A Ski Trip with a 5 Month Old:
Cody thought I was a little crazy when I said YES to a ski trip when Kennedy would be 5 months old! My family was staying in Lake Tahoe for the week and invited all of the kids and their significant others to join. What an amazing opportunity to make memories with my family and Kennedy together under the same roof for the firs time! And since Kennedy flies for free, I decided why not? To me, it would be worth the effort and hassle to make those memories (I know she won’t remember, but we will!)
Dressing a baby for the snow:
Kennedy doesn’t walk or crawl yet so dressing her for the “snow” is really dressing her for the cold weather. My family takes walks around the neighborhood and the town so I know she would be outside a lot so getting the layers right was important to me! Here is the order I dressed her in (with linked items)
- 1- diaper
- 2- Baby thermal base layer
- 3- CuddlDuds 3 Pack Cozy Socks for Baby
- 4- Mom and me pom pom beanie hat
- 5- Zip Up Fleece Jumpsuit (like this one!)
- 6- Baby snow pram
- 7- Baby mittens
Money Saving Tips:
I already have a hard time spending money on clothes that I know Kennedy will grow out of in a few months, so buying a full ski suit she would only use for 4 days seemed excessive! But I was so worried about her tiny body getting too cold so I sought out to find the best deal possible and I was so lucky to find one on TJ Maxx’s website in her size for $12! II linked it below but I know that TJ Maxx items sell out very quickly, so try searching for one on their site if this one is no longer available!
Another thing I try to do is order gender neutral colored things so I can utilize it for our (hopeful) next child, no matter if they are a boy or girl!
Navigating the airport with snow gear and baby gear:
To navigate the airport, I had Kennedy’s breastmilk bag inside of a large backpack and used that as my carry on. I wore Kennedy in a carrier to get through the airport as easily as possible. Cody had his personal carry-on and then car seat inside of a carseat travel bag that we got from Amazon. We checked the suitcases and snowboard bags as soon as we walked into the airport to make things as easy as possible.
Packing List:
I started a shared note with Cody on my iphone and anytime I thought of an item that I wanted to pack, I put it on that note. It helped save my brain from trying to remember my random thoughts! And with it being a shared note, he could add items too!
I am dividing this list into categories or else it is easily overwhelming:
Flying with Breastmilk:
You are allowed an extra bag for your baby and breastmilk but you must follow the TSA breastmilk guidelines. I linked them below and also printed them out in case I ran into a new person who wasn’t familiar with the rules, but never needed them!
- printed out TSA Breastmilk guidelines (just in case!)
- insulated lunch box with premade bottle
- ice packs
- milk storage bags
- sharpie to label milk bags
- pump parts
- pumps
- pump chargers
- ziplock bags for wet pump parts
- burp rag
- empty/clean bottles
- gallon ziplocks (in case of leaks from pressure of the plane)
- nipple shields
- breast pads
Carry On Packing List for Baby:
- Baby’s birth certificate (we were never asked for this but just in case!)
- sound machine
- small baby blanket
- extra outfits
- pacifier clip w/ pacifier
- backup pacifiers
- toys for entertainment
- bibs
- ziplock (in case of dirty outfits!)
- large Yeti cup (we asked for hot water to warm her bottles in this!)
- diapers
- wipes
- Little Remedies gas drops
- small tissue container
- disposable changing pads (for the awful airplane diaper change!)
- traditional changing mat
- antibacterial wipes
- Dr. Talbots pacifier wipes
- hand sanitizer
Suitcase items for Kennedy:
- owlet + owlet base station and charger
- baby thermometer
- nose sucker (with the dry air I was worried she would get a runny nose!)
- pack of wipes
- pajamas
- outfits
- bows
- baby booties/slippers
- burp rags
- baby tylenol
- vicks vapor rub for baby
- tubby todd all over ointment (I was worried her skin would chap in the cold but didn’t need this)
- microwave sterilizer bag
- small baby shampoo container
- small baby dish soap container
- small baby laundry detergent container
- mobile (she goes to sleep so quickly with this clip-on mobile so we took it with us!)
- Merlin magic sleep suit
- baby mittens
- baby beanie
- baby thermal base layers
- zip up fleece jumpsuits
- baby socks
- snow pram
- baby monitor + screen + charger
- charger for the sound machine
Items Mailed to the House:
- 32 pack of diapers
- bottle brush
Tips for Flying with a Baby:
We had a total of 4 flights – 2 there and 2 back so I feel like I got things down pat by the end of it! I tried to take everyone’s first advice which is “nurse of takeoff and landing for their ears” but as a mom of a little one, you probably know how hard it is to time out their feeding like that when they’re still little and eating on demand! All 4 of our flights were packed, not one seat left, so we always got stuck with a stranger on our row of 3. Nursing while touching shoulders with a stranger was very uncomfortable (to me) so after the first flight of a failed try- Kennedy wouldn’t latch and ended up kicking the lady next to me multiple times- we went to a bottle! So I would put on my pumps and pump while she had her bottle! I felt less exposed and Kennedy could latch and unlatch as much as she wanted without my nipple shield flying off and my boob being out for the world to see! Props to you if you’re comfortable nursing in public! I would love to be one of those moms but I’m simply not!
She was hungry on two of our layovers and I was so happy to find nursing stations in the airports! They were these little pods called Mamava that were just for nursing or pumping mamas and it made for the easiest and best experience! I would ask someone in the airport if they have those because those were amazing for layovers!
Next we did lots of toys for the plane ride! I had probably 7-8 different small toys that we could pop out and make “new” once she got tired of the one in hand. I hung the clip pieces on Cody’s hat which was hilarious and she would play with them like she does under her baby gym!
The people around us on the plane were so incredibly nice and understanding! I was SO worried we’d get some unhappy folks who just want us to “shut that baby up” but instead people went out of their way to make faces at her and try to entertain her and get her to smile! And if they weren’t nice to us, they were zoned out on their phone with airpods in watching a movie and didn’t even know we were there. The white noise from the plane helps quite a bit too!
The hardest part of the flight was the inevitable diaper change. She managed to poop on all 4 flights so I had to learn how to change her quickly. Two of the planes actually had a fold- down changing table above the toilet but the other two did not. It was honestly the toughest diaper change of my life. I put her changing mat on the lid of the toilet seat and did my absolute best to not let her touch anything while changing her diaper. If I were to do this over again, I would 100% choose to buy disposable changing pads because I was disgusted by her nice changing mat touching the airplane toilet! And even though I wiped it down with antibacterial wipes like a mad woman, I washed it as soon as we made it to the house in Tahoe!
I hope this helps you feel comfortable to fly with your baby and take that trip! We had the best time in Tahoe and made unforgettable memories. It was so fun to see the family interact with her and to see her get out an experience something different.
To help you prep for your next trip, weather traveling with a baby or not, I have teamed up with an amazing group of bloggers to give YOU a chance to win:
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