It can be difficult if you have to wait around for a delayed flight, but if you have a baby with you, it can be even trickier. If they manage to sleep a lot of the time, then it will be easier but otherwise, you may find it hard to cope with. Below are some tips which could help the situation to be less stressful.
Have plenty of spare nappies
It can sound really obvious, but to make sure that your baby is comfortable you will need to keep it in a clean and comfortable nappy. If you do not have enough in your hand luggage, then you will be able to buy some. However, if they are not the brand that your baby is used to, they may not feel as comfortable and it may impact their mood. You may find that the nappies leak more often and therefore you have to change them more, as well as changing clothes more often too. Buying nappies could also be really expensive at an airport.
Make sure you are well prepared for feeding
You may be feeding your baby yourself or using a formula to feed them. Either way, you will need to make sure that you have everything you require for feeding. You may think that you are well prepared, but you need to make sure that you remember that you will be in a public place and so that may change how you feed. You may also be delayed a long time and so you will need to make sure that you have enough resources for your baby.
Bring spare clothes and muslins
You will know to bring spare clothing and muslins for baby, but pack more than you think you will need as you never know how long you might be delayed for. You may also want spare clothing for you as well in case baby is sick on you or wets on you as well. Also remember to bring a bag to put in any soiled or wet clothes so that you can put them separate to the clean ones.
Consider the temperature
It is worth thinking about whether baby might be too hot or cold at the airport. With air conditioning and heating, it is often hard to know what the temperature might be. It is therefore wise to be prepared and bring plenty of layers and maybe a blanket and hat just in case and you will be able to keep baby at a comfortable temperature.
Have some medication with you
If baby is old enough to take paracetamol, it could be wise to have some with you. Then if you feel that they are getting poorly, perhaps with a temperature, they are teething or something like that, then you will be able to make them feel better. If they are on prescription medication for anything, then you will need to make sure that you have that with you as well of course.
Bring things to entertain baby
As babies grow they need to be entertained. Once they start being awake for longer periods, they will get bored if they are not doing anything. Therefore it is a good idea to bring a few things with you that will entertain them. They may have a favourite toy that they will want or they may have other things that they like. Obviously you will have to think practically with regards to the size and weight of the toys that you bring but you should still find that there will be things that you can bring with you, that will fit into your bag and still be great for entertaining.
Take care of your own needs
One thing that parents often forget is to look after themselves. It is so important to make sure that you are looked after so that you can be a better parent. This means that you should have enough to eat and drink, be a comfortable temperature and not too tired as well. So pack yourself things so that you will be able to be as relaxed as possible and then you will be able to give all of your attention to your little one. It can be hard to put ourselves first as parents, but it can help to make us better parents if we are not grouchy because we need a coffee or too hot but unable to remove a layer of clothing as baby is taking up all of our time.
