1st plane trip--what do I need know and be prepared for?

lmc0714

So we are headed to Texas this weekend. Our first plane trip with DD--she's almost 4 months. I know I should try to nurse her during take off and landing. And, I know to bring plenty of toys and pacis.

We are renting a car there--should I bring our car seat or just rent one from the car place? Do you think we should bring our stroller? Geez, so many questions! Any travelling tips would be appreciated!

ECUGirl2004

I would take your car seat with you.  It can be gate checked.  I've heard that the rentals from car rental companies are often in really bad shape, so you're probably better off with your own.

Whether you should take your stroller depends on where you're going to be & what you'll be doing.  We took our stroller to Seattle and I wish we hadn't taken it.  I wore Nate in the Ergo the whole time and the stroller was just one more thing for us to deal with at the airport.  Seattle is crowded (especially in the touristy areas like Pike Place) and it would have been really hard to navigate with a stroller.  The Ergo was much easier for me.  If Ruby is happy to be worn, you may be fine without a stroller.  If she doesn't like it and you're going to be going shopping or whatever, you will probably want it.

Another thing that was great about the Ergo was that I could wear Nate through security.  I was able to get my own stuff loaded up while DH did his stuff at the same time.  If I didn't have Nate in a carrier, I would have had to hold him that whole time and let DH do everything, since you can't push a stroller through security.

For us, flying wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  The flight out there was kind of rough, but you won't have the same issues we had due to Ruby's age.  Flying back was a breeze for us.  GL!

kateland3

ECUGirl2004:

I would take your car seat with you.  It can be gate checked.  I've heard that the rentals from car rental companies are often in really bad shape, so you're probably better off with your own.

Whether you should take your stroller depends on where you're going to be & what you'll be doing.  We took our stroller to Seattle and I wish we hadn't taken it.  I wore Nate in the Ergo the whole time and the stroller was just one more thing for us to deal with at the airport.  Seattle is crowded (especially in the touristy areas like Pike Place) and it would have been really hard to navigate with a stroller.  The Ergo was much easier for me.  If Ruby is happy to be worn, you may be fine without a stroller.  If she doesn't like it and you're going to be going shopping or whatever, you will probably want it.

Another thing that was great about the Ergo was that I could wear Nate through security.  I was able to get my own stuff loaded up while DH did his stuff at the same time.  If I didn't have Nate in a carrier, I would have had to hold him that whole time and let DH do everything, since you can't push a stroller through security.

For us, flying wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  The flight out there was kind of rough, but you won't have the same issues we had due to Ruby's age.  Flying back was a breeze for us.  GL!

ditto all of this except the last paragraph we JUST got back from FL last night, and i was wishing i had a 4 month old instead of a wiggly 11 month old. definitely take your seat, i've been on 4 planes in the last 2 weeks and every single one had an extra seat that i could use for henry's seat. just ask at the gate, they'll help you there. if not, gate check it.

ditto the ergo (though i have a beco instead). i wore henry through security and onto the plane all 4 times. it's a lifesaver.

the stroller is a personal preference. i took it when we went to MN because we were going to a wedding, and i didn't want to wear henry in his suit/my dress. i was happy to have it. i didn't take it to FL, and was happy to not have it good luck!

alchris

We've never taken our car seat as we would have had to pay extra for Kira's seat on the plane.  We've flown with her 5 round-trips, and on only 1 of those 10 legs (the shortest, to NY last month ) was there an extra seat we could use.  I take her in my Beco and it makes it SO easy; a stroller (or a car seat ) would be a complete hassle IME.  Of course, if you need a car seat at your destination, that's different -- we've always had the grandmothers borrow one at our destination.  Entertaining an older baby or toddler is rough, but a little one is used to being held, so you should be fine.  Don't pop your own ears so you can really feel when the pressure begins -- nursing is your friend!

murph04

Everyone has already given you some good advice about gate checking the car seat. You can also gate check the stroller. We flew with Nolan two weeks ago and had no problems. If you're flying out of the new terminal at RDU, it is very family friendly, including a "Family" lane at security (we entered that lane and were bumped to the head of the security line) and new "Family" restrooms throughout the terminal. 

One lesson I learned: Don't go overboard packing the toys. I packed a whole bunch of Nolan's toys in his diaper bag, and I maybe pulled out two during our entire time in the terminal or on the aircraft. In the terminal he was more interested in looking around at everything, and on the plane he just snuggled up against me and fell asleep for the entire flight.

GL and have fun!

lalabee0425

I just flew with Keira and she did great! She is about the same age as your DC). I did not take a stroller---I had her in the carrier the whole time. This made security awesome. (Mom had a stroller waiting for us when we got there). Ditto on the toys. Don't take too much, only a few of them. We were glad we had one that played music as this was calming to her the one time she cried. Thankfully, she only cried on 1 flight out of 4, and only for 5 mins. She snuggled up on me and slept the whole time. It did not work feeding her during take-off due to timing. She did suck her thumb or a paci though, and the pressure did not seem to bother her one bit. Do take a few toys though and bottles. Not sure if you BF, but I ended up giving her bottles and BFing her throughout the day, due to timing. You can take breastmilk with you, but make sure it's in a separate container and let the people at security know you have it. They did not say a word to me about the milk or the cold packs I had.

mrsNnearly

We just got back from our first plane trip and it went great. Luke pretty much slept the whole time both ways. He was asleep before takeoff on the first flight so we left him undisturbed and I woke him to eat during the landing so we would be ready to roll when we got to the airport. We brought his car seat and stroller b/c we have the travel system and were able to gate check everything at no charge so it made it easier to have our own stuff. Luke is only 2 months though so he doesn't love the carrier yet.

GL with your trip! Try not to be too nervous. We were pleasantly surprised at how smoothly everything went and how nice the other passengers on the planes were. I am sure your DD will do great!