At eight months old, Waverley has flown on an airplane five times and has traveled through sixteen states. She’s lived in hotels and other people’s houses for nearly half of her life. She’s quite the well-traveled little lady! Traveling with her is not as difficult as one might expect and just requires a little additional planning for a successful excursion. A lovely gal caught wind of Waverley’s frequent flier status via my Instagram and asked for my tips. Here they are for all of you, too, in case you find yourself with wanderlust + baby.

• Arrive 1.5 hours before your scheduled flight departure to give yourself plenty of time to check in and go through security (seems obvious, yeah?). Being stressed for time makes everything so much more chaotic and this is exponentially more so with a babe in tow plus all of her stuff. 
• Car seats and strollers can be checked for free, so definitely bring them. Some people check them when boarding but I’ve found checking them at the beginning is easiest for me and lessens an extra item to go through security. Then I strap Waverley in her carrier and security is a breeze. Also, when she’s in the wrap people are less inclined to touch her.
• It is totally worth the extra money to check your bags rather than carry on a bag, plus your diaper bag, plus the baby. It’s just so much stuff. I always need an extra hand for coffee anyway…or a mimosa, whatever.
• When checking in, ask to block off the seat next to you because you have a lap infant (I call 24 hours prior to departure to request this). If the flight isn’t full they can usually accommodate this, which provides a little extra room and privacy if you’re breastfeeding.
• Although the back of the plane typically is less than ideal, it is quite nice with a baby because it offers easy access to the bathroom and the back area where you can stand if the babe needs to be bounced. Waverley enjoys a nice bounce session before her nap so I usually make friends with the flight attendants and hangout with them for a bit. 
• If you have breast milk or formula, have it separate from your carry-ons. They will need to test it. Also, a pack of wipes looks suspicious through the x-ray so have that separate as well lest you want your perfectly assembled baby bag torn apart (which happened to me). 
• Time her feedings with take-off and landing to alleviate pressure on her ears. Everyone will thank you.
• Expect that she’ll cry at some point. Try not to stress about it. I was so concerned Waverley would annoy other passengers that I made it worse.
• Try to adhere to her normal nap schedule and routine as much as possible. If she likes to be swaddled for her nap, definitely bring that on the plane.
• I haven’t used this contraption but I thought it looked interesting. I tried a pillow and it worked well too.
• If you’re traveling solo (sans significant other) with the baby, don’t even fool yourself into thinking you’re going to enjoy a book or magazine. Just don’t.
• In the end, just do what you have to do for your sanity. Need a drink? Get one. The baby wants to pacify herself on you for hours? Whatever keeps her quiet. Extra snacks? Sure. It’s okay!

I imagine flying with a younger infant is probably completely different than flying with an older infant. I am taking Waverley on another trip next month and could definitely use any of your tips on managing a wigglier babe. Please share!