A survival story

Well, I flew with a baby and survived, but more importantly, so did she.  I don't have experience (yet) of flying with an actually active and alert infant, she's still in the newborn coma stage which made it rather easy from that standpoint.  The best advice I gleaned from the interweb was to 'wear' your baby, thus freeing up your hands and also making it easy to get through the TSA scanner thing, but to this I will add: have an infant carrier that is easy to get the baby on and off, as you'll have to do this on the plane and for more practical baby care reasons.  My first carrier (which I left at a store once after using only twice, though my son detested it) would have been a nightmare as it was nearly impossible to get on and off without help, while this one I picked up secondhand actually had a little doohickey that allowed for easy insertion and removal of my 'small personal item.'

Take advantage of the perks of traveling with an infant (yes, there are a few).  There are apparently 'family' lanes through security though we didn't encounter one (small airport).  You can check a stroller and car seat for free.  Sometimes you can swap for a window or aisle seat or get seated next to your traveling companion, depending on the flight and your seat mates, don't be afraid to ask.  We were also allowed to board early to stow our gear and settle the baby.

There are snags as well.  We had a rather long delay and on the late flight were both stuck in middle seats well away from each other, but we survived.  Take a friend/spouse if possible; we also left our 5 year old with relatives.  Wear a backpack as part of your carry on luggage to free up your hands.  While we packed a diaper bag (counted against our luggage allotment) I also carried a small diaper bag with easily accessible essentials and it doubled as a purse.  We also had the friends we would be staying with get diapers and formula for us so we wouldn't have to pack extra.  I'd also recommend packing only essentials (less stuff to carry/forget), as I left my camera in Boston in the 4am rush to make our 6am flight which was also a bad idea as we barely made the flight and were really stressed in process but we made the reservations not thinking we'd have an infant in tow.

So it is very possible, but like everything concerning airports these days, it is a hassle.  Plan ahead and plan for the worst and you'll do just fine!

Guest blogger, sort of

For all you over achieving ladies (and gentlemen) out there, here's a pretty good article on avoiding burn out.

Flying with a baby: a soon to be released epic movie.

So I'm about to embark on an experience I have never before had: flying with a baby.  If those mythical storks can do it, you'd think a commercial airline could handle it.  We've had this trip planned for nearly six months, it was the third passenger who was a last minute addition.  But the airline and the Pinterest articles all assure me it is possible.  I've always hated airports, I'm not really big on crowds, crunched timelines, and strip searches.  Adding a baby to the mix just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen but I'll let you know, if I return to tell the tale!

Only a lady 'mechanic'

I am not a mechanic by any means, but being the most mechanical person in the house, sometimes you've just got to figure out a way to fix things, and happily there is google and Pinterest when you haven't a clue where even to begin.  Someone gave us a sofa that weighed a ton and would have been impossible for the two of us to move into the basement from the garage where they had left it.  It did come apart but the screws were corroded and impossible to turn.  In the message section on one such 'how to loosen rusty bolts' article, someone mentioned using 'oil of wintergreen,' which rather confused the author of the article (being of the male persuasion) but I knew immediately what the poster meant.  I didn't have oil of wintergreen but I did have oil of peppermint for the occasional spastic gut, and since it was buy 2 bottles get 3 free I had more than I could take in a lifetime.  I cut open the tip of the gel caps and applied it liberally to all accessible parts of the bolt and screw, let it sit, and then was able to loosen the screws.  I didn't have any petroleum based screw looseners, but I had plenty of peppermint oil, and it smells better too!