Taking your baby on a trip for the first time is a daunting prospect for many new parents, so what about when that trip involves a long-haul flight?
First-time mum Tanja Takala’s daughter was just six months old when the two embarked on a mammoth 23-hour trip from Melbourne to Helsinki, with a layover in Bangkok.
Ms Takala, who lives in Melbourne with her Australian partner but is originally from Finland, wanted to take the opportunity spend time with family back home while she was on maternity leave.
“I had also heard that the smaller the baby is, the easier it is to travel with them, so I thought that six months might be a good time to go,” she says.
Ms Takala made the 23-hour trip from Australia to Finland alone with her baby daughter. (Supplied)
Ahead of the flight, the nerves kicked in for the new mum who wasn’t sure how her baby would react to being on the plane.
“I was just worried that she’s not going to sleep at all on the flights, or that she’s going to be crying the whole way through,” Ms Takala says.
“The duration of the trip was nerve-racking and also having no idea as to how she would behave in that kind of environment, given that she’d never been on a plane before.”
Choose the right seat and flight time
Raising Children Network director Derek McCormack recommends planning ahead to make plane travel with a baby easier.
“When booking flights, parents and carers travelling with a baby could look into things to help such as booking an aeroplane seat with a bassinet and getting a stroller at the airport,” he says.
“It might also help to consider timing – if you can, book flights at times when your child is likely to be well-rested,” Mr McCormack says.
Sometimes airport staff can offer extra help to carers travelling alone with a child, such as an airport stroller or priority boarding.
Ms Takala paid extra to book the “bassinet seat” — the seat by the bulkhead with no seats in front — for each of her flights, as that is where it’s possible to get an airplane bassinet attached to the wall in front of the passenger seat.
But her baby ended up sleeping in her arms for most of the flight, which then meant Ms Takala herself didn’t get much rest.
“The first flight was a night flight, because I originally thought that it’d be easier, because then the baby would sleep better,” she says.
“In a way, that worked, so she slept quite well. But what I didn’t realise was that when the flight departed, I had already been awake for a full day, and then I had to be awake for another 24 hours.”
According to the government’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), children should be restrained when seated during the whole flight in case of unexpected turbulence.
Infants under two years old can be secured to their carer’s lap with a supplementary loop belt which the cabin crew will provide before take-off, CASA says on its website, but the age standards may differ for overseas airline operators.
Pack everything necessary in your carry-on
Before her trip, Ms Takala did “a lot of googling” and read travel blogs to find out what others had done to make long flights work.
She ended up buying a travel pram, a breastfeeding cover and a light-blocking bassinet cover to help her baby sleep at the airport and during the flights.
Mr McCormack says it’s important to remember to pack all the things your child will need during the flight in your carry-on luggage.
For babies, that includes things such as food, medication, toys, nappies changes of clothes and a sleeping bag or blanket, he says.
If you’re planning to bring formula or expressed breastmilk, check with your airline about any restrictions on carrying liquids.
“Breastfeeding or bottle-feeding a baby during take-off and landing can help to ease the discomfort or pain some babies feel in their ears during these times,” Mr McCormack points out.
Ms Takala didn’t bring any baby food on the flight, choosing instead to breastfeed for the entire journey.
Ms Takala and her partner flew to Europe together when their daughter was 11 months. (Supplied)
Don’t forget entertainment and snacks
To help keep a baby entertained on the plane, parents could consider packing books you can wipe clean and age-appropriate toys, Mr McCormack says.
Ms Takala made sure to pack lots of toys for her baby and snacks for herself.
“I had these toys that were like a fidget spinner type that had a suction cup so you could stick it to the wall of the plane, and the baby could spin that around,” she says.
“I had snacks for myself and a water bottle with a straw that helped to have my hands free.”
‘Everything went quite smoothly in the end’
Overall, Ms Takala’s trip went much better than she had expected.
“I had been worrying about all sorts of different things, but nothing terrible happened.
“Everything went quite smoothly in the end.”
Luckily, cabin crew on all trips offered a helping hand to the solo-travelling mum.
“They came over to check on us, and they brought me some extra snacks and water and offered to hold the baby if I needed to use the bathroom,” Ms Takala says.
When her baby was 11 months old, Ms Takala made a second trip to Europe, this time accompanied by her partner.
Flying long haul with an 11-month-old was more challenging than a trip with a younger baby, Ms Takala says. (Supplied)
While having two adults was easier, she found an older baby that had just learnt to crawl and didn’t like sitting still was harder to travel with.
“We had more trouble just keeping her entertained in the seats, whereas at six months, she was much happier.”
But the effort was worth it on both occasions, she says.
“We had a great holiday in in Europe, and even the trip in February as well, it felt very special,” she says.
“I will forget the pain of the flight, but I don’t think we’ll ever forget the memories that we made and seeing our family and friends and spending time over there.”