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I would rather fly with a five month old than a 17 month old. A 17 month old will want to run around... a 5 month old is much more likely to just snuggle/nurse/sleep the whole way.

Definitely would prefer to fly with a 5mo!

5 mo for sure! So quiet and snuggly and easy. Already at 14 months my DD is full of opinions and much prefers sleeping at home in her own bed. At 5 months she was a gem on the plane. PLUS she was still EBF then and we didn't have to think about solids and real food and high chairs.....

Most definitely 5 months. We traveled with E at 6 months and it was easy. He slept and was content to sit in our laps. Next time I traveled with him he was 10 months and crawling. He slept the first flight, but was a terror the second flight because he wanted to get down and move around.

Definitely the 5 month old. They are much more easily transported (I would do a carrier if possible) and you can get away with them as a lap child on the flight. Odds of them sleeping on the flight are much greater also. I flew at Christmas with my son last year when he was 9 months and it wasn't the greatest time ever but I'm dreading the next one now that he's walking.

We have a similar situation to yours- my husband's family is a 5 hour drive and my family is a 2 hour plane ride so we switch Christmas & Thanksgiving every year. The logistics make things really stressful sometimes- although I love being home at the holidays, I can't wait until we have our 2nd and have an excuse not to travel!

I didn't drive but flew when LO was 4 months, 4.5 months, 6 months, and 7 months. Each time she had her infant seat and her own ticket which IMO helped a lot bc she didn't really like sleeping on us and the flights were about six hrs. It was easier at 4/4.5 months than the next time but neither was bad. Could have just been the day LO was having.

yep 5 month old!

5 months! There are some things that are more stressful, including probably having to pack more baby-related gear for the 5-month old, and maybe worrying about how you are going to deal with feeding... but those issues are outweighed by the fact that a 5 month-old is still mostly a stationary object, whereas toddlers are a whole different story. Our 14 month old will not sit still without a huge fight right now, so I'm not looking forward to our next trip.

5 month old for sure!

I prefer a 17th month old

At 5 months my LO was still really cranky and had lot so sleep issues and ate very frequently and needed frequent diaper changes.

I've done both, they're annoying, but for different reasons. I do the same thing on every flight though, so it helps my son to know what to expect. Always in his own seat, buckled into his car seat that we use for travel.