Traveling with a Newborn in a Pandemic!

I never thought I’ll be writing a Blog Post on this topic but such is life 😀 Throughout our pregnancy in this pandemic, we were being extremely careful (we did go out for our Babymoon but we drove & didn’t fly) and once Aaira was born & received her two month Vaccines, time away as a Family of three was much needed. We got the courage to fly based on the flying experiences of our friends and family around us and it definitely felt safe! We had an amazing time in Marco Island, Florida and I received a lot of requests on Instagram to share our experience, so here we go!

Origin: Minneapolis, MN
Destination: Marco Island, FL (Airport- Fort Myers) -We Uber-ed from Airport to the Island as its around 50 mins Drive
Airline: Delta
Resort: JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort

What to Pack:

As First Time Parents, we kinda overpacked (and there is no harm in doing that cuz you never know). Here is everything that I packed for Aaira:

For Travel:

• Zip-up outfits as its easy to change Diapers in them – Keep them in your carry on.
• A Mini Pouch Diaper Bag to avoid taking a Big bag to the Airplane Lavatory -> Travel size Wipes, Diapers, Butt paste, Diaper pail bags, Kleenex & Wet wipes. Also carry a small changing pad.
• Diaper Bag-> Pacifier & Bottle wipes, extra diapers, extra Pacifiers, Medication – Gas relief drops & Infant’s Tylenol (just in case), Tooth & Gum wipes, Burp Cloth & Mittens
• Small poly bag to keep the dirty clothes in (Diaper blowouts happen in the Air)
• One Milk Bottle to fee her expressed/pumped milk (Unless BF only)
• Car Seat – This is optional but we took it as Delta was blocking Middle seats & our car seat attaches to the stroller as well.
• Small Blanket
• Car Seat Cover – This really helped to block light, wind etc. when she was napping. Plus it kind of acted as a mask for her in crowded places since we were traveling in a pandemic 🙂
• Car Seat Insect Cover (Our Uppababy Mesa Car seat came with one)
• Car Seat Base (In Check-in bag) – So we can use our own car seat when Ubering or renting a car. You can always rent a car with car seat if you don’t want to carry your own. You can skip this and just use seat belts in the car to secure car seat as well.
• Stroller & Stroller bag to check-in at the gate
• Baby Carrier – Aaira wasn’t used to of one but pack if your baby likes it
• Nursing Cover
• Birth Certificate (You don’t need passport for domestic travel within US for infants)

For the Hotel:

• Travel portable Bassinet. Hotels have Pack & Plays too but Aaira was still sleeping in a Bassinet.
• Extra Bottles
• Bottle cleaning brushes & mini dish soap
• You can carry a portable bottle sterilizer but we didn’t, just used Hot water for washing.
• Changing pad with extra wipes, diapers etc.
• Sink Flower bath
• Wash Cloths
• Swaddles
• Crib Sheet (In case we had to get the Hotel crib if she didn’t like the portable bassinet)
• Rectal Thermometer
• Hairbrush
• Coconut Oil for massage
• Baby Bug Spray
• I would pack a Sunscreen if traveling with a 6 months or older baby
• Portable White Noise machine & Baby Shusher
• Baby detergent pouch or a small bottle (just in case)

Miscellaneous:

• Her Going out outfits & Bedtime Outfits
• Shoes/sandals
• Mittens
• Hats
• Swimming Costume & Shades
• Headbands
• Socks
• Baby Float for Pool & Air pump

Breastfeeding & Pumping:

This was obviously one of my main concerns & I did a lot of research before flying to ensure I have my facts right. I carried 4 packs of frozen Breastmilk in an insulated bag with an Ice Block & around 100ml milk in liquid form in her bottle. Here is a snippet from TSA’s website (Rules for US):

For the purposes of the screening procedures, an infant is defined as a child who must be physically carried by an adult throughout the screening process. A toddler is defined as a child who receives assistance in walking by an adult throughout the screening process.

Notify the TSA Officer

Formula, breast milk and juice for infants or toddlers are permitted in reasonable quantities through the security checkpoint. Remove these items from your carry-on bag to be screened separately from the rest of your belongings.

Inform the TSA officer at the beginning of the screening process that you carry formula, breast milk and juice in excess of 3.4 ounces in your carry-on bag. These liquids are typically screened by X-ray.

Screening Formula, Breast Milk and Juice

TSA officers may need to test liquids for explosives or concealed prohibited items. Officers may ask you to open the container and/or have you transfer a small quantity of the liquid to a separate empty container or dispose of a small quantity, if feasible.

