Traveling Abroad with Babies and Children

Traveling by Air: How to make the most of your air experience when traveling abroad with children and babies!

If you are traveling abroad with a baby, be sure to investigate what the airlines offer. We used Luftansa and SAS when traveling abroad with babies and toddlers. Both airlines offer a bassinet for the USA to Europe flight, since these flights are often at night.

Requesting a Bassinet

Make sure you call the airline to request a bassinet in advance. It is much better than holding a sleeping baby for seven or more hours. Here is a picture of our son in one of the bassinets on a Luftansa flight.He was very comfortable. He also was 8 months in this picture, so he was just big enough for the bed without sticking out an end. He could sit up and play with his toys when he wasn’t sleeping, which was nice that I didn’t have to hold him the entire time. Though he was extremely sweet and wonderful, he was heavy even then! 🙂 Though we had a bassinet for the night trip from the US to Europe, we didn’t, however, have a bassinet on the Europe to USA flight. We used one of the American airlines, and apparently, the areas where it is possible for a bassinet to be anchored to the wall were for people who wanted to pay more. I wasn’t aware of this and was a little more than annoyed seeing many average adults in those seats while a few mothers like myself had to spend nine hours with a baby on our lap. Yes, we love our children, but when my son threw up all over himself and my pants minutes before we landed, there was nothing I could do. I felt so badly for the man sitting next to us, but I was stuck in the middle seat of the middle section, not being able to reach my bag for a burp cloth or a change of clothes for my son. It could have been because the flight wasn’t at night, but it seemed that the space on the middle of the plane where there is more leg room should be available for families. We seem to have more stuff. Do your research before you fly and call the airlines to see if getting a bassinet for your baby, who is 9 months old or younger, would be an option. You might also request to sit in the first row of the middle section even if there is no bassinet. The extra leg room makes it easier for you to have the baby stand to play, which would give you a big of a break from being his own personal chair. 🙂 Just a thought…

Feeding Your Baby/Toddler/Older Child

If you breastfeed, I recommend doing so at take off and landing so that way your child won’t have ear troubles. Feeding your baby from a bottle also works. They have baby meals on airplanes, but my child didn’t want any of it. I made sure to pack some baby food in my carry-on. I normally would make my own baby food, but this was the only exception. Gerber has some nice packs with soft apple or carrot chunks that we took with us. I also packed a mesh holder which you can put fruit slices in and the pieces don’t break off in baby’s mouth. They can be bought at any baby store. I used the fruit from my meal for my baby. We also packed dry, baby cereal, which we mixed with bottled water. This proved to be the best thing. Though our baby was 8 months and eating regular food that we chopped up with the baby food mill, it just made things easier on us when traveling to give him cereal. He didn’t have any teeth at this point(late bloomer!), so we wanted to make sure that we packed options for him just in case. We also traveled with our niece who was 10 at the time. She not only loved her kid’s meal, but she also seemed to get more food than the adult’s portion.I highly recommend requesting a kid’s meal for your child as long as you can! Some even come with candy! I want one! 🙂 Special meals, like kids’ meals, are also given out first. This would make it easier to feed your child before your food comes. At least,  I think it would be.

One problem, however, that we have faced on an overseas flight was getting milk. We bought a bottle of milk for our then 1 1/2 year old in the airport before boarding the plane. This didn’t last that long, considering the flight was 9 hours. When we asked for milk for him, the attendant refused. She said that it was needed for the coffee. What?? I was so shocked by this!! My son was past the point of being breastfed, and milk was his drink of choice in order to calm down and take a nap. Let’s just say that he wasn’t easily put to sleep on that flight. If you have any thoughts of buying milk in the airport before you fly, be sure to stay on the safe side and buy the milk. I also highly recommend packing snacks that you already know your child will like. You may not need these snacks, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Animals crackers and gold fish crackers have always been a hit in our house.

(Side note to those traveling with breast pumps: Be sure to take it as a carry-on. I was once stopped in Heathrow because security didn’t know what it was. They wanted to make sure it wasn’t a bomb. It is much better to spend the 10 minutes explaining it than having a real problem with getting your checked luggage back. You may also be asked to taste your own breast milk if you carry bottles for the plane. Many times, baby food is allowed on the plane, though there is this “no liquid” rule. Just be prepared for the rule to change though. Rules always do!)

Entertainment on the Plane

The attendants on many flights give little toys or activities to the kids at the beginning of the flight. On a British Airways flight once, my boys were given an activity book. Add that to the multi-colored, click pens that I gave the boys before we got on the airplane, and that equaled a few hours worth of fun!! Toddlers may get a small, plush animal or a packet of matching cards. Older children may get crayons and activity books. Any new toy is a good thing. It doesn’t have to be spectacular, but I have to say that my children have really enjoyed everything that they were given on these flights!

