Hands down, my favorite carrier to bring on a long flight is a woven wrap! I love that one length of fabric can do any front, back, or hip carry I want. It also can double as a blanket, a burp rag, an arm rest cushion, a pillow, etc. It’s a wonderful all purpose baby tool and I wouldn’t fly without bringing one!
When I fly with a baby, my favorite woven wrap carry to use is Front Cross Carry.
Here’s why –
- It’s totally poppable. You can pre-tie the carry before you even leave for the airport. Then you’re not standing there in a busy airport with a million bags trying to wrangle 6 feet of fabric. When you get to the airport, pop your baby into the carry. Any time baby needs a change, or needs to get down and move around, or is going to be carried by someone else for a bit, you can easily pop baby right out of the carry and never need to re-tie.
- If your baby is flying on your lap, sometimes flight attendants will ask you to take baby out of a carrier during take off and landing. With front cross carry, it’s easy to take the baby out without even waking the baby up (if they’re sleeping). Just slide the passes down over baby’s back and take them off of baby’s legs.
- It lays completely flat in the back. This is especially nice if you’re taking a long flight. There’s not much more uncomfortable than a knot or a buckle digging into your back when you’re sitting for a long time!
- It makes a great nursing cover. I prefer to take baby out of the wrap to feed, especially if I’m sitting down. I like to use the diagonal passes to cover the top of my chest when I’m feeding the baby, just to have a bit more privacy.
- You can put the baby in the carry forward facing. This can be nice if the baby is awake and wants to play, but you don’t want the baby to be able to get down and crawl all over the plane floor! You can put the baby in the Front Cross Carry facing forward and seat them on your lap. The wrap provides a bit of support and frees your hands for making sure the baby doesn’t knock over your neighbors drink.
If you haven’t already learned Front Cross Carry, give it a try! It really is a super convenient carry – not just for plane travel, but for every day!
Here’s how to do it:
What’s your favorite baby carrier (or carry) for flying with a baby?