Babies love Maui!

First off…congratulations on the birth of your child and for being brave enough to fly with your baby! I have two sons who have probably been on a plane at least 6 times a year since birth, and we’ve never had any major disasters (knock on wood) so I know it can be done. With a little preparation, you too can have stress-free travel with your little one.

Selecting Flights

If you have multiple flight options, choose the itinerary with the fewest flights/layovers. The ups and downs can be hard on baby’s little ears.

SECRET: Try and wait to nurse or give the bottle until take off and landing to help with their ears … or have a pacifier ready! They need that sucking motion to pop their ears as the pressure increases.

Take nap times into consideration. Choose a flight when they will sleep during the flight, not one where they might fall asleep in the car on the way to the airport or will be extremely cranky during the check in process. Flights to Maui are long and you need the break when they are sleeping.

Selecting Seats (for Moms)

If you are traveling as a couple and are nursing, let dad know that his long legs will have to deal with the middle seat. Sorry buddy! You will be holding the baby the majority of the trip so you get priority. If you are modest, you might prefer the window so you have more privacy (and the ability to sleep against the wall if you are one of the lucky ones with that magical skill!). However, I highly recommend you take the aisle seat so you can stand and rock the baby if necessary, stretch (your legs will fall asleep) and get out quickly if the diaper needs to be changed.right.now. Figure out which direction you favor holding the baby and choose the side of the plane that will have the baby’s legs toward the aisle if they are older/taller than the width of a seat (Remember the drink cart scene in the Wedding Singer? Don’t want that to be your LO’s head!). Remember these tips for changing your seats if you were assigned bad ones and these tips if you have a choice when reserving your seat.

Layovers at airports can be fun for kids!

Arriving at the Airport

Give yourself plenty of time at the airport before departure. I like having two hours vs. one when traveling with children. Diaper changes, extra time at security for pat-downs and other surprises add up quickly. Don’t stress yourself out by cutting your flight close!

If your infant is a lap child, you must visit the ticket counter even if you are carrying on (is that even possible with babies?!?) to get the lap child boarding pass. I usually recommend carrying on but when you travel with kids, do yourself a favor and check your bags to have free hands! However, make sure you have a change of clothes for baby AND mama (spit up and blow outs affect you too!).

SECRET: You must bring their birth certificate or other form of identification to prove your child is under 2 and is in fact free, even if they are only weeks old and it is completely obvious!

Keep your hands free in the airport

If you brought their car seat and don’t plan to use it in the plane (recommend doing so only if they have an assigned seat), go ahead and check it at the ticket counter. It’s free!

SECRET: If you have a bag to protect your car seat, you can fill the empty space inside with light (not fragile) objects like life vests, diapers and wipes. We love our backpack version. It was designed for a full size car seat but our infant seat and base both fit when placed in strategically. (Yes, bring the base if you can…car naps happen in Maui a lot!) If you have two car seats, pre-pack one and use the other one for the drive to the airport. Saves so much time and stress not having to remove and pack at the airport and then having to reinstall when you get home!

Check Stroller at Ticket Counter or Gate?

If you are bringing a stroller (which I recommend having in Maui unless you are a pro baby wearer), you have two free options for checking it on the plane. You can leave it with your luggage at the ticket counter or at the gate by the entrance to the plane.

Protect your stroller with a travel bag

SECRET: We have a Britax travel bag to protect my absolute favorite Britax B-Agile stroller. We learned the hard way in the middle of the airport that it is a tight (but perfect) fit. Practice putting yours on at home before you get there if you’ve never used it so you know which direction to insert the stroller!

A stroller can be super helpful at the airport if your baby will only sleep in one or your back gets tired after wearing your baby too long. However, if you can ditch the stroller at the ticket counter, you can simplify things.

Security

Wearing your baby is the best strategy through security. If you wear the baby through the X-ray machine, they just swab your hands. If the baby is in a stroller, you have to take them out of it and put the stroller through the X-ray. This can be a disaster if they’ve just fallen asleep or your stroller is big and bulky and doesn’t fit through the machine.

