Posted: 11/28/2023
A lot of people think that once you have a baby you have to stop traveling. Fortunately, that’s far from the truth. In this guest post, Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse and Parenthood Adventures shares her tips for flying with a baby so you can travel with confidence the next time you take flight with your little one.
Flying with a baby can seem daunting. Plenty of parents dream of traveling with their little one, but visions of an entire plane of people gawking as their child cries keeps them from taking the leap.
As the mom of a well-traveled one-year-old, I’ve had my fair share of flights where everyone complimented how well my baby did, and others where I was counting the seconds until it was over, with a fussy, squirming child in my arms.
From those successes and failures, I’ve learned a lot about how to make a long flight more tolerable with an infant.
With 10 countries and nearly 100 flights as a family under my belt (plus some solo with my child), here’s everything I’ve learned about how to fly internationally with a baby:
1. Get Your Documents in Order Prior to Booking
Before traveling internationally, ensure you’ve left enough time to get your baby a passport. First, you’ll need a birth certificate, and depending on where you live, this could take a while.
Next, take photos of your child lying on a white background (I used a T-shirt) and make your passport office appointment, where you’ll submit your application forms (available online and at the office), photos, and payment. Check your local passport office or post office for the required documents and procedures.
Make sure that you leave plenty of time to spare for processing the application. Consider expediting it if there’s a long wait or if you plan to travel in a week’s time (in which case, go in person). It took us about three weeks to get the appointment, and six more to get the passport (even with expedited processing).
2. Make Sure Baby Has a Ticket
Even if your infant will be on your lap, they still need to be ticketed to be allowed to board. For international flights, you’ll have to pay the taxes, and usually 10% of the adult fare, even if they’re just on your lap.
Make sure you have this ticket confirmation prior to heading to the airport. I have run into issues before, when the airline said my son was added to my reservation when in fact he wasn’t, causing me to miss my flight while we sorted out the extra ticket and…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Nomadic Matt's Travel Site…