Inform the TSA officer if you do not want the formula, breast milk and/or juice to be X-rayed or opened. Additional steps will be taken to clear the liquid and you or the traveling guardian will undergo additional screening procedures, to include a pat-down and screening of other carry-on property.

X-ray Screening

The Food and Drug Administration states that there are no known adverse effects from eating food, drinking beverages and using medicine screened by X-ray.

3-1-1 Liquids Rule Exemption

Formula, breast milk, juice in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters are allowed in carry-on baggage and do not need to fit within a quart-sized bag. Remove these items from your carry-on bag to be screened separately from the rest of your belongings. You do not need to travel with your child to bring breast milk.
Ice packs, freezer packs, frozen gel packs and other accessories required to cool formula, breast milk and juice are allowed in carry-on. If these accessories are partially frozen or slushy, they are subject to the same screening as described above. You may also bring gel or liquid-filled teethers, canned, jarred and processed baby food in carry-on baggage. These items may be subject to additional screening.

I did inform the security agents about the breastmilk and it went through additional screening. We actually spent good amount of time at Security which I’m talking more about in the Travel experience section below.

What to Pack for Breastfeeding:

I pumped right before we left for the Airport, so that I could be good for 3-4 hours. I use Spectra S2 breast Pump at Home as its Hospital grade but decided to get the portable Willow pump for this trip. I used it a couple of times at Home to get used to it. Make sure you find a Bra that keeps this portable pump in place in advance and carry at least two of those bras. I opted for disposable bags to pump in (you can get those on Willow’s website too), so that its easy for me to store when on a vacation. Here is what I packed:

• Willow Breast Pump
• Disposable pumping bags
• Breast Pump Charger
• Breast Pump Sanitizing Wipes
• Bras that work with portable pump (not necessarily have to be pumping bras)
• Nursing bras
• Nursing cover
• Nursing Pads
• A Marker to mark dates on my pumping bags
• A pair of scissors (in Check in bag) as Willow bags need to cut unlike the twist pouches that I use at Home
• Insulated Bag & Ice Block
• Portable Bottle Warmer – I used Baby Brew’s Portable Bottle Warmer and you can use my discount code ASH15 for 15% off your purchase!

You can also Pump at the Airport as most of the Airports have Pumping Stations and/or Mother’s Room.

Breast Milk Storage:

Most of the hotels have refrigerators in the room & in case yours don’t, you can always request a mini one by telling them that you need to store breast milk. There are normally no freezers in the room, so I made sure that I fed her the frozen milk after thawing first & stored whatever I was pumping in the refrigerator. Remember the 4-4-6 rule -> Breast Milk stays good for 4 hours at Room temperature , 4 days in the refrigerator and 6 months in the freezer.

A day before we were flying back, I called the Hotel Service and asked them if they can freeze few packs of breast milk for me as we were flying the next day. They mentioned that Bell Desk can do the same and I would get a luggage ticket just like you get it for any other piece of luggage. I put the milk bags in my insulated bag along with the ice block and asked them to freeze it for me. We took the bag out right before leaving for the Airport.

Travel Experience:

I can’t stress enough on the fact that you should take extra time when traveling with babies or kids! I would much rather have that extra time than hurrying up. Also, you would think that you might get preference at baggage drop/security etc. when you have a stroller and it very well might happen, but honestly given the number of people who travel with kids, it really isn’t possible for the Airports to do that!

Check-in & Baggage Drop:

Weigh your check-in bags at home to avoid dealing with it at the Airport and organize your carry-ons. Do not carry too much in hand and make use of the stroller space until you reach the gate. For us, Shaleen had a backpack with laptop, a carry-on Suitcase & I had a small backpack plus a Diaper bag (Stored in the stroller). We also carried our car seat base in our check-in bag, so we can use our own car seat when Ubering or renting a car.

Security:

Well, all that extra time is really for the security! The Baby needs to come out of the stroller for the screening and I took Aaira in my lap through the security. Declaring Breast milk, taking out laptops & Liquids, Pushing the Car Seat through the security belt takes time! The stroller will be parked on the side and an agent will inspect and bring it to you. So basically, you would definitely not want to be in a hurry when all this happens as you’re already pretty overwhelmed 🙂

Since we were traveling in a Pandemic, I kept Sanitizing wipes handy to wipe down Cart seat and Stroller handles right after security. We also kept the car seat cover on wherever there were more people around (kinda acted like a mask for her).

Flight:

I know a lot of people book flights based on the nap time for babies but since Aaira was just 2 months old when we traveled, she didn’t really have a schedule. We booked our flights based on the check-in & check-out time for the Hotel as we didn’t want to wait in the lobby before checking-in or after checkin-out. A lot of resorts now offer Mobile Check-in (We are Gold members with Marriott and always get that option).