Be sure to give yourself extra time through security if you brought fluids or food pouches. The 3–1–1 rule is ignored IF the liquid/food is for the infant. However, they will do an extensive bag search, screen the liquids (they don’t open them), and will have to pat you or hubby down (whoever claims the bag they are in). Again, plan for additional time in security for this.

SECRET: If you have a jam packed diaper bag, put the liquids in a separate carry on bag so you don’t get slowed down (and lose your precious organization!) when FAA agents take out every item during the secondary bag check (yes, they will). Have whoever is willing to get patted down (the one wearing or holding the child) claim the bag with liquids and have the other person take the diaper bag.

This is the new version of the backpack diaper bag I travel with. (I leave my pretty leather one at home.) It’s a little different than mine, but I have to assume the changes are for the better. I LOVE MINE and still use it today, more than 5 years later. It’s pricey, but check out the awesome features that let you access everything you need – quickly!

On The Plane

Brica Roll and Go

If your child is under two years of age and is considered a lap child they most likely won’t get a seat as flights to Maui are usually full (but maybe you will get lucky on a connecting flight). In the likelihood that they do and they already sit up, I recommend the CARES airplane safety harness. It doesn’t take much space if you don’t use it, but if you ever score an open seat, it converts the seatbelt to a 5 point harness. I love it with older babies and toddlers as it keeps them from being too squirmy because they think they are in a car. FAA approved!

SECRET: When your baby is older and needs to pay for seat, we are in love with the Brica Smart Move Car Seat Transporter! It lets you check the stroller and turn the car seat (that they sit in on the plane) into their stroller. My kids love it and so do I!

Feeding

Instant plane hammock with my nursing cover

Be sure to bring a nursing cover for privacy if you are nursing, but even if you aren’t it is useful to block the lights off the baby for naps. A sarong swim cover or swaddling blanket also works if you don’t have one! When my son was really little, I actually tied a knot in my nursing cover and hung it up in front of me using the latch of the seat back tray. I then gathered the rest of the fabric around my waist forming a little hammock. He was super comfy and in the perfect position facing me to be entertained with rattles and silly faces.

One of the best travel items I own I actually received for free in one of those sample kits from the OB — an inflatable nursing pillow! It made my son and me so much more comfortable when he was nursing, sleeping and even sitting.

If you aren’t nursing or are supplementing with formula, the pre-mixed 2 oz formula bottles were perfect on the plane. When needed, you just twist the top off and screw on a disposable nipple (we reused ours at home but they are individually sealed and sterile so great for travel). They also have larger premixed sizes, but you can’t add the nipple on them so you will have to pour into your usual bottles. The little ones are great because the nipple goes right on the bottle it comes in. Just be sure to have your baby try it before the trip to make sure they like the formula you select and will accept the nipple!!! Even if you bring your usual bottles and formula, they are a lifesaver when you need one right at this very minute because they are about to cry!

Ready to use infant formula

SECRET: If  your baby only likes formula warm, coffee places will always give you hot water in airports for free if you tell them it’s for baby. On the plane, you can ask for hot water (bring a water bottle to mix with hot water to get correct temperature), but I read a whole article on how gross plane water is so your call on if you want to risk it!

Tomme Tippee travel bottle warmer and thermos

Here’s another alternative: I used a bottle thermos to warm my bottles. Put super hot water in at the airport (or ask the flight attendant for some) and you can float your bottle prepared with room temperature formula in it for a few minutes to get it warm. It takes a bit of time though so you need to be proactive with this method!

If you are doing solids, don’t forget to bring food pouches with you and other snacks. Also pack extra pacifiers with clips that attach them to their clothes and small packages of sanitizing wipes for plane. You will probably drop (aka, baby will throw!) a few pacifiers on the flight, so I prefer to start with a fresh one and wash the dropped ones when I get there properly.

I hope these tips help and give you confidence to fly with your sweet bundle of joy!