My days of flight transformed when my most precious carry-on started breathing and demanding diaper changes, rather than simply a battery charge now and then. This precious carry-on is a 9-pound adorable babe named Taryn Jolie. Suddenly, this seasoned veteran of the runway, rails and road found she was nervous about everything from packing to using the airplane lav. But after a bit of trial and error, the ease of flight came back, in the family way.
The most important advice I was given by friends while pregnant holds true when it comes to traveling with your infant: Follow your instinct. There’s a reason for the cliché, “Mother knows best.” If you think you might needs special food or toys on the plane, put it in your diaper bag. No one knows your baby like you do, and certainly not some impersonal list in the latest baby book, even if it did have the right advice for how to work the breast pump.
Traveling is a personal adventure for you and your baby, and the better your attitude is about it, the more enjoyable the trip will be and the more likely your child will want to explore the world on his or her own when that choice is given to them in the future.
In other words, be confident and you’ll be flying through those security checkpoints again in record time. It will be record “mom” time, but still, record time. Speaking of the clock, I have a confession to make. When it comes to getting to the airport early, I was one of those cocky travelers who never followed the “suggested” schedule of early arrival, even right after 9/11. But… when it was time for me to take my first flight with INFANT IN ARMS declared on my boarding pass, I showed up at the airport nearly three hours ahead of take-off. The thought of folding up the stroller and making it fit through the security screener had me restless, visions of my sweet daughter screaming with agony from ear pressure at 35,000 feet haunted me, and I dreaded the thought of searching for a nonchalant place to change a poop-filled diaper on a packed airplane.
Now the good news: Did you know that they have changing tables inside the lavatory on the airplanes? They drop down from above the toilet, and despite hundreds of flights, I would have claimed never to have seen one prior to this year. (I suppose necessity is the mother of observation as well as invention!)
But before you get that far, here’s the best baby bonus: Have stroller, will travel… right into the Special Needs/Premium Class line en route to the security checkpoint. I bet there are flyers reading this right now who might consider getting pregnant—or at least borrowing a friend’s kid for their next flight—for this perk alone! At the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the privilege of getting in the “elite” line is worth about 30-45 minutes of time on a busy travel day. And once you hit the checkpoint, you take your baby, and the entourage of gear and goodies crucial for a tot’s happiness these days, and you take your time. That’s right, in the major airports at least, stroller-toting travelers are sent to the same line as the folks making their way via wheelchair. And in the words of the TSA official who responded to my query of “How is this line any different from the others?” No one is allowed to rush you. You can take all the time you need to undress, unfold, soothe your baby and make sure all seven billion items you head into the checkpoint with come through on the other side to be reassembled for the next leg of your journey.
As for the ear pressure on high? Well, my girl had none as far as I could tell, thanks to discreet nursing and my handy nursing shawl. Forget that famous credit card; my trusty nursing shawl is the one item I don’t leave home without these days. I may not get miles toward my next flight for using it—but I get a different kind of sky miles: the peaceful kind.
More on the items all new moms should have when on the go, next time here at Globalfoodie.com.
Stephanie Oswald is a globetrotter who toured the world sans child for several decades as travel correspondent for CNN, and hurricane reporter for The Weather Channel. She is currently racking up frequent flyer miles as the editor-in-chief of travelgirl magazine, a publication she co-founded in 2002. When it launched in summer 2003, travelgirl was named one of the top publications of the year by Mr. Magazine. Find out more at www.travelgirlinc.com.
