Tips, tricks, and baby life hacks that’ll help you keep your sanity while flying with an infant.

Nearly a year before my son was born, I – very naively – planned and booked a long vacation for my family, complete with a 6-hour flight. As a first-time parent, I assumed bringing an infant on a flight would be difficult, sure. But it couldn’t be that different, right?

Since you’re reading this, you probably already know that it was dramatically different. And even my very type-A, planning-loving self struggled to figure out the new normal with a baby.

While the thought of being trapped in a plane for 6-plus hours with an infant stressed me out to no end prior to my son’s first flight, it wasn’t nearly as terrible as I’d anticipated. Sure, flying with an infant is tougher than going solo or kid-free. But with the right pre-planning and essentials packed, you can easily survive a flight of any length.

So, I’m sharing everything I learned, along with my top tips for getting through long flights with an infant.

Book Bulkhead Seats

Hands down, the best seats on a plane for parents flying with an infant? It’s the bulkhead seats.

The bulkhead seats are the seats right behind the bulkhead, or the dividing “wall” between business class and economy (or the galley and economy, depending on the size and configuration of the plane.) With no seats in front of this row, you’ll enjoy extra legroom and skip the hassle of dealing with someone else’s reclined seat in your face all flight long.

With young kids, the extra room the bulkhead seats provide is a game-changer. For infants, it means there’s more room to play, maneuver, and even do quick outfit changes. 

For us, sitting in the bulkhead was especially important because I wore my son in a soft carrier (more on that in a minute) for most of the flight. The few extra inches of space allowed more maneuverability, and it was hugely helpful as we juggled the baby, diaper bag, toy bags, and more.

The bulkhead seats can cost slightly more than your average economy seat, since they’re often grouped into premium economy tiers. However, the perks of nabbing these seats with an infant can really outweigh the higher cost if they’re within your family’s budget.

Pack Pre-Made Diaper Change Kits

This is a tip we learned from my son’s physical therapist, and it was a total game-changer. No one wants to be digging through an overstuffed diaper bag, frantically looking for the diapers and fighting with wipes.

Skip the struggle and make every single diaper change on the plane or in the airport easier by stocking your diaper bag with a set of pre-made diaper change kits. 

Grab some Ziploc bags, diapers, and small travel-sized wipe packs. Inside each plastic bag, put one diaper and one wipe pack.

Don’t want to spend money on a bunch of individual wipe packs made for travel? No worries – just use a smaller-sized Ziploc and fold up two to three individual wipes inside. Then, you can drop that into your larger Ziploc. And if you need diaper cream, you can do the same: Use a tiny Ziploc and squeeze some diaper cream into it. 

Each time your baby needs a change on your long flight, you’ll be able to pull one of these pre-made kits out of the diaper bag and get the job done fast! 

I found this tip particularly handy because of the size of your average airplane bathroom. With so little room inside overall – and absolutely nowhere to set your diaper bag or accessories – bringing as little as possible with you into the bathroom is key.

Bring (and Wear!) a Baby Carrier

Before heading to the airport and flying with an infant for the first time, I’d done a ton of research and found that in general, parents seemed to universally recommend wearing your infant. So, I decided to check our stroller and car seat and keep my son in a baby carrier.

I wore him through the airport and onto the plane, and he ended up staying in the carrier for a good portion of the flight. While I’d initially been a bit worried about both of us being uncomfortable, it worked out wonderfully.

Wearing my baby allowed me to keep my hands (mostly) free for boarding, and he was securely “strapped in” for takeoff and landing. He was comfortable and contained, and it made moving around easier for both of us. It was especially helpful when he got bored, as I could walk him up and down the aisle of the plane while keeping him reigned in.

Plus, it came in handy for naps. Though we’d asked for a bassinet (an option on some flights if you’re in the bulkhead seats), it was unavailable. So, I was able to pop my son in the carrier and snuggle him to sleep easily.

Of course, you will want a break from the carrier, and so will your infant. I took my son out for about 3 hours of our 6-hour flight, during which time he was able to play, stretch out a bit, and check out his surroundings.

Suction Cup Toys Provide Endless Entertainment

When it comes to in-flight entertainment, babies don’t necessarily take well to typical options  like screentime, podcasts, or books.

I myself wasn’t sure what, exactly, a 6-month-old might like in a small, contained space, but I continually saw suction cup spinning toys recommended by my social media algorithms. And I’ve got to hand it to Meta: The algorithm was right.

I purchased a pack of suction cup spinners and a few other suction cup toys to stick onto the plane window and tray table, like pipSquigz (which double as rattles for infants). I also brought along teethers on suction-cup tethers, just in case anything got dropped.

These were huge hits and really captured my son’s attention. At 6 months old, he was just getting into spinning toys. Even though he’s now nearly a year and a half, he still loves playing with both the spinners and pipSquigz suctioned onto plane surfaces when we fly.

Introduce a New Toy Every Hour

On the note of toys, make sure to bring enough options so you can introduce something new roughly every hour. Infants don’t need a ton of toys, since their entertainment needs are generally lower than toddlers, but I found it helpful to have something fresh for each hour of our journey.

For example, while take-off alone was enough to entertain my son initially, he quickly got bored of the window. Suction cup spinners bought us a full hour’s worth of fun. Once he tired of those, I put them away and swapped in two board books. 

Being able to rotate toys makes it a little easier to keep both parents and babies occupied. You won’t be able to kick back and watch a movie (at least, not until nap time), and it’s going to feel like your flight is extra long.

Pro tip: Since our first flight, I’ve built a small stash of plane-only toys that my baby only gets to play with when we’re traveling. It’s a great way to ensure I’m bringing along packable, plane-friendly toys and makes my son feel like he has brand-new toys each time we fly.

Pack More Spare Outfits Than You Think You Need

Lastly, while no one wants to overpack and wind up carrying a ton more weight and gear than is necessary when flying, I highly recommend packing more outfits for your infant than you usually would.

I know, I know – you’re already traveling with what feels like your entire house. But infants are unpredictable, and even the most scheduled, predictable babies can change up their entire game when you head out on vacation. And a long flight is nowhere to be stuck with poop-covered clothes (ask me how I know!)

Usually, I pack two spare outfits in my son’s diaper bag. However, when we head out on a long flight, I’ve learned four is the correct number – specifically, three outfits and a pair of pajamas.

On our first-ever flight, I packed the usual two spare changes of clothes, plus an extra pair of pajamas just in case our luggage got lost along the way. In the span of the first two hours of the flight, my son blew through both of his spare outfits. He threw up on his original and one of the backups… and then proceeded to do it again in the second.

So, by the time we landed, he was already in his pajamas. To make matters worse (or, looking back on it now, absolutely hilarious), as the plane landed, my son had a diaper situation that not only ruined his last change of clothes of the day, but also managed to seep into the baby carrier.

I learned my lesson quickly, and by the time we flew home, I had more spare clothes packed. And yes, we did actually wind up using all three outfits and the pajamas on our flight home, too.

So, pack the extra clothes.You’ll never regret it!

Remember: Flying with an Infant is Always Tough

While the above tips and tricks worked for my son and family on our long flights, I do want to share an important caveat: I really lucked out when it comes to baby temperament. 

My son may not sleep like, ever, but he’s one very amenable and adaptable baby. Schedule changes, missed naps, or even new environments don’t phase him – but that’s often atypical. So, while these tips and tricks worked for us, they may not work for flying with every infant! 

Remember, the only “bad babies” are babies that rob banks. Otherwise, loud, upset, or excitable babies are simply being, well, babies – and they deserve to be on planes just like not-so-well-behaved adults.