Flying with a Newborn and a Toddler

4 hr day flight. 7hr layover. 13hr overnight flight. We made it.

I love flying. But having two pandemic babies in a city state with some of the harshest COVID travel restrictions has meant after two years of no travel I found myself able to finally fly again but gone was that often solo wine-filled delight and in its place I was facing the unknown: travelling with kids for the first time. Here are the things that helped!

GEAR

Strollers that we could use in the airport.

Doona Car Sear Stroller for the newborn
Babyzen Yoyo for the toddler

You have three choices when travelling with a stroller (and it depends on the strollers too).

Check them in with your baggage. They don’t get counted with your weight allowance and as many brands come with specialised travel bags, it’s a great way to sneak in some extra things with the stroller. This option works well for bulkier strollers and if we were travelling with our Bugaboo Cameleon, I would have gone this route for it. But it means no stroller with you in the airport, definitely not ideal with a layover.
Gate-check. This option you keep your stroller with you until you’re boarding, and it is then put in the hold. You collect as you disembark. We used this option for the Doona Carseat Stroller for our newborn. The Doona is such a great travel option with a young baby as it also ensures you’re ready to go once you get to your destination, whether someone is picking you up or you’re taking a taxi etc. It felt like by gate checking, the stroller was less likely to get damaged but this may have been just in my head!
A foldable stroller that can come on as hand luggage. For our toddler we travelled with the Babyzen Yoyo. This is a dream travel stroller. It folds and unfolds so easily and it was very necessary on our long layover as our 2year old was able to fall asleep in it before our 01h30 second flight! We actually wheeled him right on board although it only makes it down the aisle through Business and Premium Economy.

Jetkids by Stokke

With a long overnight flight, this seat extension worked like a dream giving the toddler a bed to sleep on in economy. I also filled it with things for him to do on the plane, giving me easy access to them. As we were travelling with a baby utilising the on-board bassinet, we had the first row in economy but it still worked fine (it’s ideally meant to be used with a seat in front to lean against). The website has a list of airlines that approve it so I double checked that our airline (Singapore Airlines) was on it. He also enjoyed riding it during our layover, although the ideal age for this is listed as from 3years.

Baby Carrier

My newborn loves being on me. We travelled with the BabyBjorn Move Carrier. I’ve found it super comfortable and easy to use. The minimum height is 53cm, so depends on your bub how soon you can start using it. It’s a little bulky and awkward when folded, so I just wore it most of the time – whether bub was in it or not.

Backpack Nappy Bag + Changing Clutch

I adore my Jean Kelly nappy bag and it was great to travel with. A back pack style is really helpful to keep your arms free! I’ve had it since Bub No1 but have added a Ben & Ellie Nappy Clutch round 2 (which I keep inside) and am absolutely loving – keeps thing very organised and together, and can change baby almost anywhere (not air-travel related: we’ve had a lot of out in nature poop blow outs!).

Things to Entertain a Toddler

Newborns are breeze to travel with. They need you, a food source (which also might be you) and a clean bum. Toddlers though, they need stimulation and distractions. Panic.

I brought along:

small airplane toy and car
Favourite books
Stickers (these were the hit I hoped they’d be! I got the puffy kind which were easier for his just-turned-2 fingers to manoeuvre).
Paint By Water book (but we never used. Thinking was he can’t draw all over something else with this. Would maybe be better for a toddler that enjoys sitting and doing art for longer stretches than mine).
Downloaded some of his favourite Netflix and Disney+ shows. We should have done more, as we left it to the last minute and ended up with one movie and two very short episodes that got watched repeatedly. Our iPad is old and slow, so we just used a cellphone for this. Don’t rely on the plane movie options, ours weren’t great.

Helpful Hints

My toddler has weaned onto cow’s milk and whilst I know security is fine with formula/breastmilk I was unsure if a box of cow’s milk would be fine. Thanks to the friend that just suggested I decant it into milk bottles from the get go! I used my Youha cooler bag and ice pack, and it perfectly fitted in two Tommee Tippee bottles. No questions asked going through security. [EDIT: I have since been told that UHT box milk is totally fine to fly with – shall pack myself for our next flight to test!] Toddler also will happily drink breastmilk so I also made use of my Haakaa pump (both while feeding the newborn and to relieve full boobs when she’d been sleeping for awhile) and he drank that milk too, decanted into a bottle.
Wear an open coat. I have the perfect coat for travel, it’s light, neutral in colour, can double as a blanket (because planes and some airports are COLD) I can take it on and off while wearing a baby carrier and it’s helpful when breastfeeding for a bit of privacy.