Flying with a baby

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Flying with a baby is a lot. You’re not just packing for a trip — you’re packing a portable version of your entire life, trying to anticipate every possible need at 30,000 feet, on broken sleep. Cool cool cool.

We did it a bunch of times in my daughter’s first year and a half, starting with her first flight at 2.5 months. Here’s everything I actually learned.

The Gear

Bring your stroller and carry it on. Baby wear your little one through TSA and boarding — hands free is everything when you’re also juggling a boarding pass and your last shred of sanity. I did this until my daughter was about 2 and honestly it made the whole process so much smoother.

Gate check the car seat in a car seat bag. The main reason we did this was to protect it from being thrown around — if you check it at the counter it’s getting tossed. Roll it all the way down the jet bridge on the stroller and hand it off there. Bonus: the car seat bag is basically a free extra bag. We stuffed ours full of diapers every single time.

Bring a portable sound machine. Plane noise is basically white noise so it doesn’t bother them mid-flight, but once you land you’re going to want it — especially if your baby relies on white noise at home.

A blanket pulls triple duty — over the car seat for naps, on the floor when my daughter started crawling (yes I put my baby on the airplane floor, zero regrets), and for tummy time on earlier trips.

✅ Bring ❌ Skip
Stroller (carry on) Portable high chair
Car seat + car seat bag (gate check) Baby headphones
Baby wearing carrier
Portable sound machine
Blanket

Packing

Category What to Pack
Clothes Day outfits + extras, bibs, burp cloths, PJs, hat, jacket, socks, shoes
Diapering More diapers than you think, two changing pads, wipes, extra outfit for baby AND you, wet bag for dirty clothes, lotions, sunscreen (6+ mo), bath soap
Feeding Bottles + 1-2 extra, pump + charger + 2 sets of parts, travel drying rack + brush + soap, Ceres Chill, formula, snacks, teethers + toys
Entertainment Books, teethers, toys for whatever developmental stage you're in

Two diaper changing pads was a total game changer for me. One in the diaper bag, one left at wherever you’re staying. Before that I was constantly hunting for it and it drove me insane.

Pack an extra outfit in your diaper bag specifically for the plane plus a wet bag for dirty clothes — and honestly pack an extra outfit for yourself too. Those airplane bathroom diaper changes can get chaotic.

The Actual Flying Part

💡 TSA tip: Put all your milk, formula, and liquids in one bin. It means they only pull one tray instead of hunting through everything. Hard to pull off with a baby in your arms but worth attempting.

Feed or nurse on takeoff and landing — the swallowing helps with ear pressure. Wait until you’re actually taking off though, not just sitting on the tarmac forever. Sometimes they’re too hungry to wait and you just do what you gotta do. Bring a pacifier as backup just in case.

💡 Feeding tip: Don’t start nursing or giving a bottle until you’re actually moving down the runway. You can sit on the tarmac for a surprisingly long time and you don’t want to burn your window early.

Here’s exactly how we packed everything:

Where What
Carry on Stroller, backpack, tote, diaper bag
Gate check Car seat in car seat bag (stuffed with diapers and baby's things)
Checked Pack and play, one large shared suitcase for the adults

We packed all of our daughter’s stuff in the gate check bag on purpose — way easier to replace our own stuff if a bag gets lost than to replace baby gear on the road.

💡 Airline tip: Check your airline’s pack and play policy before you go. Some airlines like Delta count it as a baby item and won’t charge a bag fee.

And my number one mantra for every trip: you can always buy whatever you forgot when you get there. Saved me from overpacking more times than I can count.

Somehow the easiest trip was that very first one. So if you’re on the fence about traveling with your baby — just go. You’ll figure out your own system and it is so worth it.