1) Infants under 2 can travel on your lap. You also have the option of buying a seat for them too. We put "A" on our lap because he HATED his car seat and screams while in it (the other passengers didn't need to hear that for 5 hours). So we figured he'd be the happiest on our lap.
2) You can bring full bottles onto the plane. The no liquid rule gets pushed aside when you have little ones. Some airports wave a little stick of paper over the water to test it, and other (more sophisticated) airports stick your bottles in a little machine that tests them.
- Tip: I put very hot water in my bottles and then placed them in a thermal lunch bag. That way when it was time to mix the formula, the water was still warm.
3) BRING YOUR CHILD'S BIRTH CERTIFICATE (or passport)!
Apparently you and the airlines can get hefty fines if you are caught without it. You have to prove your child is under 2 (even if they are a newborn).
4) Most airlines let you check a carseat and stroller for free. We flew southwest and got to check 2 bags for free plus the stroller and carseat!
Stroller: We were able to keep the stroller while in the airport and check it at the gate. It was very convenient to keep it and roll it around during the long layovers, and the best part is, the workers had it set up and ready for us when we got off the plane. Just remember, you have to fold it up and put it in the x-
ray machine when going through security. (We mainly used the stroller to hold bags because "A" prefered the backpack (see below).
Carseat: We ended up buying a car seat carrying bag from Amazon and were soooooo glad we did. When we saw the other car seats going around the luggage belt, they sure were beat up.
6) Give your baby a bottle or a binky during the ascending and descending parts of the flight. This will help their little ears with the altitude change.
7) By law, airlines have to give you a "loaner" carseat when they lose yours. We found this out the hard way. But thankfully the loaner carseats are sterilized and not bad.
8) Bring lots of snacks! (If your baby has started solids)
And last. . . . . . Don't let the mean looks and glares from the grumpy passengers bother you! There are plenty other people on the plane silently thinking "Wow, what a good mom!"