Flying With an Infant: A Survival Guide

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Flying With an Infant: A Survival Guide

The first flight with a baby is far more frightening in advance than it is on the day. Babies travel better than most people expect - they sleep through engine noise, they do not care about legroom, and they have no idea the flight is delayed. What derails a journey is almost always a missing item or a missed nap, and both are largely fixable before you leave the house.

Here is what our team suggests to families setting off from Al Ain with an infant.

Before you book

Choose a flight that overlaps with a long sleep if you can - overnight for older babies, mid-morning for young ones who nap easily. Request a bassinet seat at the time of booking and reconfirm it; they are limited and go quickly. Check whether your baby needs their own ticket, and carry their passport and any required documents in one dedicated pouch rather than scattered through a bag.

What to pack in the cabin

• More nappies than the flight length suggests - at least one per hour, plus wipes and a changing mat
• Two full changes of clothes for the baby and one spare top for you
• Formula, expressed milk or snacks, with a little extra for delays
• A muslin, a familiar comforter and a light blanket - cabins get cold
• A dummy or bottle to use during take-off and descent
• Nappy sacks, hand sanitiser and a small first-aid pouch
• A sling, so you have both hands free in the terminal and can walk the aisle later

Take-off, landing and ears

Ear pressure is the most common source of distress, and swallowing is the remedy. Feed, offer a bottle or give a dummy during take-off and again as the aircraft begins its descent - which starts earlier than most people realise, roughly thirty to forty minutes before landing rather than on the final approach. If your baby is asleep and comfortable, there is no need to wake them.

Getting through the flight

Board late rather than early if you can; the extra thirty minutes sitting on the ground rarely helps anyone. Keep the routine recognisable - the same sleep song, the same comforter, a nappy change at roughly the usual interval. Walk the aisle when your baby is restless, and lower your expectations of your own comfort, because you will be eating one-handed. If your baby does cry, most passengers are far more sympathetic than the internet would have you believe.

After you land

Expect a few unsettled days at the other end, especially across time zones. Get your baby into daylight at the local morning time, hold the local bedtime routine firmly even when the clock feels wrong, and accept that naps will be a mess for roughly a day per hour of difference.

If you are travelling during term time, do let us know. Little Regent Nursery is open year round, and our educators will help your child settle back into the rhythm of the day when you return, picking up the routine, the sleep pattern and the daily diary exactly where we left off. Get in touch if you would like to talk through travel plans or flexible attendance.