Keeping Clothing Separate - if you use zip lock (or the larger sliding lock) bags to separate your clothing into different types (eg underwear) or different people (eg baby) then it will make it easier to find in your suitcase

Stop leaks from spreading - put your shampoo bottles, roll-on deodorant and any liquid toiletries into individual zip lock bags within your toiletry bag/case. This will help prevent any leaks from spreading onto your clothing. It will also stop leaks from ruining your toiletry bag. Always put your roll-on deodorant into a bag - it has a tendency to leak under pressure and there is nothing worse than going to brush your teeth only to find that the deodorant has leaked onto your toothbrush!

Store dirty (or not so dirty) shoes - even if you have just cleaned your shoes they can still mark your clothes, so put them in a bag.

Compress your clothing - save space, put your clothes into zip lock bags and seal the lock leaving a small gap. Then roll the bag to push out any excess air and seal. The resulting flat package is almost like a vacuum pack and takes up a lot less space!

Store snacks for the flight - use individual zip lock bags to store snacks for the flight in your carry-on luggage

Separate toys and art supplies for flight - use zip lock bags to categorize small toys or art supplies (like crayons) for babies and kids on the plane. If you have more than one kid then label the bags with their names to avoid confusion (and fights!).

Firstly, you accumulate a surprising amount of rubbish during a flight, with nowhere to put it other than on the floor at your feet. It starts with the plastic packaging for the headphones, plus food packaging from the “keep baby quiet” snacks, then tissues, the packet of cards in the inflight entertainment pack (the one completely inappropriate for a baby but you took it to keep your baby quiet and all s/he did was empty the contents all over the floor), plastic cutlery, drinking fountain paper cups and so on. Before you know it, you are sitting amidst a small mound of garbage with nary a bin or cabin crew member in sight. So having your own personal rubbish bag comes in handy (and the cabin crew and cleaning crew will appreciate it too).

Secondly, should your child vomit during the flight (yes, this has happened to me - more on that later…) or wet themselves or spill a drink everywhere then you will have somewhere to put their wet or soiled clothing. Or , if you have enough warning , you can even use it as a spew bag.

Thirdly, it’s also a handy to be able to scoop up all the loose items and pop them in the bag at the last minute. You can then sort them out once you are off the plane.

I prefer to take at least two regular sized shopping bags (although the small scented nappy/diaper bags will suffice if you have nothing else). If you tie a knot in the middle of the bag it will take up less space and baby is less likely to be able to put it over their head.

• TIP - just because you buy an infant ticket doesn’t mean that a meal is ordered automatically. Make sure you order an infant meal when booking your tickets. Double check that your meal has been ordered when checking in and again once you are on the plane (before takeoff!)
• TIP - Infant and childrens’ meals are “special” meals and often the cabin staff will mark the back of a seat with a little sticker to indicate a “special” - so if you see them marking other seats and not yours - ask!

Some airlines also stock tinned baby food. However, the flavours and textures may not be appropriate for your baby. The last thing you want is to have a hungry baby so we suggest that you bring your own food - even if you order an infant meal. We suggest you pack:

• tinned food - enough for the flight plus the first 2 days if staying in a hotel. This saves you needing to rush out to source baby food while jetlagged and in unfamiliar surroundings
• snack food - crackers, rusks, milk arrowroot biscuits etc. Carry these in ziplocked bags for easy accessibility
• formula - enough for the flight plus the first 2 days (see above re tinned food)
• UHT milk if your baby is on cow’s milk - you can buy poppers/tetrapaks/boxes
• juice boxes for babies who drink juice
• fruit for the flight (but remember that you will most likely need to throw out any leftovers at the airport due to quarantine)

Most airlines are fairly considerate and will serve your infant meal separately. If you are travelling with a partner it is easier for one person to eat their meal while the other holds the baby and then swap. If not offered, ask the cabin crew to keep a meal aside for the person holding the baby.

CAUTION - meals heated up in the galley will usually be extremely HOT. Always check the temperature before serving to your baby.

On Zavvy’s first flight (Sydney-Paris via Tokyo) we were lucky enough to have a spare seat on the first leg which made it a lot easier to feed him. I took along disposable bibs and the airline (JAL) provided very cute airplane shaped spoons. He was still eating tinned food and I brought my own supplies.

In a perfect world your baby will be an angel and behave impeccably. People will give you glowing smiles of encouragement and all will be well with the world. Chances are though that this isn’t going to happen. You may well find yourself with a bawling baby at 35 000 feet. And what’s worse is that other people are going to make you feel bad about it. Some may even tell you (or the cabin crew) how they feel about having to listen to your child - as if you are enjoying the situation and haven’t tried your best to soothe and distract your little one. Even other parents can be intolerant, particularly if their child sleeps and yours doesn’t.

On aeroplanes with bulkhead seats and bassinettes many airlines will seat groups of families with babies and small children together. This can be both a blessing and a curse, depending on the circumstances. Most likely the babies will be of differing ages and have different sleep patterns. Inevitably, when your baby has finally fallen asleep another baby will start bawling or vice versa. If this happens - try not to look daggers at the other parents, even if you really really wish that their baby would just be quiet - as it could very well be you in that position.

If you are concerned about other babies disturbing yours and you don’t really need the bassinette (particularly if you are travelling with a toddler who will be too big for the bassinette anyway) then consider requesting a seat further back in the plane. That way you are unlikely to be near smaller babies and you will only be annoying other adults.

A change table is often not available in every toilet (some smaller aircraft don’t even have a change table on the entire plane) so this may mean waiting in the inevitable toilet queues - and don’t expect people to let you in front of them either!

