Flying with 4 month old

Hi, I will be flying back to the UK when our baby will be around 4-5 months old. Any tips on how to manage the journey?   I am flying with Singapore Airlines.
I am hoping to be able to fully breast feed, but family are telling me this is unrealistic at this age. any thoughts?
Any things that are essential for your sanity during the flight?
I will be flying on my own so won't have any other support during the journey.


Edited by Otter2

Seems a strange thing for your family to say - fully breastfeeding at 4 months is definitely achievable. And much easier on the plane like flissty says, don't need to worry about taking on bottles, formula etc etc. Or just thought, are they talking about solids maybe? Baby should be fine fully bf until 6 months before you start solids anyway :)

I second the comment about a baby carrier - I've only done short flights but found the moby wrap fantastic for getting on and off the plane, then you have your two hands free to carry your carry on luggage. You have to put a seatbelt around bubs while take off and landing, but I managed to keep him in the moby and thread the seatbelt through so I didn't have to take him out and wake him :)

We did 10 international flights with DS when 5 months old, and we were constantly thrilled that he was exclusively BF at that age. It just made our lives so much easier. Because we knew we were flying we delayed the start of solids because we didn't want him to have allergic reactions while travelling .BFing was always available, not a shock to his digestive system, anywhere, anytime, no hygiene issues, great for calming an upset baby and giving him immunity to all the new germs he came in contact with. BFing is great for ear pressure issues for takeoff, we just gave him a dummy for landing. We tied a ribbon onto the dummy and held it, because it's no fun trying to hold a wriggling baby in an aircraft seat trying to find a dummy on the (dirty!) floor. We also found customs were more lenient on the carry on baggage because you will need a lot more than usual. BFing also means you don't need to worry about taking enough of your babies regular formula for the entire trip as well.

We used a Phil & Teds metro carrier, lots of room inside for storage of teddies, toys, change of clothes etc, as well as a nappy bag. Great for queuing at customs etc, because unlike a wrap, you can put it on the floor. Your baby would need to have good neck control before being able to use it though, so yours might be a little young. We didn't need as many toys as we took, there was always something in the little airline bags they give children to keep him happy. Take more changes of clothes than you think you'll need, and more nappies. The altitude causes changes in bowel pressure and every ascent was followed by a full nappy, and of course you can't get up to change them until the seatbelt sign is off. We almost always had to do a full body change. I'd take disposable change mats for the bathrooms (and for using at airports etc). Take both warm and cool clothing on the flight as you never know which it will be. We froze on our SQ flights, roasted on some of our EK ones.

Chux multi clothes in a ziplock bag are great for washing, wiping baby etc, then just throw out.

We hated the bassinet, DH only just fitted at 5 months and he's not a long kid. Also, you can't use them when the seatbelt sign is on, and for one of our four hour flights, the sign never went off so we didn't get to use it anyway. We found the bassinet fabric rough as well, take something to put on it so they don't scratch themselves. I'd recommend taking an ordinary pillow, so if baby does fall asleep while feeding (always happened on takeoff with us), they can be spread out more comfortably for both of you. We also didn't like the bassinet sets as the armrests are fixed, so the seats are slightly narrower, and you can't lift them up to make more room.

I saw people routinely giving babies Pamol before flying, we never needed to, my advice is to save it for when you do. Also, carry baby saline nose drops or nasal spray, will help to keep their air passages moist as well as clearing the airs. We also carried Karvol capsules on my doctors advice, use them for inhaling to help pop ears.

And if you're travelling on your own with a baby, don't expect to have spare time to watch the movies! Another problem is trying to eat a meal, which is impossible if they're asleep on across your lap as there's usually no where to put the tray (if it's not up already). Travelling on your own is doable though, and much better while they're younger, not on solids, and not mobile. Four months is perfect, ignore your family telling you it's unrealistic. You also don't need to worry about the timing of vaccinations if you fly at 4 months (we had to delay DS's 5 month ones because doing them the day before flying would just be stupid if he had a reaction). Everyone thought we were mad before we went, but DS was the perfect little traveller, and because we were relaxed about it, he possibly sensed it and was okay too.

Only downfall I found with BFing is that the change in time zones meant different feeds than my body was used to, so I did suffer from blocked ducts until my body adjusted. I just carried a pump in my luggage and used that, then no problems. Next time I travel with an infant I'll carry antibiotics in case I get mastitis again, which fortunately being able to pump prevented happening.

One last piece of advice, any suspicion that your child is not 100% well before you fly, take them to a doctor to check their ears and prove they don't have ear infections. They are hard to spot (DS has had two that were only detected due to our instinct that something was wrong), and the last thing you want is a baby with a perforated eardrum.


ETA, sorry about the novel, been meaning to write these tips up for a while, hope they help you and maybe others

Edited by ItchyFeet