When my children were babies, we were sure to take along toys that would entertain them. These included rattles, chew toys, small books, their blanket, a special stuffed animal or doll, etc. I also made a blanket for my son before an overseas flight that had Velcro tags sewn into the each of the sides. This way, I could attach toys to the blanket in case my son decided to throw it out of his bed/on the floor. Babies like to play fetch with their parents, and I was not about to have my baby’s toys on the dirty airplane floor. Yuck! The blanket was also a perfect size for the bassinet.

When our boys were toddlers and a bit bigger, we always packed coloring books with a roll of crayons, small cars, mini figures, a stuffed animal, sticker books and/or a quiet book. If you have seen my video on busy bags, you might want to consider taking some of those along! Smaller flights don’t have many options when it comes to the TV systems, but luckily, those flights are also shorter. It comes in handy to have your own toys for these flights. I know that in this day in age, many people give their children I-Pads whenever they have to sit for a long period of time. We try to avoid this whenever possible. It just leads to them wanting/expecting to be on it all the time. Call me an overbearing mom, but I think too much screen time isn’t good for them. To each its own. You know what is best for your child and will make that call. It might also be a good idea to pack some toddler-friendly headphones. My little guys still don’t like putting the headphones into their ears.

On longer flights in newer airplanes, there tend to be more options for TV shows and movies. This has greatly improved since our oldest was a baby. He is now 8 years old. There may have been one kid’s movie on a 9 hour flight, but now, there may be over 5. This is great for

variety, but we still only limit the amount of screen time to 1 or 2 movies depending on the flight duration. They tend to take naps on the longer flights as well. We also pack the boys’ kindle tablets, but again, we limit the amount of time they can spend on them. Many times, we use this extra family time to talk about things. We might also start a movie at the same time and “watch it together”. Then, we can laugh at all the same parts. I always bring my kindle to read, but that rarely happens when I travel with children. Save yourself the trouble of worrying what the airline will provide and be sure to pack a few toys that will entertain your child. You don’t need to over pack, but a bored child can be very hard to handle when moms and dads are already tired from all the traveling. Packing some fruit snacks or M&Ms might not be a bad idea. I think I’m a fairly decent mom, but I’m not above bribing my kid when push comes to shove. After all, there is an airplane full of people who are counting on me to keep my kid under control! 🙂 I gotcha!

When your children are a bit bigger to carry their own things, have them use backpacks. We put in a lightweight blanket, stuffed animal, car caddy with cars, small coloring book and crayons. I usually will be the one to carry their kindles, since airports require them to be taken out of the bags during security check.

Airport Play Areas

Many airports will have a specific section for children to play. Some will be obvious and easy to find, while others seem like a kept secret. If you don’t see a designated kids’ area ask the workers at the airport if one exists. This was the only way we found out that London Heathrow has a play area, since it was quite difficult to find and not in the open. You have to wait for your flight anyway, so play areas allow your child to burn off some energy and gives you a moment of peace. Some airports also have very interesting areas for kids that gives them an added experience to their travels and allows them to mingle with other children. Here are a few pictures of different play areas we have come across on our travels.

Stockholm Arlanda Airport (Stockholm Sweden)

Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (Warsaw, Poland)

Heathrow Airport (London, England)

          Billund Airport (Billund, Denmark)

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Exploring the Airports

You might also find some hidden wonders if you just walk around the airport to see which shops they have to offer!

           Warsaw, Poland                                                                                         

 Tenerife, (Canary Islands)

Billund, Denmark                                                                                  

 London, England

Getting Around the Airport

If you have a child who is older than 6 months, I would recommend taking an umbrella stroller and an Ergo carrier. Ergo, in my opinion, is the best carrier for babies. We used ours from the time my son was 6 month to 4 years old. Granted, there weren’t many times when it was needed past age 3, but it is sturdy enough for a 4 year old. My kids are much too old for it even now, but I can’t seem to part with my Ergo! 🙂 The umbrella stroller is a great idea as well, since toddlers are heavy to carry all the time in the Ergo. Besides, they are a bit more curious about what is going on and like to have a front-row seat. Bigger strollers are nicer and have more room to store things, but they also take up lots of room in a rental car and aren’t very travel friendly, in my opinion. Umbrella strollers do the trick, if you ask me. You can use it all throughout the airport and then have it checked when you get to your gate. The stroller should be waiting for you as you get off the airplane at the new gate or worse case scenario, is in the baggage claim. Either way works! We also have used a “Trunki” suitcase on wheels for children. I would have little brother in the Ergo carrier and big brother would ride on his tiger-printed Trunki. We probably checked the stroller that time. These types of suitcases make it nicer for parents to have one less thing to carry!                                                                       (Ergo carrier, though not at the airport)

Added Perks

One thing that I always appreciate when traveling with children is that some airlines will let you board the plane first. When you are traveling with children, you tend to have a lot of extra things to carry. Sometimes, it is just peace of mind to be on the plane with all of your things stowed away and your child getting comfortable without having to wait in a very long line. Not all airlines do this, unfortunately. I, however, am very appreciative of those that do.

