5 things to pack for mums for a long-haul flight

1. Change
After a bad experience on a flight with baby I no longer board a long haul flight without spare clothes for myself. Now I’ve realised there’s a risk the water bottle gets spilt on the seat or the chocolate ice cream melts on my trousers, or we have other mini accidents that don’t only affect the children’s wardrobes.

2. Earphones
When I used to travel a lot pre-kids I had a mini travel washbag at the ready with my own eye mask, noise-cancelling earphones, a pen and other bits and bobs. The washbag is not in frequent use these days, and when we travelled long haul over Easter I ended up buying new earphones at Heathrow as I’d forgotten to pack most accessories for myself. The kids were all set with theirs, and it seemed fair that I had my own pair too.

3. Flight socks
For a long-haul flight I prefer to wear knee-high socks with firm pressure, and I also try to stick to slip-on shoes, which I find particularly practical for overnight flights. I also bring a pair of wool socks – what many would see as ski socks – as the cold air on planes can sometimes be uncomfortable for cold feet and wool socks are also good if feet get wet from any spillages.

4. Chewing gum
I feel I always used to remember chewing gum for take-off and landing, but post kids it’s been all about them. Although it’s me who’s had a bad run of sinus infections and ear pressure in the past year, I had no chewing gum last time and I was instead feeding the children alphabet biscuits at take-off to keep them chewing and help them avoid bad ear pressure.

5. Kindle
We’re passed the stage of travelling with infants in the lap, and I can now not only watch a film on a long-haul flight but also read. Before travelling over Easter I realised it had been so long since I’d used my Kindle that I can’t remember where I stored it, but when I do relocate it I will stop having to borrow Daddy T’s one and start travelling with mine again.

Tags: Being a mum, Earphones, Kindle, Packing, Travel