Flying With a Baby for the First Time: Everything I Packed and What I Learned

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Before my first flight alone with my 10-week-old son, I spent days worrying about everything that could go wrong. What if he cried the entire flight? What if I couldn’t manage my baby, his car seat, and diaper bag all by myself? What if I held up the security line while trying to juggle everything?

To make things even more intimidating, my husband wasn’t traveling with us. While he drove separately with our dog and most of our luggage, I would be flying solo with our baby for the first time. As it turns out, the trip went far better than I expected. Not everything went perfectly (there was a memorable diaper incident at the end of the flight), but the experience gave me so much confidence as a new mom.

If you’re preparing for flying with a baby for the first time, these are the things that helped me most.

Before You Leave Home

Consider purchasing a plane ticket for your infant car seat.

I know that purchasing a seat for your baby isn’t financially possible or worthwhile for every family, but for my first solo flight with my son, it was one of the best decisions I made. Having a safe place to put him down in the airport and on the airplane reduced my stress tremendously. It was also nice being able to carry his infant car seat on the airplane and not worry about such an expensive baby item getting damaged in baggage handling as a checked item. Remember that you can only bring your infant car seat on board if you purchased a window seat for it!

Practice seatbelting your infant car seat in the car.

I practiced installing our infant car seat without the base several times before our trip, and I’m so glad I did because it turned out to be much less intuitive than I expected. Refer to your infant car seat manual to learn how to secure it without a base in a car and airplane. Try it a few times on both sides of the car so you feel comfortable doing it in either orientation. (Make sure your infant car seat is actually approved for airline use. In the United States, it will have a label stating “This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft.”)

Pack extra clothes for you and your baby.

Your baby will inevitably pee, poop, or spit up on themself and/or you. I had made it through almost our whole trip with no incident, and was feeling very smug, until I stood up to get off the plane (with my son in his carrier on me) and felt a warm rush of pee escape his diaper all over both of us. (This was best-case scenario—I’d much rather him pee on me rather than in his car seat, and at the end of the flight rather than the beginning!) Fortunately, our destination airport had a lovely private mothers’ room where I could change his diaper and both of our outfits. I was so glad I had packed clean clothes for both of us so we could be clean for the rest of our journey.

Have a copy of your baby’s birth certificate on hand.

I was not asked for this, and none of my mom friends have been either, but apparently some airlines may ask for this to verify your baby’s age. It’s best to carry a copy (or at least a high-resolution photo of it on your phone) just in case to avoid holding up your travel.

Build in way more time than usual at home and at the airport.

Even before motherhood, I have always been the person who arrives at the airport two hours early, but now that I have a baby, this feels more crucial than ever! It sounds silly, but before my first solo flight with him, I wrote down everything I would have to do at home before we could leave and everything to do at the airport before boarding the plane. I realized I would need even more time than expected, especially if there were to be any unforeseen conditions such as a huge diaper blowout or extra-long security line (which there certainly was). I had a comfortable amount of time to get myself and baby ready at home by waking up two hours before we needed to call our Uber, and arriving at the airport two hours before boarding. Instead of spending the morning stressed and rushing from task to task, I felt calm, prepared, and ready to enjoy the experience.

Getting Through the Airport

Babywear through TSA and the airport.

I was nervous about carrying my baby in my arms through security, as he was only 10 weeks when we flew for the first time together and still felt so delicate. I had no idea you could babywear through TSA until I sought travel advice from a few mom friends, and it completely changed the experience for me. Babywearing was great in the unexpectedly long security line, because I could sway and bounce around to keep my baby happy. I felt a little embarrassed at first because I was the only parent in line doing this on a busy holiday weekend, but I got several encouraging smiles from kind strangers. I kept my son in his carrier on my body, pushed my backpack onto the conveyor belt, and the TSA agent waved us through the metal detector with the infant car seat. They wiped down my hands as an extra security measure and patted down his car seat, but nobody touched my baby (which I wouldn’t have allowed anyway).

