Comments on: Traveling With an Infant on a Plane

By: KatC

KatC — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:33:00 +0000

Maggie Mason over at Mightygirl did a good list on travelling with her baby some time in the last year or so. It's not about travelling alone, but it does have some good tips. She also did one about getting through security, but I can't seem to find it since her site redesign. It's worth looking for! http://mightygirl.com/2008/01/23/12-travel-tips-for-flying-with-a-baby/

By: Kimba

Kimba — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:52:32 +0000

I’ve flown several times with my 8 mth old, and they’ve never asked me to remove him from the sling, which makes everything easier.
They did once ask me to take off his shoes though. I stood there a minute, trying to figure out if they were serious. They were.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:29:48 +0000

Thanks VERY much for the link to the Car Seat Lady’s website. We are expecting and I just figured out that many of our new parent friends have rear-facing middle seated carseats and was wondering why this was the case. Aha! Good to know.

By: Monica

Monica — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 23:30:02 +0000

I flew about 20 times with my daughter before she turned 2. Don’t buy 2 tickets for a 4 month old on a 2 hour flight. Most likely the middle seat will be empty. If not, you can give the flight attendant the car seat and gate check it.
If you DO buy a second seat, book the window and aisle. The middle seats are the last to go and you just might have the whole row to yourself. If not, there’s no one on the planet that wouldn’t trade a middle seat for an aisle.
The airlines require you to put the car seat in the window seat OR the middle, if you are the one sitting in the window seat. Basically they don’t want you blocking a stranger from getting in and out. However, if you are a super sneaky evil genius like me, you can just talk to the window passenger a lot before take off and they will assume you are all together until it’s too late to do anything about it.
Four months is a piece of cake. Just wait until 2.
(And btw I second the sling.)

By: Lillian

Lillian — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 22:19:04 +0000

Wow! Thank you so much for the tips everyone! I have a Chicco travel system, so it is very big and bulky and heavy. I like the idea of just carrying my little man onto the plane. Unfortunatley, buying an extra seat is simply not in our budget at this time. So I will either be carrying him or hoping for a (free) extra seat with the ginormous car seat. I am flying Delta, so I will need to call them to find the answers to some of these travel questions. Thanks so much and I’ll let y’all know how the trip went!

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:49:18 +0000

Traveled twice now with our 6 mo old. First: baby carrier, yes! We use a bjorn active because DS **hates** the ergo, but you can go right through security with the kid strapped on (in the Family Lane). I can’t imagine shuffling the kiddo along with all else.
This doesn’t apply to the infant seat, but no one has mentioned the traveling toddler:
http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Seat-Travel-Accessory/dp/B000JHN3AS
This takes up almost no space to pack (one small strap) and works wonderfully! I would be a little nervous if traveling alone (keep your bag in front of you and use elevators, not escalators, as they say on the box). But then you have your seat with you. (note: even with this, we put kiddo in the carrier for security)
And I second the comment about bringing your seat to the gate even if you didn’t pay for the second seat. If there’s room (and a window seat), most gate agents will help you out. We fly standby (husband is a pilot), so we’re always at their mercy and have done well so far. They can always gate check items if necessary (and really, gate checked bags go through the same process as other bags, and less of it, so they’re actually slightly *less* likely to be damaged).

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:19:46 +0000

I’ve flown 14.5 hr direct flight to Asia with my son when he was 5 months old and that was quite straight forward to my surprise. He mostly ate, sleep, up for 2hrs and did the whole routine again. I recently went to NY (6hrs) with him when he was 11 months and that was HELL. All he
wanted to do was jump up and down and squirm out of my lap and walk along the aisle. Just make sure what works for you first and your child as every baby/kid & parent is different.
One thing I discovered that helped alot was prepackaged powered formula that makes 4oz. I’ve found them at Target, Walmart, $11 usd for 16 packets. They were way more convenient than using those bulky 3 or 4 slotted formula dispenser. They come in Enfamil A+ or Similac Omega 3&6 brand and they are skinny light packets. One thing I noticed flying in the US is that if you bring bottled water make sure it’s brand new as security will be less strict if you say it’s for the baby. I’ve gotten away with 500ml unopened water.
Plus, I always use the Ergo & the Maclaren Quest reclining umbrella stroller with me when I have to fly solo with my son. 80% of ppl love to gush over a baby and will help at an airport. Good luck and enjoy your trip.
http://www.target.com/SIMILAC-ADV-16CT-64OZ-STIX/dp/B001J5JH7C

By: Spiff

Spiff — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:04:27 +0000

I have to second what Daisy said about having your infant in a carseat. One of my friends was traveling to Hawaii with her 8-month-old son. She had an extra seat and carseat for him, but took him out for a little while to stretch. The plane hit some unexpected turbulance and his head whacked against the armrest of the seat really hard. He only ended up with a huge bump, but it could have been much worse!
It is worth it to buy an extra seat!!

By: amycorinne

amycorinne — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:39:43 +0000

I have flown with my 8 month old three times (12 days old, 5 months old, and last weekend). Here’s my advice:
- Gate check the stroller and if you’re bringing a car seat but not using it on the plane, gate check that too. It’s much safer for the seat because there are so many opportunities for the car seat to be damaged between check-in and the airplane. You usually do not have to wait long for them to bring you your stroller and/or car seat because it was the last thing put on the plane so first thing off. The infant same and stroller frame were the best when she was still in the infant seat.
- Definitely bring extra food, formula, diapers, wipes, whatever. We sat on the tarmac in Philadelphia last Sunday for over 3 hours. I used every single bottle of formula and juice in the diaper bag. My husband and I even ate the baby’s stale Cheerios.
- Speaking of sitting on the tarmac for hours, my baby had a meltdown after about an hour and a half. I got some dirty looks from other passengers, but WHATEVER. I’m sure people don’t want to hear Ali cry, but you know what? I didn’t really feel like listening to the dudes behind me talk about golf for three hours.

By: Claire

Claire — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:30:05 +0000

I haven’t read all of the comments, so I apologize if some of this is a repeat. I have flown with my daughter, alone, at 8 weeks, 5 months, and 8 months. It’s totally do-able, and the fear of going alone with a baby is far, far worse than the flight itself!
Here are my tips:
1. Check the carseat and base and the front desk with your luggage. The airline will give you a big plastic bag to put it in. Another option is to have your mom buy (and install rear-facing) the costco brand convertible carseat. It’ll work for trips to grandma’s for many years.
2. Don’t bring a stroller. Just buy a cheap umbrella one when you get there, if you think you’ll need a stroller at all.
3. Bring an Ergo or something similar. I used the pouch sling when my baby was smaller, and the ergo on the most recent trip. You don’t need to take them out of the carrier at all at security, so you just have to slip off your shoes, toss the diaper bag on, and then walk through.
4. Make sure you tell them you have a lap baby before your flight (call the airline if you didn’t book online that way). You need a special boarding pass, and can only sit in certain seats on some planes (b/c of needing an extra oxygen mask).
5. Bring a change of clothes for both of you. And baggies. And a couple extra burp cloths. You’ll need them!
6. Newer planes have changing tables in the bathrooms, but i’d try to just change diapers in the airport. If you need to go to the bathroom on the plane, you can always have a flight attendant hold the baby. They’ll even put Purel on their hands first.
7. Nurse a lot, if that’s what you’re doing. But remember to bring some sort of nursing cover. Inevitably you’ll end up next to a middle-aged businessman.
I think that’s it – hopefully your baby will take a nice nap and you’ll be there before you know it! It really isn’t too bad. And never feel bad if the baby cries – you’ll do everything you can to sooth him, and that’s all you can do! Good luck!