Flying (ALONE) with Waylen

If you don’t already know, I recently took cross country flights with my 8 month old, ALONE. Before the trip I pretty much searched the internet for any and every piece of helpful information I could find so now I’m going to tell you what worked and what didn’t! 

First let’s get into what I carried 

• Ergo 
• Diaper bag
• Oversized purse 
• Umbrella stroller 
• 1 checked suitcase 

I highly recommend baby wearing in the airport. You don’t have to take them off to go through security so it’s a lot easier then getting them in and out of a stroller! I also have a diaper bag that converts to a backpack and I highlyyyy recommend investing in one! Not just for flying, just for life in general ha. I strapped my baby to my chest, then had my diaper bag on my back and still remained hands free to push the stroller, get IDs out, etc. 

Now most importantly what did I actually put in my super cool backpack diaper bag.

Well for starters, way too much ha. I didn’t really think everything through. Since Waylen was a lap child and since I was traveling alone, it was pretty difficult to get anything out from under the seat. I could only really grab the top toy without getting up. So this is what I brought on my second flight for the baby: 

• 1 days worth of diapers
• 1 new pack of wipes
• 2 outfit changes 
• Teether 
• Burp cloth
• Crinkly book 
• Highchair rattle 
• Favorite stuffed animal 
• Plastic bag (to contain any blow out clothes)
• Clorox wipes (I almost didn’t bring thing but I’m so glad I did because my tray table was covered in sticky stuff BOTH times) 
• Now I still breast feed so for his food I just brought my boobs ha. 

For myself I brought: 

• extra shirt (sometimes blowouts are intense)
• Sweater (I used this to cover while BFing and while bean slept to keep it dark!) 
• Water bottle
• Snacks 
• Book (I think I read one chapter ha) 

For the first flight we nursed at takeoff and then Waylen slept for 1+ hour. When he woke up we played with my water bottle, cookies, crinkly book, then he ate again, played some more, ate AGAIN, then napped for about 40, woke up, changed diaper, played, walked around, (because mama needed to stretch,) then nursed while we landed! 

The flight back went a little differently. Bean only napped for one hour in the beginning and then he peed on me ha. So I was definitely glad I brought those extra clothes! We pretty much only played with my water bottle and those cookies they give you for the entire flight- it was just so much easier than trying to get stuff in and out of my bag!

Overall he really did great on both flights! No crying except for a brief whining when his ears popped on one of the landings. Besides that he was happy and playful the entire time. For me though, IT WAS EXHAUSTING! Ha Trying to entertain a baby while sitting for 5 hours is a workout both mentally and physically. In the future if I can avoid flying alone I totally will but come on, I’m sure everyone would ha so I mean it really wasn’t so bad. 
I’m guessing though it will only get harder as Waylen gets older and more mobile. So if you’re thinking about flying alone with a babe, do it now! The younger the better!

Oooo and also a really weird thing that happened on my flight home — they told me Waylen wasn’t allowed to be in the ergo for take off and landing because I wouldn’t be able to brace for impact. Sooo I can’t brace for impact when I’m hands free but I can when I’m holding my baby on my lap? Doesn’t really make sense to me but it really didn’t matter since I nursed at takeoff and landing anyways. 

But GOODLUCK to anyone about to make a trip solo, hopefully this post is helpful!