He's Leaving on a Jet Plane

As I mentioned I recently took a trip to Alaska with my little baby.   Traveling with baby always has some challenges, with a lot of little things to plan for (like the fact that you never know when they might suddenly explode).  So I had to think of how to plan ahead and make this flight a little easier.

There were a few challenges I thought of ahead of time:
- The flights were at night so Bryce would be wanting to sleep
- Bryce does not take a bottle so I would have to be nursing (and yes I was "lucky" enough to sit next to a very large man on both flights.  The first guy was so big we couldn't put the arm rest down.  At least they were both nice.)
- I didn't want to have to check a stroller or car seat. (my mom had some for us up there and I have had strollers get damaged on flights before.)
- Bryce, my carry on, and a diaper bag would be a lot to juggle.
- There is not a lot of room on planes, especially with a baby on your lap, so I didn't want to have to be digging through a carry-on that was on the floor or under the seat in front of me looking for things.

So to solve many of these problems I designed a traveling bag.

First I made it so that the main compartment was actually a pillow case so that Bryce would have a nice soft place to lay.  I also folded up his quilt and put it in the big compartment too.  Then I put pockets on the front so that I would know exactly where my boarding pass, ID, and cell phone were.  Then I put one large pocket over the top of those pockets so that I could have a diaper, wipes, onesie, nursing cover, earphones, and baby Tylenol and ear numbing drops right there on my lap.  I added a strap so I could carry it easily.  And there you have it.  It worked out GREAT.  Every time I needed my boarding pass and ID I was able to get to it quickly and  then on the plane I put the pillow on my lap pocket side down and  Bryce laid comfortably on top.  Then I could just slide my hand under the pillow to get my ear phones and watch some movies.  I think a bag like this could also be great for kids to take on sleepovers or over night to Grandmas.

The other thing that I made was a larger sling to hold Bryce in.  I made it big enough for him to be able to comfortably be in it for HOURS  like 5 or 6.  That way he could stay in it while he slept on the plane and I had my hands free where walking around the airport.



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