NFL wife shares how she takes her baby on a plane

This mom and wife of an NFL player shares her step-by-step process and tips for taking her baby on a plane with minimum drama!

Haley Pepper (@itshaleypepper) is a parent who also happens to be the wife of an NFL player. As such, Haley travels between Detroit and San Francisco with her seven month old about twice a month. Because she travels so much, Haley has got flying with an infant down to a science. In a helpful video, Haley recorded her step-by-step process of flying with her baby, and shared some helpful tips along the way.

Haley starts by packing everything the night before traveling. Then, she wakes up in the morning for her flight and packs the car before waking up her baby. She gets everything ready to go, then finally brings her baby from her crib to the car. “All I had to do was change her diaper, put a new outfit on, and then we got right back in the car,” Haley explains.

Once at the airport, Haley recommends street checking your bags. “Don’t mess with going inside the airport. Get them out of the way,” she recommends.

Haley goes through security, then spends the time before her flight in the Delta Sky Club, where she fills up her baby’s bottles, feeds her, and gets some relaxation time in.

Haley avoids boarding early in order to minimize time spent on the airplane with her baby. Then, she boards the plane and takes her seat with her baby, and it’s time for takeoff! “Usually she falls asleep pretty quickly when we get in the air,” Haley says, explaining while many parents recommend feeding babies at takeoff and landing because of ear popping, her baby doesn’t seem to be bothered, so she just gives her a pacifier.

Haley explains that her flight was largely uneventful. She ate breakfast, enjoyed a mimosa, and let her baby play with some plastic cups, water bottles, and Haley’s mouth. “Don’t bring a lot of toys,” she tells viewers. “Babies are gonna play with anything you give them.”

When Haley needs to use the bathroom, she explains that she sometimes asks a flight attendant to hold her baby. But sometimes she simply uses the bathroom while holding the baby in her carrier—which can be tricky, but is possible.

At one point, Haley recalls, a flight attendant accidentally spilled a soda on her lap. “He felt so bad and then I felt so bad because he felt so bad,” she recalls.

Finally, the plane landed. Haley picked up her bags at baggage claim and called a taxi home. “Walking through the door was blissful,” Haley says as the video ends.