Have Baby, Will Travel…Or Not

It must be a rite of passage for every parent to sit on a plane holding a rigid, red-faced, screaming baby while other passengers grind their teeth and sigh loudly. Yes, I used to be one of those passengers, too. Silently complaining to the God of Flying about my misfortune of being seated near an infant.

It wasn’t until my daughter’s first full-fledged tantrum at 3:00 in the morning on the tarmac in Qatar that I began to fully appreciate what parents actually go through when they venture out with their children.

As a journalist, I have done quite a bit of research to find out how other parents manage when they are on the road or in the air during long journeys. Of course, I was particularly interested in things that would keep babies quiet, or importantly, help them sleep.

Drugs like Phenergan, Benadryl or melatonin are mentioned as sure-fire strategies to sedate babies. Unfortunately, my paediatrician refuses to recommend anything, as you just don’t know how a little person will react, particularly when mid-way over the Atlantic. Some children get drowsy and drift off, while others can get hyper and take you straight into the depths of parenting hell. When I heard that these drugs increase the likelihood of breathing difficulties, I reluctantly gave up my search.

After enduring four major long-haul flights with our (now) eight-month-old, I have learnt the following:

• Be prepared to haul more hand luggage than a pack of miniature donkeys in Nepal. After one airline lost our baby’s suitcase, I now carry everything she needs to last an extra day of travel. I also invested in a giant travel backpack/nappy bag called Okkatots. While it is large and relatively cumbersome, it has reduced the volume of our hand luggage from four bags to two. I can wear it and carry the baby while my husband carries a smaller nappy bag that can be stuffed under the seat for easy access. I always pack a full container of formula, one nappy for every hour of travel and scented nappy disposal bags.

• All airport security systems are different and they are all annoying in their own ways. Some will make you pull out all your baby food and bottles to be examined, opened and then repacked. In Sweden, I was forced to drink boiling water out of a thermos to prove it wasn’t a key ingredient in bomb making. In Australia, I had to remove our sleeping baby from the soft fabric baby carrier in case I had something else strapped to my chest.

• Some websites recommend booking flights when your baby has its nap times. We found that this didn’t really make much difference. We had two night flights for 24-hour trips to Australia, and during the first flight our daughter hardly slept. She only had three 45-minute naps the whole journey. I now think it is better to get the whole ordeal out of the way first thing in the morning while everyone is fresh and reasonably well rested from the night before.

• Packing new toys is a good idea to keep your little person entertained. Unfortunately, the toys I bought after serious Amazon research were immediately discarded in the first three minutes. I am now used to just walking up and down the aisles or playing in front of the emergency exit door.

• Another strategy that I was prepared to roll out midflight involved handing out earplugs to my fellow passengers. Luckily on our most recent flight it wasn’t required, but I suspect it will go a long way in the goodwill department next time we face a tantrum.

• Be prepared to sit with your baby on your lap the whole time. The bassinet was too short for my daughter in one of the planes, even though she was well under the weight limit. On another flight, she simply didn’t want to be in such a narrow space.

• When both parents are travelling, you can take shifts: one person can get a little bit of sleep while the other looks after the baby. If you are flying by yourself, you will unfortunately not really be able to sleep, even if your baby likes the bassinet. When the seat belt light goes on during the flight, you have to take your little one out and onto your lap again. Airlines require you to rethread your baby’s belt through yours to protect him or her against turbulence.

Bottom line, be prepared to have no sleep and feel like hell at the end. I did appreciate the advice that it is good to put into perspective how long the journey is relative to the actual stay. It is a bit like giving birth: it’s over…eventually.

By Melissa Birchler

Melissa left behind the shores of sunny Sydney in 2011 and now lives with her Swiss man, his four children and their new baby outside Zurich. She is a freelance journalist and writer and is currently muddling her way through motherhood and its challenges in a foreign country.

Illustration by Jen Bognar