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!