropriate option from the list above. Please keep your little one awake during these moments as the sucking and chewing motion will help to equalize the air pressure faster and so keep them comfortable. This really is a game-changer!

Your baby may want to feed more frequently during the flight, so please do bring extra milk supplies, if needed.

If you are travelling with your partner, splitting the time chunks caring for your little ones between you can be helpful if this works for your family, especially if you are flying long haul. It really depends on how many little ones you have, as well as their ages as to how you manage this. The divide and conquer approach can be helpful if you have two or more children.

Whether you have a short haul or a long haul flight, it is likely that your little one may want to sleep for some parts of it. It can be so much harder to support their sleep on board. There are so many distractions to contend with, and it is likely that sleep schedules will go out of the window. It can often be easier for little ones to settle to sleep during night flights due to a build-up of sleep pressure, melatonin, and darkness. Daytime flights can be trickier with all the noise and light, which really isn’t conducive to sleep. 

Please do make sure to have comforters, sleeping bags, and dummies (if used) on hand during the flight. Offering your bubba just a little familiarity when they are trying to sleep can be so comforting as it can be tricky to settle your little one to sleep on airplanes.

I always recommend supporting your bubba in whatever way they respond best and encouraging them to sleep at their normal times. For some babies and children, the motion and natural white noise created on flights can be quite soothing and enable sleep too. If your baby takes to the airline bassinet and sleeps well in it, this is a bonus. But please don’t panic if they don’t adjust well to it. They may prefer being supported to sleep and contact napping, which is completely understandable. So please don’t worry if sleep isn’t as smooth sailing as you would hope; it's likely that your little one will drift off at some point or another. 

Depending on the age of your children, they may want some books, toys and activities to help pass their time during the flight. I always suggest packing some familiar and favourite toys, as well as sneaking in a couple of new things to keep them engaged and busy.

Although flying with children can be stressful and tiring for you all, please do try and remain as calm as possible, and know that once you reach your destination, it will all have been worth the trouble.

So there you go, I hope my tips for short haul and long haul flights will help you plan ahead. Stay tuned for Holidaying with children, coming soon!