Q&A: Is there a certain age a baby must be before it's safe to fly?

We are moving from Tennessee to Arizona two months after our baby is born. I was planning on flying with the baby and letting my husband drive out. Is there a certain age a baby must be before it is safe to fly? Will I hurt his ears if I fly too soon?

Though there are no absolute reasons to avoid flying with a very young baby, many practitioners advise being careful about bringing a newborn (less than 4 weeks) into contact with crowds, to avoid exposures to infections. Airplanes, large parties and crowded stores are all places where contact with people (or coughs and sneezes) are unavoidable. After 8 weeks or so, that concern lessens, though the immune sytem continues to strengthen during the first year and beyond.
With that in mind, two-month-old infants can otherwise fly without difficulty. If his/her ears are healthy, the pressure changes shouldn't cause harm. One way to help a baby equalize the pressure within the ears is to have him/her suck as the plane ascends and descends. This has the same effect as yawning or blowing through closed nostrils and makes those times more comfortable. Good luck with your new baby and location.

from beyond babyzone:
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