We have flown a fair bit with Fitz in the last month – so I thought I’d compile what has worked best for us/him on the airplane! I am always learning tips and tricks from other parents, too, so please chime in in the comments with your favorite hacks!
What works for Fitz on the airplane has changed a lot as he has gotten older – He is currently 1yr 9mo – a very busy and very active age!
Packing the Bag
First of all – organizing your bag! We have been using a bigger (bigger than his diaper bag) backpack to fit all the stuff. Then I use these reusable gallon sized zipper bags that I literally use ALL THE TIME now and cannot recommend enough for life in general. I sort all of his toys, snacks, and diaper stuff into 3 separate bags to have them easily accessible.
Diaper Pouch
We pack one of those baggies with the essentials – a few diapers, a small tube of Aquaphor, and the foldable changing mat from our Kibou diaper fanny pack (which I also love and will bring sometimes for this instead). It’s great to have this as a separate pouch so you don’t have to bring the whole backpack to the tiny airplane lavatory. We also try to do an overnight diaper for the flight, just in case we need to go longer between changes.
Snacks
All. The. SNACKS! Bars, pouches, freeze dried fruit, Cheerios. Easy, low mess, no refrigeration. I recently got these stainless steel containers from Ahimsa because the freeze dried fruit and cheerios were always getting crushed in the diaper bag. It takes up a bit of space, but it’s great to have for on the go, wherever, whenever. Also, don’t forget to pack a few snacks for yourself, too!
Toys
- Window clings – Fitz loved these! He liked stickers, too, but these were easier for him to move and put places himself.
- LCD drawing pad or water-color activity books – Fitz is just starting to be interested in these.
- iPad + headphones – If your kiddo does screen time – make sure you have a couple of things downloaded from Netflix (don’t rely on airplane screens or wifi). Headphones would also work for music! Recently, he has had a ~15 min attention span for a show, but gratefully (for us) he lasted an hour with an animated bus on our cross-country flight.
- Books like Indestructibles or Highlights magazines don’t take up any space or weight and are great for on-the-go!
- My sister gave us this busy book and Fitz actually spends a lot of time on the straps and snaps!
- A couple of small cars.
- Painters tape.
- And always a go-to for entertainment – drink cups.
Other Things
Other things we have stocked in our bag are a change of clothes, a roll of doggie poop bags incase we need to contain a messy outfit change, a burp cloth, and his water bottle.
Recently, we have been checking his car seat through, and plane-side gate checking his stroller so we have that to contain and transport him through the airport.
Consider what timing/schedule works best for your kiddo (when possible). In our experience, flights in the first half of the day have been working better for Fitz. For whatever (likely just over-tired) reason, Fitz did not nap on the flight in the afternoon during his nap-time, but did end up falling asleep on the midday flight.
Up until now we have also been flying with Fitz as a lap infant and not purchasing his own seat. This will not be an option once he is two, so even though it has been at times exhausting and challenging with him not having his own seat, for us, it has been worth it financially for now. And he is generally not too terrible LOL.
Worth the Effort
I hope this was helpful! It’s at least helpful for me to remind myself what we do flight to flight haha! Although as with any kid stage, what works in this season may very well not work in the next – but we continue to evolve and learn!! I would say that flying with Fitz at this age is particularly challenging, but like a friend said to me – it’s just the flight, and then you’re at your destination! So hopefully the end goal is worth the struggle getting there. It is a season, and we are grateful to be able to travel with him, and show him different parts of the country (and eventually, world!) and see family and friends.
Again, LMK in comments your favorite things!! Happy travels!