I babywore the entire time we were in the airport (except when nursing and changing him) and while boarding the plane. I also found it easier to babywear onto and off of the plane so I could awkwardly lift the infant car seat in front of me in the narrow airplane aisles, without jostling my baby around in it. (Note that some airlines will ask you to remove your baby from the carrier during takeoff and landing, if you were planning to babywear on the plane as well.)

Locate the mothers’ rooms at each airport.

As someone who isn’t particularly comfortable breastfeeding in busy public spaces, having a quiet place to feed and change my baby made the entire airport experience feel much less overwhelming. Check out your departing and destination airports’ websites (or the physical directories) to locate the most convenient post-security mothers’ rooms. Some may be nicer than others, and offer different amenities—for example, the mothers’ room I used at DEN was kind of run-down, but it had a sink, which was helpful. The room at ONT was decorated very cute and much cleaner and newer, but didn’t have a sink. No matter what the surfaces look like, be sure to sanitize them before using to protect you and your baby.

On the Plane

Carry on as little as possible (but keep the essentials close at hand).

Motherhood has required me to carry more stuff than ever before, which is exactly why I’ve become even more selective about what comes with me. Prior to motherhood, I was a very frequent traveler for both work and my personal life, and I had a strict “no checked baggage” policy for myself and always traveled very light. I am now very open to checking bags if it means less to lug through the airport with my baby.

Consider the bare minimum you would need for one full day/night with baby if your checked bags got lost, and try to just pack those essentials in your carry-on to make things easier as you navigate the airport with baby (especially if you’re traveling as a solo parent). For me, this meant wearing the baby in his carrier on my front, wearing my diaper backpack with our essentials on my back, and carrying his infant car seat in one hand so I had one hand free to grab my phone and wallet as needed.

Take advantage of pre-boarding.

Most airlines allow families traveling with small children to board early, regardless of the boarding group on your ticket. Ask the gate agent when you arrive if you have this option, and enjoy the extra time you have to get yourself and baby situated on the plane without a long line of impatient passengers waiting behind you. There weren’t any other pre-boarders on my first flight with my son, so we got to be the very first people on the plane, which I have never experienced before even as a very frequent flyer! It was nice to take my time finding our seats, belting in his infant car seat, and removing him from the carrier before the plane got crowded.

Offer the breast, bottle, or pacifier at takeoff and landing.

Your little baby’s ears may be sensitive to the pressure changes associated with flying, especially at takeoff and landing. Try breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or offering a pacifier during takeoff or landing to mitigate discomfort in their ears. My baby passed out as soon as the plane engine started (like he does in the car), so I didn’t get to try this trick on our first flight together, but I’ve heard from so many moms that this really helped their babies and is certainly worth a try if your baby is awake!

Bonus Tip: Take photos to document the journey.

I got the cutest picture of my son smiling in his car seat with the plane window behind him, and he looks like a happy little world traveler.

Everything I Packed

I had the unique situation of meeting up with my husband at our destination, as he would be driving with our dog and our bigger luggage, so I only needed to pack what baby and I needed for the day of travel. However, even if I had to bring luggage with me, I would have checked it and my carry-on packing list would have been the same. Everything I packed in my carry-on included:

Backup Items

Mushie wet/dry bags
Extra outfits for baby
Clean outfit for me
Baby’s birth certificate

Mama’s Essentials

Lotion
Lip balm
Wallet
Phone + charger

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You are more capable than you think.

Before this trip, I was convinced flying alone with my baby would be overwhelming. Instead, it became one of the experiences that gave me the most confidence as a new mom. The truth is, your baby doesn’t need you to be perfect. They just need you to stay calm, solve problems one at a time, and keep moving forward.

When in doubt, take a breath and do things slowly and intentionally rather than frantically and incorrectly. For example, when the Uber arrived at our house to take us to the airport, I tried seatbelting my baby’s car seat too quickly, got it wrong, and had to start over before we could depart safely. In contrast, when my mother-in-law picked us up at our destination airport, I took a few extra seconds to think it through and installed it perfectly the first time.

Assume strangers are kind and will give you grace, and if they don’t, that is a poor reflection on them and not you as a mom. You’ll probably forget something, your baby may cry, and you may get peed on—but you’ll both be just fine!