This Is The Best Age To Take A Baby On An Airplane

I remember how nervous my wife and I were when we took our firstborn on a airplane for the first time. We were terrified that he would spend the entire flight to Chicago screaming, earning us the titles of Worst Passengers — and, even more humiliatingly, Bad Parents.

We carefully packed the diaper bag, checked in the car seat and the stroller, and held our breath as the plane took off. We realized there was no turning back now. Per advice we’d gleaned online, we fed the baby as the aircraft climbed to cruising altitude to help relieve the pressure in his ears. Then he slept — for the entire flight. Didn’t make a peep.

A flight attendant smiled at his peaceful face, nuzzled in my wife’s arms. “At that age, they just sleep through the whole thing,” she said with nonchalant nostalgia.

A fellow passenger remarked that she hadn’t even noticed he was on the flight.

Our son was about three months old at the time of that trip, and, given our smooth experience then — and the challenges we faced once he became a toddler — I’d say that the best time to take a baby on an airplane is ASAP.

We asked several moms who travel frequently with their kids for their thoughts on the question. Here’s what they had to say.

The ideal time to fly with a baby

Courtney Orgias, who posts about her family’s travels on Instagram, told HuffPost: “Our daughter’s first plane ride was at 10 weeks and it was so smooth and easy.”

“It really isn’t as difficult as one would think,” Orgias said. “We flew about four hours and she slept almost the entire way.”

In comparison, her other child didn’t board a plane until he was two, and while everything was fine, it was simply a more challenging situation. “He was restless and it was such a new experience, but