Flying with an 8 Month Old

I wanted a separate post for going on a plane with Eli. I wanted to show other parents what we did in hopes that it might help others. I titled this "Flying with an 8 Month Old" because I believe the age of the child makes the biggest difference in taking them out in public. At 8 months old Eli is a fun and happy little guy. He is crawling and standing up which had its benefits and disadvantages. 

So, let me start from the beginning:

• Flight Preparation- Eli went as a lap child, but because it was an international flight we still had to pay a few hundred dollars for him. This allowed us another carry on, checked bag, and stroller/car seat. We chose the car seat as we were borrowing a stroller once we got to Norwich. It was a little harder to keep a hold of our carry on luggage and Eli walking through the airport, but we managed. 
• We made sure to pack several snacks and toys. I read from other mothers to not overload on the toys. We alternated the few we brought and it worked. 
• I made these about an hour before we left for the airport (don't mind the sloppiness). My sis gave the me the idea and I researched Pinterest for the wording to make these index cards attached to a pack of gum for the passengers around us. 

• I brought my pump, Eli's sippy cup with water, baby food pouches (these were so much easier to handle while traveling than a spoon), and breast milk. We had no problems going through security with these items. TSA was very helpful and calmed my fears of having to dump or taste the breast milk.



Can you see how excited he was for the flight?

• DFW, as well as Heathrow airport, were wonderful in providing a clean family restroom to change Eli before the flight. I'm not a fan of airplane bathrooms and tried to keep the changes down to a minimum.
• American Airlines did not pre-board families (strange?) on the flight to the UK, but we had very little trouble making our way to the back of the plane with the rest of the poor people with children.

He loved looking out the window

• Before Take Off- We wanted to get Eli as comfortable as possible in the beginning. We let him look out the window and wave to the passengers around us.
• I didn't know how Eli would do with the pressure so we clipped his pacifier to his pajamas and let him use it as much as possible. 
• As another way of comfort, we kept him in his pajamas so he knew that it was night-night time.
• As soon as we sat in our seats, I remembered from another post to put several diapers, wipes, and changing pad in the pocket in front of our seats. This truly did come in handy and we weren't reaching under our seats when we needed these things most. 

• During the flight (Dallas to UK)- All flights from Dallas to the UK are overnight. This worked in our favor as we took off at 9pm (8 1/2 hour flight) which is also Eli's bed time. I would recommend overnight flights again because within the first ten minutes he was sound asleep. The pressure never bothered him. 
• Chris and I took turns holding Eli while we ate or watched a film. We got an hour or two of sleep before landing. 
• We did ask American Airlines about a travel cot for the flight, but they said they were mainly for babies who were younger than Eli and that he wouldn't fit.
• During the flight (UK to Dallas)- The flight back to Dallas left at 12pm (9 1/2 hours). Eli was wired and ready to go during this flight. We got his snacks out and let him meet the people around us. There were several families around us and a very nice Indian woman sitting next to us who greeted us upon arriving in our seats. She even held Eli numerous times during the flight so we could eat or when he got a little fussy. 
• Eli only slept an hour on the flight back. Chris and I took shifts holding him. Since I nursed Eli, Chris changed him in the bathroom. Even though it was a tight squeeze in the bathroom, Chris seemed to complete the task flawlessly.

• Nursing- Because Eli fell asleep within the first ten minutes on the flight to the UK and slept almost the rest of the 8 1/2 hour flight, I needed to pump. I brought batteries to use my pump because I was afraid that the plug adapter would short out my pump. I bought a new one a week before we left and never used the battery portion until the flight. I brought the wrong batteries for it and unfortunately could not pump. I was a bit uncomfortable the rest of the flight and had to wait until Eli woke up. I had planned on pumping in my seat with a blanket over me as the lights were very low, most of the passengers by us were sleeping, I was by a window, and it was very noisy in the plane.
• On the return flight I did exclusively nurse Eli with a blanket instead of my cover because the blanket was right in front of me. It was a little harder being in the middle seat and being so close to the bathrooms as people kept walking back and forth, but it worked. I never felt uncomfortable or that people were staring at me.

Sound asleep

• Exiting the plane- We waited for everyone else to move past us before we got up. There was no point in rushing when we had so much to take off the plane. The flight attendants were very helpful and didn't rush us off the plane. I held Eli while Chris collected all of our things and we headed for customs. You can see our UK trip here

Waiting for everyone to move so we can get off the plane

All in all, we had a great flight experience. Reading other blogs and being prepared helped us feel more comfortable taking Eli along. I'm sure I will have to research and write another post when we have more children as the dynamics will change.