Traveling with an Infant

Me and my hubby love traveling! Be it a short weekend getaway or a week long vacay, bring it on!

We started going out with our daughter as soon as she turned 4 months old. Infact her first trip was a long international flight from JFK to India.

I was having major anxiety because i was going to travel with a baby and hey wait a minute did i mention i was traveling solo?

I knew it was going to be tough but i kept a positive attitude because at 4 months the little one’s still sleep alot and don’t go in the full hyper active mode, but then again it was also a big risk as it was her first time in a flight and something completely different and new to my baby girl.

Traveling with a baby is relatively easier than traveling with a toddler who is constantly curious about her surroundings!

Was it hard? Yes a little, was it bad? Not really.

Our first ever flight was to India was in January 2017 when she was 4 months old.  We lived in Connecticut that time and JFK was the most convenient for us. 

Our first flight was from JFK – DXB with a 1 hr 55 mins connection in between followed by another flight from DXB – Mumbai.

Total Travel Time : 17 hrs 30 mins

• JFK – DXB ( 12 hr 30 mins)
• Connection – 1 hr 55 mins
• DXB – Mumbai – (3 hr 5 mins)

Just looking at those numbers almost gave me anxiety attacks, also don’t forget the extra hours for check in, boarding and being at the airport 3 hrs before an international flight. This first trip was nearly 20+ hrs of me being on my own with my 4 month old daughter! 

Since she was really small it wasn’t so bad because she slept most of the time in the bassinet but i was exhausted by the time we landed in Mumbai. We traveled to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia before she even turned 7 months old! This kid of mine went to 3 different countries just with her mama before she turned 1!

We had a similar itinerary while coming back, she was 7 months old by then and more mobile. It was challenging but doable. Always ask for a bassinet! Believe me, If i can do it, anyone CAN!!!

I made sure i did not have any carry-on bags with me, except for a backpack which had all the essentials like diaper, wipes, bottles, milk powder,her favorite blanket and baby Einstein (this was her favorite and she still loves it).  

We also visited Chicago when she was 10 months old and it was so much fun. We did not miss out anything. The trick is to research and plan your days. We planned our days well, started early and made sure we took a mid-day break for nap time, after nap we were out again and had so much fun!

If you are traveling within US, I would suggest to book a seat for your infant and carry the car seat, make sure you get a window seat, car seats need to be put in a window seat accordingly to major airlines as this prevents them from blocking other passengers.

Don’t be scared to take your little one out, once you start going out your little one will start loving it and will not be fussy. I loved going out with Ayrah, when we moved to North Carolina, we drove from Connecticut to North Carolina and she did great!  

If you are doing a road trip with an infant make sure you take breaks, walk around and let your baby relax. If you are traveling via flight – take all the important things you need in a backpack.

I will share tips and my must have list for traveling with an infant.