Flying with Baby: Reid’s First Trip to Minnesota and Weekend at the Lake

What a manic Monday…

Reid and I have had a whirlwind of a week. On Monday we flew to Minnesota to visit my Nana. I was super nervous as I was flying alone with a 4 month old (meeting my mom in Minneapolis), but Reid was a great flier and people were so sweet and helpful along the trip–it really does take a village! I would say that the travel was smooth sailing, BUT I was flying Southwest and my flights on the way out got delayed by almost 24 hours! (stuck in the Atlanta airport until 1:30 a.m. when I was supposed to fly out at 9 a.m.) and on the way back delayed for a couple hours again. Needless to say, when we fly again I will definitely pay the extra money to either fly direct or fly out of Charlotte for a direct flight (no layover in ATL please!).

I read numerous blogs and articles about flying with a baby before our trip. Some advice I totally agree with and other advice I could have done without. At the end of the day I think the best advice is to do what YOU feel comfortable with and what makes YOUR baby most comfortable–different strokes for different folks!

My tips for flying with a baby:

Wear comfortable clothes, especially if breastfeeding. When flying I typically try and look somewhat cute and put together so I don’t feel disheveled at my destination. However, when flying with a baby it is all about comfort. I wore a nursing tank and an oversized sweater shirt with jean shorts and flip flops–I may not have looked super put together but I was comfortable and it made nursing in public easier.
You can bring stroller and car seat through security and gate check it. I was so worried about bringing both and read that wearing baby is best, but Reid doesn’t really like being in the k’tan/ergo so I just held him through the check point and put him back in the stroller after we were through. Again, people were so helpful and made my time a lot simpler. *Every blog/article said to wear your baby so I packed my k’tan, but at the end of the day I did what works best for us and it never came out of my bag!
ASK the people at the gate if there is an open seat so that you can put baby in the car seat on the plane (3 out of 4 flights Reid was able to have his own window seat
Bring pacifiers so baby can suck on the ascent and descent, but don’t wake baby if sleeping to put one in (no painful ears from this group)
Bring a change of clothes for you and baby–Reid had a blowout on our flight home and the change of clothes for both of us was clutch!
Don’t worry about breastfeeding on the plane–most people understand and are happy to help/look away. I was surprised at how supportive people were.
Try and relax–flying is like having a baby: you have very little control and need to expect the unexpected, but in the end you will survive and get to your destination in one piece! Trust me we had about the WORST flying situation ever and we made it–through a baby diaper blowout, 4 flight delays, 2 flight changes, missing a funeral and getting to our destination at 4:30 a.m (when we were supposed to land at 10:30 a.m the day before) we survived.

Despite our terrible air travel, we had a fantastic time with my Nana and Mom. My Nana is almost 98 years old and it was great to see her with Reid. By the way, Nana looks and acts like she is at least 10 years younger–she is super sharp and even gardened a little! When in Minnesota, we visited my Great Aunt Julie who is 104 years old, went by one of my second cousin’s farms, went to my Pop-Pops’ grave, drank endless amounts of coffee, went to the Mall of America and had wonderful discussions and laughs with the baby. It is always great to see my Nana and since she isn’t able to travel all the way to South Carolina, I have been fortunate enough to make the trip once a year!

We got back on Friday afternoon (after another delay!) and enjoyed spending time with Drew and his sister. Their grandmother passed away and her service was on Friday morning, since my flight got delayed Reid and I were unfortunately unable to attend. On Saturday morning, Drew, Reid and I packed up the car and headed to his mom and step-dad’s house for the weekend.

Reid’s grandparents are the best–they are super helpful and love to babysit Reid. They allowed us to go on the boat on Saturday evening (after I took a much needed nap!) and again on Sunday morning. It was great to be able to spend some alone time with Drew and time on the lake! We finished up our eventful, yet relaxing weekend with some Fro-Yo at Twisted Cup!