Traveling with a 3 month old (Tips & Packing Guide)
Our almost 4 month old daughter has been on 6 flights already and I’m here to tell you that IT IS TOTALLY DOABLE. Just do some preparation beforehand, have minimal expectations, and let it be.
Our daughter was a week short of 2 months old when we took our first flight with her. We flew from San Jose to Seattle which is just under 2.5 hours. The next trip we took with her was to Canada when she was almost 3 months old. We flew from San Francisco to Denver, then Denver to Winnipeg.
After 6 flights with our baby girl, here are some of my tips and recommendations. There are so many tips, tricks, and hacks out there. My version of traveling might not look the same as yours. At the end of the day, you have to start somewhere and just let it be! It’s easier said than done, but try not to stress about it if your baby starts to cry/whine and you feel like it’s bothering other people. Babies cry - it’s normal.
I’ve also shared a few links to the products on Amazon and referral links ($25 off the No Reception Bag) below. If you just want to go directly to the shopping lists, here they are:
Arriving at the airport
TSA will require you to take your baby out of the carseat and either hand-carry or use a baby-carrier for screening. I like to use the baby carrier to keep my hands free to help with bags or any miscellaneous things. Once we get to the airport, we transfer her into the baby carrier.
We have a Baby Bjorn Mini Carrier and a Baby Bjorn One Air. Depending on where we’re going and the weather, we’ll use one or the other.
Checking in bags
Typically, both car seats and strollers can be checked in for free. You can check them at the counter or at the gate.
If you have a Doona Car Seat / Stroller combo - you can gate check it so that you can use the stroller up until you arrive at the gate.
Traveling with pumped/expressed breastmilk/formula
Quoted from the TSA website: “Liquid Formula, Breast Milk, Toddler Drinks, and Baby/Toddler food (to include puree pouches) Formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby/toddler food (to include puree pouches) in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters are allowed in carry-on baggage and do not need to fit within a quart-sized bag. Screening will never include placing anything into the medically necessary liquid.”
Since I was doing both pumping and formula, here are my tips!
My tips for breastmilk/pumped milk:
Freeze your milk bags at 3oz (or less)
Keep your milk with frozen ice packs or ice (avoid gel packs since they melt) in a separate bag/area to take out during screening
Use a separate cooler bag (this does not count as an additional carry-on) to keep your milk cold, especially if traveling on a long flight. You can get ice at a restaurant or Starbucks after you’ve passed TSA if you need to get more ice.
My tips for formula:
Use a formula divider, like this, to pre-measure your formula out so you don’t need to scoop
Use liquid formula (no mixing required, just open!)
You can bring water in if it’s for formula - just let them know ahead of time as they will do a quick swab (on the outside) of the bottle. You can also request for them to use clean gloves.
No Reception Club “The Getaway Bag”
I’d been eyeing this bag during my pregnancy and finally excited to share my thoughts about this bag now that we’ve been able to use it for our first trip.
Easy to locate items with the dividers
Fits underneath your seat or above your head as a carry-on (doesn’t count as an additional carry-on since it’s a diaper bag)
Things to bring on the airplane for the baby
Our baby was only 2-3 months so the items we brought were minimal (in my opinion). We packed all of these things into the No Reception Club “Getaway Bag”. I would imagine packing the same items (more or less) depending on their age as they grow up (e.g. adding snacks to the list).
Pacifier (for take off and landing)
3-4x Burp clothes
3-4x Bibs
1-2x change of clothes
6-8 diapers or more depending on how long your flight is (probably wouldn’t have gone through 5-6 diapers in a 2.5 hour flight but you never know!)
Wipes (this on-the-go wipes dispenser is great)
Bottles (if using formula)
Water (if using formula)
Formula divider (if using formula)
Disposable pee pads (for public changing tables)
