7 Mistakes You're Making When Booking Airline Tickets

There are a lot of details regarding traveling with a baby that you need to think through before booking your airline tickets. Although you'll save some money by holding the baby on your lap, for some trips, it really might be worth it to purchase a separate seat for them and bring an FAA-approved car seat along with you, Trish McDermott, a family travel expert and the co-founder of Babierge, told us. For long flights, when you might not want a baby on your lap the whole time, this can be especially helpful.

Not only that, but if your kids are little and aren't in school yet, traveling while older kids are in school and not on breaks — or in the middle of the week — can mean better prices and less-crowded airports and flights. McDermott recommended timing your trips for times when families with school-aged children will be staying home if possible. Traveling with a baby can be complicated enough without also having to deal with the added chaos that accompanies holiday, weekend, or hectic vacation travel.

"If your baby has a standard fussy hour, or is especially cranky just before nap time, pick a flight that avoids that period," McDermott said. Plus, choosing seats closer to the front of the plane are often better if you're traveling with a little one because it'll be easy for you to quickly get off the plane. Plus, McDermott said, it tends to be quieter near the front.

[Photo via Reshot]