Traveling with Baby

An Impatient Daddy 

Jellybean flew on his first airplane at 6 weeks old.  I was still stationed in Texas while Matt had already moved to Virginia, and I wasn't scheduled to follow suit until several months after little man's birthdate. As I wrote in my previous post, Matt was able to make it to his son's birth about 2 hours before Jellybean blessed us with his first cries. Daddy stayed with us in Texas for about three weeks after, but alas, we have to make a living and back off to Virginia he went. The plan was we wouldn't make the trek to the east coast until the time came to move the family to our next assignment there, but one week without Jellybean and dad was aching to see his son again. I don't blame him, I have a hard time leaving the kiddo at daycare for ten hours every day. 

Family photo before Matt had to go back to work. 

Two striped peas in a pod. 

Airplane Anxiety

We always *hated* traveling by plane and seeing a baby come on board. I think everyone automatically does, and I'm pretty sure it's a reflex we can't control. I didn't want to be THAT person. But, I'm a mother now and off into the motherhood ranks I go doing the things that once annoyed me because I didn't know any better. Babies have to travel too, and I would be damned if that fear of putting someone else out on the plane was going to prevent me from letting Matt see his son! We decided I'd spend the rest of my maternity leave in Washington D.C. Tickets were bought, I made arrangements for Abby at the kennel, friends would check in on Mia at the house, got clearance from work, and then I dove into my books/blogs on how to travel with a baby. 

I was so anxious come travel day! But below are some lessons learned that helped me get by. It actually wasn't as bad as I imagined. 

Trying on mom's shades while waiting for the Airport shuttle

Hanging out in the Ergo on the plane. Baby wearing is awesome! 

Lessons Learned 

1. Strollers and car seats travel FREE! Who knew? I left the stroller at home since we bought a jogging stroller to keep in D.C. but took the car seat with me. 
2. Check the car seat at the gate, if traveling with a stroller, I definitely recommend checking that at the gate too. 
3. Travel with baby in a carrier, not the car seat! At 6 weeks old, Jellybean felt like a ton of bricks after carrying him for more than 5 minutes in a car seat. I travelled with Jellybean in his Ergo. In fact, I kept the Ergo on with him knocked out in it for the first half of the flight. 
4. Traveling with baby in a carrier makes for easy an security check. I didn't have to take him out to go through the x-ray machine, and my hands were free to take care of ID cards, remove my shoes, etc. 
5. I flew Southwest, checked in 24 hours before my flight, and was able to get a good seat in the very back of the plane. It helped being in one of the first boarding groups because then I figured that those who used to have my reaction to seeing a baby on a plane could steer clear of me and Jellybean! And sitting in the back made it more comfortable for me to breastfeed when the time came. 
6. Don't be too shy to breast feed! Jellybean wouldn't take a bottle or a pacifier, so when I had to feed him mid-flight, I put on my nursing cover and nursed him. It definitely *forced* me to get comfortable nursing in public, and now we don't have any issues with it. 
7. Flying on Mother's Day weekend was great! It was my first Mother's Day and it felt *so good* to hear words of kindness and encouragement from strangers. 
8. People are nicer than you think. Everyone was extremely helpful when they saw that I was traveling alone with a baby. Don't ever be too afraid to ask for help!
9. Feeding during take off/landing might not always be possible. My little man slept for take off and landing so I didn't bother waking him. The pressure change didn't seem to affect him. 
10. During those first few months, babies just sleep and sleep and sleep (unless it's time for a photo session with Aunty Britt Brat). He slept most of the flight, then ate, then slept some more. 

Overall, flying with Jellybean wasn't too bad. The hardest part was definitely getting from the car to the ticketing booth with all our stuff. But again, people are so helpful! The next time we plan on flying will be for his first birthday, and it won't be a quick flight from Texas to Virginia. We'll be flying from Virginia all the way to Seattle with an almost one year old. I'm imagining that adventure might have a few more bumps in the road! 

Checking out the Masonic Temple. 

Exploring D.C. in the Ergo made for some handsfree fun. 

Matt loved coming home from work and cuddling with this handsome fella. 

Jellybean went to his first baseball game during those weeks in D.C. Indians vs. Orioles. He must have been our good luck charm because the Indians won!