I had never wanted to do any long term travelling with an infant. However, when I found out that my mother was going to Greece, my sister and brother in law were going to Greece, and that my brother who hasn’t taken a vacation in 13 years was going to Greece, I told my husband, we are going to Greece.
My husband and I had taken grand adventures once a year. It was our thing and something I prized. Everything else going on in life is kept in proper perspective when you have those travel plans. My light at the end of the tunnel.
So when we got pregnant with our son, we had to make concessions. We told ourselves no more big trips. No travelling with an infant. Not until he’s five years old and can remember it. But then Greece came up and with all my family traveling there as well, I knew it was a once in a lifetime event.
Our son was 10 months old when we took the trip. He was still an infant and I was terribly nervous as we set off from the States to Europe. We had three planes to catch before our final destination. On the way back, we had just one, but it was a 10 and a half hour plane ride. These are some things that I learned.
6 Tips to Keep in Mind When Travelling with an Infant by Air
- People are really very understanding. And for those that aren’t, just ignore them. You will never see them again.
- Layovers are actually quite nice. For our trip from New York to Greece, we had a layover in Paris so our 10 hour trip was broken into 7 hours, then 3. We found that the change of scenery and moving around helped keep our son from getting too bored.
- Ask for a bassinet seat. Certain airlines offer discounted seats for children 2 years and younger and if you have your child on your lap, you can ask for a bassinet seat. Call the airline as soon as you book your tickets to try and get this seat. There are just a few of these seats available on the larger planes and they are right behind a bulkhead. This gives you two advantages; you don’t have to worry about people in front of you, and you have more room on the floor where your child can stand and bounce (if they so choose).
- Bring snacks. Our child was eating a little, but food isn’t provided for a little one on your lap. Though we offered bites of our fare to our little one, we were so thankful we brought along some Veggie Straws; one of his favorite snacks.
- Take walks. When our son would get a bit wiggly and fussy, we took turns walking him up and down the aisle and it always calmed him down. New faces, new scenery, reminding your child that there are other people present. This all helped to quiet him down. Also, it’s good for you to walk during these flights as well.
- Bring along quiet toys. The small, enclosed space on a flight isn’t the best spot for anything that makes a lot of noise, or anything that takes batteries, for that matter. Choose quiet toys that can keep him entertained when the rest of the cabin is asleep.
Upside to traveling with a child
Travelling with an infant was so good on the way to Greece, that on the way home, I was no longer nervous. We met all sorts of people on our walks and they were always quite generous. They shared their travel stories with their kids which amused our son and helped pass the time. What a nice community feeling we had on the plane!
The hassle is worth it!
Travelling with an infant, our son, was such a good experience that we plan on doing it again. We will try and get him used to plane travel. Maybe not a 10 hour plane ride again so soon, but 3 hours or so sounds reasonable!
Our Greek Adventure
You can read about Seychelles Beach and Drakano Tower; both sights which we saw on this trip with our son. It was so wonderfully special!