Being Aussie and French expats in the UK, my husband and I have been travelling a lot these past years to catch up with friends and family around the world. And we may not smoke, nor have major vice… but we definitively have a soft spot for travelling!

We thought that having a baby would slow us down, and don’t get me wrong it will certainly at some stage. But so far Baby O and I have been enjoying travelling back and forth to my hometown, Angers, in the Loire Valley in France as well as Sitges in Spain for a few days to follow my husband who had to work there. So at only 4 months old, Baby O has already been on the Eurostar, the TGV (French fast train) and 5 short haul flights. And we have 3 more European trips to come this summer: a wedding in Germany, a wedding in Italy (Umbria), and Baby O’s Grandad’s 70th in Italy (Verona, Bergamo and lake Como).  Not sure if he realizes how lucky he is! Mind you, these are just “Practice Flights” until the Big Scary long haul flight to Australia in October, when Baby O will be 7 months.

So how do I make sure flying goes smoothly especially when I’ve been travelling alone with him on 4 out of these 5 flights? Here are my 10 tips for flying short haul with an infant under 6 months.

• Choose the smallest and lightest buggy possible. We are so please we chose the Babyzen Yoyo after months of hesitation between an all-terrain pram I could jog with or  a super light one better suited to big city life and travels.
• Pack light to share your luggage with baby. No more room for 6 different pairs of shoes?? Whaaat?? 🙂
• Keep your nappy bag as a carry on luggage (because you can!) and pack it with a couple of toys, your feeding material, a dozen nappies (!) and a change of clothes: you never know what cabin pressure will do to your babies bowel…
• Do ask for help. With a smile and a cute baby, who could say no?
• Give yourself time. Stop arriving to the airport at the last minute like I used to: how many times have I had to run to the gate… Living on the edge, hey! Not with a baby!
• Keep your pram until boarding the plane. If you have a Yoyo like us you’ll be able to place it in the overhead compartment so no need to check it in. If it’s too big though, you’ll have to have checked it in (for free) beforehand to get a tag, and then they’ll collect it from the bottom of the aircraft when you board.
• Sit at the gate until Priority Boarding is called up, and jump the queue. If you’re flying on Easyjet from Nantes though, I would advise sitting until the end not to stand in a corridor for 30mn before actually boarding the damn aircraft! Once actual boarding start, then jump the queue.
•  Be prepared to entertain your baby: Get 2-3 toys and your feeding material (my breastfeeding cover in my case) ready in your front pocket.
• Buckle up, then feed him at take off and landing so that the suction movement helps with the discomfort in baby’s ears. Mind you, Baby O has always wanted to feed BEFORE or AFTER landing or take off and has never seemed bothered with pressure in his ears.
• Sit back and relax, your child will be relaxed too. 🙂 If you’re lucky he will even be sleeping during the whole flight as mine did on his first flight at 7 weeks. Chances of that happening are inversely proportional to your baby’s age and the flight duration…

Have you had any experience flying with a baby? Any tips to share with me for a (very) long haul flight?