I have recently returned from a trip to Russia to see my parents, and it was the first time I had to fly alone with a baby – well, a toddler! Last time we travelled Alex was 6 months old, and there were 3 of us (myself, my husband and my sister-in-law), so we could share looking after him during a 3.5 hour flight. And that was difficult enough, as Alex is not a very easy baby and does not like to stay still for very long (and certainly lets everyone know about it). So when it came to flying on my own 6 months later, I was frankly very concerned.

Having done that (and survived), I thought I’d share some tips that I gathered along the way.

Essential gear for flying alone with the baby

• one hand fold buggy & a buggy bag
• spacious nappy changing bag to take on board
• vacuum space saving bags (so you can fit everything into one suitcase)
• a smart phone loaded with baby apps and cartoons
• a book or other toy to entertain baby during take off and landing when phones are not allowed
• separate small across the body or a waist bag for your purse and passports, for easy access and for carrying on you at all times

Last year we travelled with our Stokke Xplory buggy and frankly, it was not the easiest thing to do, as it is very bulky, heavy and requires two people (one to hold the baby while the other deals with the pushchair). So this time I was looking for the umbrella and one hand fold strollers, and bought Baby Jogger City Mini specifically for travel (and also for keeping it in the boot of the car back home, as well as to allow for the growing toddler, as it’s a buggy that has weight capacity of up to 22kg/50lb).

Travelling alone also means you don’t have the luxury of multiple suitcases and everything has to be packed tight into one medium size one. I knew I could do just with a couple of items of clothes, but the baby had to have lots and lots more, so vacuum space saving bags came in handy (you can buy them on Amazon, eBay or at IKEA, just make sure they are the right size for your suitcase).

Purchase a second seat

Unless you have a really short flight, purchase a second seat for your toddler, even if they are under two. This saved my sanity as Alex could sit in it and sleep in it, and I also had space to put all the toys and books while he was on my lap.

Don’t forget

• water or juice
• baby food (I brought a stash of Ella’s Kitchen pouches and Organix Multigrain Hearts which Alex loves, and it contributed to another peaceful 15 minutes while he was munching away).
• baby’s birth certificate
• a letter of consent for travel from another parent, if you are travelling to countries that may require it (so find out in advance)

Consider the size and layout of the airport

Planning in advance really helps. I flew out of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and I knew I needed a buggy to navigate it’s huge departure lounges. On the way back, however, departing from St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport (LED), I checked the buggy in straight away, as the airport is fairly small and is only equipped with escalators and not lifts, so having a buggy to deal with would have been a nightmare.

Tire them out  

It is not always possible to book flights to coincide with baby’s naptimes, so try to move things around slightly to tire them out if you can. Once through the security, park up the buggy and let the baby walk or crawl for at least 30 mins to tire them out, and be in for a better chance of them falling asleep on the plane.

On our outbound flight, I was really lucky as it was around Alex’s morning nap, and we had plenty of time to walk around the airport to tire him out, so he slept for 2 hours on the plane. On the way back, however, we were stuck at passport control forever, which wound him up quite a bit, then were really rushed and did not have time to walk around, it was the evening so he was tired but over-excited and could not sleep. Add some very noisy school children on the plane, and I’ve had a rather difficult 3.5 hours!

Have a safe journey!