Feeding Your Baby on a Plane

We are told that the best thing to do with your baby is to feed your baby as the plane is taking off and as it is landing. This helps her ears adjust to the changes in pressure from the constant swallowing action.

But it is easier said than done. Here are a few practical tips to make happy babies while travelling on planes:

Make sure you can keep them cool
• Planes can get very hot while on the ground waiting for take off and very young babies don’t regulate their own temperatures very well. Take some wet wipes or a damp flannel in a zip lock bag. Don’t hesitate to strip them down to a nappy so they stay cool and calm.

Taxiing takes time
• Never assume that when you start taxiing from the gate, that the plane is actually going to take off any time soon. So wait for the call “cabin crew please be seated for take-off” before you start feeding.
• When my daughter was three months we were flying from Melbourne to Sydney. We started taxiing out to the runway and started the feed. Of course the Captain announces that there are eight aircraft in front of us to take off and another 12 waiting to land. And we all know stopping mid-feed is not an option unless you wanting a wailing siren to start that may just evacuate the aircraft.

Reflux and extra spill-ups is common in babies on planes – even if they don’t normally
• Come prepared with a spare change of clothes (yes one more than the other three you may have in your bag) plus some towels. I have had the experience where my daughter made our fellow passengers quite distressed, but don’t panic, just be the super-cool mum you always are!

Avoid having to make connections
• If you are following the advice of feeding on take off and landing and you are doing domestic connections, you may need to re-think this strategy. There are not many alternatives – if they are a thumb or dummy sucker, it may be a time to reluctantly encourage a bit of sucking action, or maybe try to keep them opening and closing their mouths by playing funny games with them that keep them laughing.

Take pain relief medication with you
• Whilst this is not about feeding, sometimes you may not know that your baby has a sore ear – but you will on the plane. And so will the other hundred passengers. But worse is that if you are not prepared, your little baby will be very sore and there is nothing you can do at 40,000 feet.

Don’t be afraid to ask the cabin crew for help
• Cabin crew are usually able to heat a bottle if you ask nicely and help with getting the bottle out of your bag and the simple things that are a juggle in a space of a matchbox.

Try to break the feed between take off and landing on shorter flights
• On the descent, it may be too early for your baby to feed again. So if possible, (and it’s a short flight) try to break the feed on the take off and finish it on landing. It might just be a trick of distraction in between.

Snacks and bottles a spare bottle or two
• Take a spare bottle of two – you never know when you may be delayed so be prepared for delays.
• If your child is over 6 months old and eating fruits there are great products available that help your child suck healthy choices of food – such as cooled pieces of fruit through cheesecloth like material bag. Babies can spend hours sucking away at these material bags and keeping themselves amused. Parents just need to remember to throw out any remaining fruit when they disembark from the aircraft to keep to Australian customs requirements.

Every baby is different but travelling with your baby is always a logistical and planning exercise of strategic significance in the well being of you and your baby.

It is important to take mindful steps to planning your baby formula feed or breast feed ensuring you too have a happy baby on the flight!

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