As you may have guessed from one of the last posts about babymoons and the lack of posts for a while, I've been a little busy welcoming a future traveler into the world. I'm back in action now and my husband and I are getting ready to take our first flight with the baby... dun dun DUN!!!!

I have definitely worried when I saw a small child hunkering down in the airplane seat near me (usually it's just annoying when they are kicking the seat behind me). However, I'm also one of the first people to try to makes faces and entertain them. I appreciate it when the parent apologizes if they are fussing and kicking. I understand that they are babies! It's when the parents don't seem to notice that annoys me. I promise, that will not be me.

Will he cry? Will he have a diaper explosion? Hopefully most of the stress related to this will be in anticipation of what could go wrong. I will be relying on the following tips from friends, family, and other parents to get us through with as little crying (from parents and baby) as possible:

Breastfeed, bottle feed or give a pacifier during take off and landing to help keep baby's ears from popping. This tactic can also be deployed whenever they get fussy.
While wipes, diapers, and a changing pad are pretty much always with new moms, make sure that carry-on is properly stocked before the flight.
Have 2 changes of clothes for baby (and 1 for the parents) because, you know, accidents always happen in the most inconvenient places... like in a tin can 30,000 feet in the air.
Bring a new toy as a surprise distraction for the baby. The novelty can help to hold off some tears if necessary.
A baby carrier comes in handy to keep your hands free for part of the flight if you don't have a bassinet or an empty seat to place the infant car seat.
We will divide and conquer. One of us will board early (if allowed) to grab some precious overhead bin space and get everything in place. The other will stay behind entertaining baby until the last possible minute. That way we aren't confined to a boring seat for too long before we enact step one.

Wish me luck and lookout for a follow up post in a few months to see how we did!

Here are some of the blogs and articles used to compile this list:

http://www.parents.com/fun/vacation/planning/how-to-fly-with-baby/

http://ababyabroad.com/en/surviving-air-travel-baby/

http://havebabywilltravel.com/tips-for-flying-with-an-infant-or-toddler/

http://www.babycenter.com/0_traveling-with-a-newborn-to-8-month-old_7157.bc