Tykes on a Plane

I just traveled today with Snookums from Newark Airport to Northern Kentucky-Cincinnati Airport. Here are some tips for traveling with babies:

1. Bring a giant garbage bag. Not for the baby, for the infant car seat, to protect it when you check it. Unfortunately, I forgot mine. Fortunately, they let me gate-check my car seat (which I wheeled through the airport on one of those universal-fit stroller thingies). Even more fortunately, when I got to the gate the plane was empty so they let me sit next to an empty seat and strap Snookums' car seat into it.


2. No shoes. Not even for baby. Yep, those wise souls at the TSA made Snookums remove her little rabbit slippers, just in case the terrorist tot decided to try to blow them up while we were in flight. Not only that, but they made her take them off herself, with no assistance from Mommy! (OK, that last part was a joke. But the rest of it wasn't.)


3. Pack plenty of food. While we were on the plane waiting to take off, Snookums consumed an entire banana, half a container of stewed pears and a bottle of juice. She started fussing the minute she finished each item, so when I ran out of food I gave her a copy of the SkyMall magazine, causing her to squeal with delight for several minutes before finally passing out.
4. If you buy travel insurance, do it before leaving home. OK, this isn't a tip for traveling with babies, but it's good to know. Right before leaving I realized I was going to have to pack my laptop in my checked bag, so I decided to call Travelguard for a "pack and go" policy in case the laptop got broken or stolen. I've bought these policies many times before, usually calling from the airport while waiting for my flight. But this time the agent asked where I was calling from. When I told her I was en route, she said the policy wouldn't be valid because I'd left home already. Go figure.