A personal perk that we had on a KLM flight once was being able to see some precious cargo. The flight attendant was so nice on that flight that he came over to us and started talking. He was very understanding about how it was to travel with children and gave me some kind words to “hang in there”. He also told us that the plane was carrying horses. I couldn’t believe my ears!! I had never thought that large animals like horses would be on the same flight as people. After the plane was in the air for a few hours (This was another overseas flight.), he came to us again and asked if we would like to go in the back to see the horses. I know that he didn’t allow everyone on the plane the same courtesy, since it was only our family and another family with children that we saw go back there. This was one perk that was given to use because we had small children, but more importantly, because the flight attendant was so cool! That was truly a flight I will never forget!

Avoiding Jetlag

One big drawback about traveling abroad is the jet lag. Our oldest son was horrible about sleeping on a night flight from the US to Europe from the time he was 1 1/2 to 3. He wanted to walk the entire time. This made for a rather LONG flight for me, since I was either the one carrying him back and forth in the aisle or holding his hand as he walked. Getting him adjusted to the time change before we left on our trip would have been better, since jet lag usually lasted a week for him. We tried to adjust his sleeping schedule by 20 minutes a day, but kids are funny sometimes. They don’t always do what you want them to do. If you have the time, I would recommend adjusting your child’s sleep schedule.

Review the Routine

One of the best things we have done was to set up a routine with our kids that we reviewed with them multiple times before the flight. We knew that the USA to Europe flight would be overnight, so we planned out what would happen and discussed it in detail with the boys. We made sure that they played in the airport, even if this meant playing with the movable floor. We wanted them tired for the flight. We told them that when we got on the plane, they would give us a drink, then food, and then we would go to the bathroom (possibly put on pajamas) and then go to sleep. We mentioned that the lights would turn off because they wanted everyone to sleep. We take lots of international flights since we are a Danish/American family. After a few trips, the boys knew exactly what it is they needed to do.

Another routine of mine, as mom, is to sanitize as much as possible. I know that it seems a bit odd, but as soon as we get on the plane, I wipe down all the plastic areas with a bacterial wipe. This includes the seat belt, tray table, remote and/or TV screen and armrests. I make sure I can locate a vomit bag, just in case and when the boys were toddlers, we would cover the tray table with the covers I made. This has pockets for small toys and a sippy cup. I love using these for when they were younger, because it meant that they had mostly what they needed, and I wouldn’t need to constantly go in my bag for something. If my kids were being potty trained or just finished being potty trained, I would have them sit on a waterproof seat cover. Odds were that they would chose the airplane ride to be the one time they decided to wet themselves. This also was a reason for me to pack a “wet bag” or a waterproof bag for soiled clothes. Inside the bag would be an extra change of clothes, in case they threw up or peed their pants. Many times the extra set of clothes would be their pajamas. It was easier to get them to sleep if they were comfortable. These things became routine for us, and they worked!

Car Seats

Normally when we travel, we don’t take car seats with us, because we usually get those with the rental car. Be sure to make arrangements with the rental car 

company if this is the case with your travels. When my youngest son was old enough for a booster seat, we brought that with us, since it was also good to use on the plane. He had a hard time seeing the TV screen on the plane and also reaching his food tray, so the booster seat helped him. If you feel the need to travel with your car seat, it can easily be checked in with the rest of your luggage when you check into your flight. I don’t recommend doing this though. Our extra booster seat was bought in the US, so it makes sense to take it back there to use. We have a different car seat for Europe, since European countries have their own regulations when it comes to car seats, which is different from the US. When we moved to Denmark, we had to buy European approved car seats and leave the US ones behind. We were able to borrow seats for the first trip back, but when we only needed a booster for the next trip, we decided to buy a cheap one at Walmart. It was then left at my parents’ house, since the next time we will be using it is when we visit them. Since they are really just one more thing you need to think about, car seats are really best to leave at home.

That is about all I have for travel tips! ,I hope some of this information has been helpful for you in preparing your overseas flight. Happy traveling!

Be sure to subscribe to my blog for more posts of family travels and crafty items to take with you!