Disclosed herein are systems and methods of handling user traffic in an integrated access backhaul (IAB) network. For instance, a data counter for two or more of a plurality of user equipment (UE) bearers handled by an IAB node can be configured. Data corresponding to the two or more UE bearers of the plurality of UE bearers can be received. A first UE bearer can be selected. The first UE bearer is the UE bearer having the lowest data counter value of the two or more UE bearers. Data corresponding to the first UE bearer can be transferred to a mobile terminal (MT) in the IAB node. The data counter for the first UE bearer can be increased by a total size of the transferred data.