Flying with Baby

It wasn't my first time traveling with baby.  He's already made two trips across the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas.  Last weekend, however, was our first attempt at air travel.

As with most any task, my planning involved a lot of lists and a trial run.  While Gavin's mom was going to be flying up with me, I was on my own heading home.

First step was a backpack.  I can't believe I didn't own a backpack.  I'm not a huge fan of the one I ended up with, but time was short and it works okay.  I didn't want to contend with a diaper bag, so the backpack was my diaper bag/purse/carry on.  Everything I thought I'd need.  I packed everything into one suitcase so my out the door items included only the following: backpack, stroller, car seat, baby (in carrier), suitcase.

The items were fairly managable.  Having the baby in the carrier helped immensely because I could toss my pack in the car seat and navigate much more simply.  I was also pleasantly surprised that I could leave him in the carrier to go through the metal detector.  Have I mentioned lately how much I love our carrier?  Lifesaver.  I checked the bag and gate checked the car seat (in a carry bag) and the stroller.  I was also surprised to find that the Oakland airport had a special line for families traveling with babies or medical liquids.  Colin doesn't normally eat formula, but I brought some just in case.  Both trips to the airport I had to be special screened (some type of testing on my hands) which I assume must be releated to the liquids.

Before I left, I read the Flying with Baby book by Meg of Lucieslist.com.  I've always found her writing to be light hearted and helpful and I highly recommend it.  It's a short easy read and super cheap.

She suggested a new fun toy for the trip.  So I ordered, and carefully hid a new Lamaze bug toy.  Once we were in the air, I pulled it out with a flourish.  Colin took one look at it once and tossed in to the side in favor of playing with the barf bag...

Another unanticipated pleasantry was how helpful people were at the airport.  Traveling with Colin, I was more than willing to accept help, particularly with lifting and storing bags.

Since I was mostly traveling alone with baby, there are very few pictures of the adventure, save this one of us waiting in line for check in.

The biggest thing I would change is hooks!  If it isn't connected to me, I have trouble keepting track of it.  I've ordered a pacifer clip and a phone case with a clip for our next trip.  Now if I can just glue our tickets to my forehead, I'll be in good shape!