The “change table” is usually just a thin shelf that folds down over the toilet. On some planes you have to lie your baby down crossways leaving you with only side access making it all the more tricky to change your baby as you need one hand on the baby to stop s/he rolling off leaving you one hand to change a nappy (diaper).

For these reasons I suggest you take only the bare essentials into the toilet with you as you will most likey need to do most things one-handed and you definetly don’t want to put your baby down on the floor (especially in the middle of a long haul flight!).

bare essentials: nappy/diaper, small packet of wipes, small tube of cream (if you regularly use it)

I also avoid changing my baby more than is absolutely necessary - I figure that my baby sleeps through the night in the same nappy so he is used to it. Of course, if he soils his nappy or it’s a long flight I do change him.

TIP - the toilets are their busiest after the trays have been collected from meal service (all those free glasses of wine and second cups of tea or coffee!) and for the hour before landing (people using those free toothbrushes to freshen up). The toilets are at their quietest when the lights go out as people are sleeping or watching movies. That’s a good time to do a mid-flight nappy change when you are not pressured by a huge queue of people waiting for the toilet.

TIP - Always carry a spare t-shirt for yourself and your partner in case of spills on the plane (extremely likely if you have a lapsit baby!). Get changed once you land - chances are that you will have a long wait at immigration and at the baggage carousel anyway. I generally avoid using the toilets before landing and wait until we disembark. In most airports there are several sets of toilets in the terminal. The toilets closest to the gate will be the busiest, so unless you need the baby change room keep walking until the next set of toilets.

In an attempt to calm my nerves I developed some little routines that I would *have* to do before we took off. I would watch the safety demonstration intently (even though I practically knew if off by heart), religiously count the number of rows to the nearest exit and an alternate exit and I would read the airline safety card.

Since that time I have become less nervous about flying but I still follow that little routine on the plane. It has even rubbed off on my kids. Loll will get out the card and read it too - he is particularly intrigued with the pictureof a ditched aircraft floating in the water with people getting into liferafts.

Once when we were flying to Perth when he was four, he got out the card and read it for ages. Then he turned to me and said in a serious tone, “mummy, when is the plane going to crash so we can wear the lifejackets?”. The old lady on the other side of him said “dear, I don’t think your mummy wants the plane to crash!”. It was a cute but funny moment.

By the way - not only does the airline safety card provide useful information in the event of a crash but it also provides a good distraction to a restless baby!

PS - has anyone else ever noticed that most cards tell you that you can’t bring one of those annoying Furbies on board? I wonder if there ever was a “Furby incident” (headline - Furby causes plane to crash) or the cabin crews just got sick of them?!

Your baby is also being faced with a new environment. When you get on the plane you are jostled about by other passengers and if you have a lap infant then they may not like the seatbelt or being forced to sit on your lap (and canny toddlers like Zavvy can work out how to undo the clasp!).

Once you are up in the air then you can get up and move about (once the sign goes off, of course) but it’s also the time when the cabin crew begin their preparations for meal service. Other passengers get up and move about too and so the aisles are crowded and there is a lot of activity.

Once the meal (or drinks) service has begun then you can forget about trying to get to the toilets or the back of the plane because the crew do at least two sweeps of the plane (dropping off meals and picking up empty trays) plus the coffee run.

Meal service can be traumatic when you have a baby in tow, particularly if you are travelling alone. The potential for messy spills is great (avoid the red wine with dinner or you could end up with it all over you, just ask my hubby) and it’s all very exciting for baby, but less so for mum and dad. Arrange a baby swap if you can.

If you are planning a long haul flight then it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with onboard routines and develop a plan of action around them. For example, have your first bottle ready to go, if possible heat it before you board the plane and keep it warm in an insulated bag. That way you don’t need to ask the cabin crew (who may be busy or forget you).

Generally I find that once the trays are cleared away and the in-flight entertainment starts (thus occupying the other adults on the plane) then everyone can relax a bit - at least until the next big issue - sleep.

Most bassinettes are not suitable for toddlers due to their weight restrictions and their length. Keep in mind that during takeoff, landing and turbulence, your baby will not be able to use the bassinette. It also blockes access to the aisle and so you may find yourself having to climb over seats to get out.TIP – If you are on a plane with individual TV screens and you are going to use the bassinette make sure that you pull up the TV screen before the bassinette is installed, otherwise you won’t be able to watch TV!

Check with your airline about weight restrictions (airlines such as JAL have info on their website) and whether you can pre-book a bassinette – some airlines give them out on a first in, best dressed basis on the day and others give them out according to baby’s age.

Skycot (British Airways, photo taken 2000 on a 747-400)

Bassinette on JAL

* plastic shopping bag for rubbish - you would be surprised by the amount of rubbish you can accumulate in such a short amount of time (think, plastic bag for headphones, empty cups etc)
* at least one baby toy to distract baby when s/he is fed up with sitting restrained on your lap during takeoff
* dummy/ pacifier
* cloth nappy/diaper for spills and spew
* bottle or cup of water for baby
* bottle of water for breastfeeding mothers (if you are allowed to take one on board!

* cotton or muslin wrap - for calming baby to sleep, or for breastfeeding or for playing hide and seek - there’s a multitude of uses for it!
* pen - for filling in forms
* ziplocked bag with a snack in it, in case baby is hungry

* lip balm (maybe it’s just me, but my lips get awfully dry in the air-conditioning)

If you are feeling optimistic that your baby will sleep for most of the flight then also include a book or magazine - but if you are like us you will be hard pressed being able to read the entertainment program in the inflight magazine!