Hellobee Boards

We flew with DS for the first time when he was 8.5 months, we packed lots of snacks, nursed on the way up and down and he slept nearly the entire flight! We brought a few "quiet" toys and board books, but he didn't really need it! We bought a carseat cover from amazon for like $15 and gate checked it! Our drive to the airport is just under an hour and he did okay going straight from the drive to security/gate.

Good luck!

I did two 7.5 hour flights with LO at nine months old. No car seat so can't help there, but I basically stuck my boob in her mouth the whole flight and it worked a treat. The flight back was tricker as it was daytime and she was sick, but I nursed a lot and let her play with my water cup. I had a couple of toys that attached to her wrist for her to play with... I didn't want stuff she found throw on the floor.

Ooooh my biggest bit of advice, have a change of clothes for LO within easy reach. A blew out all up her back during take off. Awful.

Oh and pack you plenty of wipes. We wiped down the seat armrests and trays since he was still putting things in his mouth. And when we spilled drinks etc they came in handy. And don't forget a blanket. they don't have them any more on flights

We have a second carseat for travel since it can be "compromised" by throwing it around under the plane (and don't tell the Car Seats for the Littles people that you are flying without a carseat, apparently its very unsafe to have a lap baby in case of turbulence/accident :-/). That being said, we've traveled numerous times with our now 10 month old and have never bought him his own seat. We've gate checked the car seat, checked it in at the check in counter, and also rented one from the car rental place. You can wrap it up in plastic, in a car seat case/carrier or just let it go naked

Tips for the flight ... baby will cry. It's OKAY. Don't stress. Ours does great on flights but still cries for like 5-10 mins when he's tired on a flight and right before he falls asleep. People can deal with it. He's a baby. He cries. I don't stress about it. Other tips: bring some toys with straps so they don't all end up on the floor, bring some snacks, I also like to bring some BM in a cup or bottle since he sometimes doesn't like to BF. Bring a blanket to cover up or put under your elbow on the plane while feeding/while baby sleeps. Pack a couple diapers and wipes in a separate bag so you don't have to take the whole diaper bag into the bathroom. Bring a change of clothes for baby AND you. Urp happens. Get up and walk baby around the plane -- ours loves to people watch and flirt.

Just breathe, relax and you'll be fine

We've flown several times with my 9 month old (doing it again on Friday!) and have never needed to present her birth cert (though we always have it). If it helps, I think a photocopy of the official cert is fine if you don't have the original (from what I've been told at least) - that's all we carry!