Once you book your flight, be sure to call your Airline and inform them about your infant. Delta provided us a Lap infant ticket once we called (This is not a paid ticket but just for records that you will be traveling with a baby). We did not buy a ticket for Aaira as she was a Lap infant but given the Pandemic, Delta was blocking Middle Seats and we were able to take the Car seat to the plane. Every kid is different but Aaira feels really comfortable in the car seat & it helped us a lot! Normally, you can only take Car Seat on the plane if you buy a ticket for the baby. This might differ from Airline to Airline, so definitely check yourself on this. Make sure your Car Seat is FAA approved & certified for flying. You should also check how to secure a Car seat on plane and Delta told us that it has to be on the Window Seat.

We definitely took advantage of boarding early with an infant but I do know that some folks say to not board first if traveling with older kids (I think its difficult to entertain them while everyone else boards).

We had extra Pacifiers, Milk Bottle & my nursing cover out to ensure she can suck on something during take off and landing. I took her out of the Car Seat and nursed her during take off. As she was in deep sleep during landing, I just gave her a pacifier. She did really well on the flight & slept most of the time.

A lot of people told me that there will be a Diaper Blowout in the Air due to change in pressure we had one on both of our flights 🙂 Make sure to carry 3-4 extra outfits and a small bag to keep the dirty clothes in.

The Airplane Lavatories are well equipped for a Diaper change. Do Not change your baby’s diaper or clothes on the seat as its not something that’s appreciated by the Airlines & fellow passengers.

Willow Pump & Pumping on the Plane:

I did pump on our return flight as I didn’t nurse her during take off and used a nursing cover to pump. You can go to the restroom to fit in your pump under the bra and then pump at your seat. Willow pump is not loud at all and you can easily pump at your seat. Once Done, I used the sanitizing Wipes to clean the pump parts (or you can wash them in the lavatory). One thing that helped me was to keep the pump assembled and ready with the bags before flying, so I didn’t have to do all that on the plane. Make sure the pump is charged too. Willow Pump Has an app that is really helpful to track your pumping session. I used Willow pump in the Hotel Room and at the Beach too with a nursing cover.

Resorts in a Pandemic:

Our Resort had great Social distancing rules in the lobby & elevators (and everyone followed them). They also had Mask dispensers (Like a tissue dispenser) at each entrance in case you forget yours at the Beach or the Pool. There were hand sanitizing stations throughout the resort. The Hotel had 3 big pools and a private beach which made Social distancing easier. We pretty much did Patio dining or In-room dining to avoid sitting indoors without masks. I would say, take all the precautions that you can and plan your trip based on your comfort level.

I also recommend taking a tour of your resort on the first day to find elevators and ramps for the stroller, so you can easily locate them when going out. We booked a Resort where we would not have to go out much as the idea was to relax in good weather at the pool and the beach and our resort had both!

We booked a room with two queen beds to accommodate Aaira’s travel Bassinet, changing station etc. and I feel that it was a great decision! She actually slept really well in her travel bassinet.

Things to do in Fort Myers/Marco Island/Naples:

As I mentioned, we pretty much enjoyed the Resort’s Pool and the Beach as we didn’t want to add to much to our schedule while traveling first time with Aaira. We did however go out to Naples Downtown and loved it! Its one of the prettiest downtowns that we have seen and its also walking distance from the Naples Pier which has a gorgeous sunset view. Speaking of Sunsets, the sunset at the Marco Island beach was breathtaking as well 🙂 We dined at ‘The Bevy’ (American restaurant) in Naples & I would definitely recommend trying its watermelon salad! 21 spices by Asif is a renowned Indian restaurant as well. I can’t comment much on other things to do as we didn’t really explore anything more but had an AMAZING time with what we did! The products that I used are linked at the end of this post!

Products

I’m linking the some of the products that I talked about above and you can check my Registry Blog Post for more products that we use for Aaira:

• Travel Portable Bassinet
• Uppababy Car Seat & Stroller
• Uppababy Stroller Travel Bag
• Baby Blanket
• Baby Shusher
• Car Seat Cover
• Baby Float
• Bug Spray & Coconut Oil
• Willow Pump & Bags
• Nursing Cover
• Nursing Pads
• Breast Pump Sanitizing Wipes
• Insulated Bag
• Ice Block
• Portable Bottle Warmer – I used Baby Brew’s Portable Bottle Warmer and you can use my discount code ASH15 for 15% off your purchase!

I Hope I covered everything & if you have any questions or need more info, please feel free to comment here or DM me on Instagram.