Some fantastic advice for the OP and I’d like to add my congratulations.

My tuppence worth would be …… travel, especially air travel, is a fantastic adventure for a child so make sure that’s the case for both yourselves and your child. That’s something that doesn’t take much effort IME.

Theres not many things more exciting in a toddlers life than heading to a huge airport to see these absolutely massive machines take off and land and then one is going to whisk you up into the air to an adventure in a far away land.

Our child has been travelling long haul regularly since they were 18 months old and they’ve loved every minute of it. We’ve always focussed on how exciting it’s all going to be and how much we’re all looking forward to the adventure. We made every part of it as exciting as possible, be that the journey to the airport, even check in and security.

With regards to specific travel tips, my main advice would be NOT to try and take everything you might possibly need for every eventuality. Juggling a toddler, pram and multiple bags and suitcases with just two pairs of hands can be a nightmare. Take the essentials, obviously, but pack in a way that makes getting to the airport and moving around it once you’re there managable.

FF status and/or flying in a premium cabin for things like fast track security, lounge access etc and more space on board can also be a big help but they are not the be all and end all. With toddler you’ll be ushered to the front of a lot of queues. There’s always a quiet corner in an airport and most have kid zones with a soft play area.

Don’t stress, have fun and again, congratulations.