DD's first flight--should I bring her stroller, or just Bjorn?

MosersGirl

DH will be in Chicago for work this coming week, and since he has been going pretty often lately he invited us to join him this time.  DD and I will fly out and meet him Thursday.  One of my best friends lives in the city, so we'll get to hang out with her and her new baby as well.  I'm so excited! 

Anyway, on to my question...I will wear DD in the Bjorn at the airport, and wasn't planning on bringing any other gear.  My friend said she can most likely borrow a stroller from a friend for us to use when we're there (since she only has one for her DD).  Would it be silly for me not to bring DD's stroller for the trip?  I think we'll be fine once we're there, but what about at the airport?  We'll be waiting for about an hour, and while I use the Bjorn a lot, I'm not sure it will be comfortable to HAVE to wear her in it or carry her for at least an hour, as opposed to putting her down somewhere. 

Also, DH is going to check with the hotel (Marriott) later, but I'm assuming they won't have a pack 'n' play for us to use for DD.  We may try sleeping with her in between us in the bed (as long as it's a king), but that makes me nervous since we've never done it.  Any suggestions?  (My friend doesn't have one as they are in a tiny one bedroom apt and don't have extras). 

 

vtkgirl77

If it's a direct flight, I think you could get by with just the Bjorn if you want to travel light. However, for me, the Bjorn starts to hurt my back after a while so I liked having her car seat and Snap-n-Go with me just in case there are delays and we get stuck at the airport for a while. Also, I found it very easy to check the stroller and car seat by the plane door before boarding so it wasn't as hard as I thought to travel with it. You didn't mention but is someone loaning you a car seat? We have the Graco Snugride and it was super easy to install without the base.

Maybe try carrying her around the house for an hour or so this weekend in the Bjorn to see how it feels for you before making the decision. Good luck and let us know how it goes. That's great that you can join DH there and visit some old friends.

MosersGirl

My friend is picking us up at the airport in Chicago and she has two car seats.  Thanks for the help! 

Baby4OT

If you don't need it while you are there, I wouldn't bother bringing a stroller just for the airport. Between the baby, diaper bag, luggage, your purse, etc a stroller will be just one more thing to keep track of. Definitely check with the hotel on the PnP - we stayed at a Marriott earlier this summer and they had a PnP for us to use. One less thing to bring! 

Katiedid1806

Stroller! Most airlines do not charge for the baby gear (strollers, car seats, etc), and you can do gate check-in. You drop it off and pick it up at the gate. At some point in the trip, you will want the stroller. Take advantage of the gate option. really.

Katiedid1806

Oh, and look into shipping a PNP via UPS. It will be so worth it.

Artslvr

I know both of my kids didn't like to be "worn" for any real amount of time, so for me, a stroller at an airport is a must.  It's not that hard, IMO, to have it with you and have to check it at the gate. 

Agrippa

Stroller.  What if the plane is delayed?  You'd be stuck holding her in the Bjorn for much longer than BOTH of you would be comfortable with (if I'm recalling what most 7 month olds are like...)

Is she sitting up yet?  You could consider getting an umbrella stroller if you don't already have one yet.

claraj

STROLLER. It will give you something to hang all of your stuff (purse, diaper bag, etc) on. Plus, what if you have to go to the bathroom in the airport?

We had a layover in Minneapolis when DD was 7 months old. It was supposed to last for an hour. Our plane had mechanical troubles and we ended up spending EIGHT HOURS there. We were SO happy that we had brought DD's stroller with us. Otherwise, we would have been stuck carrying her around the whole time.

amh_navyblue

I agree with PP about the stroller--at 7 months, it really will make your life easier.  If you don't have an umbrella stroller, get one--very easy to travel with.  For the hotel room--hotels will put a crib in the room...I don't think it's worth bringing or shipping a PNP.

 

GL and have fun!

 

Alice

JKM416

I agree with others who suggest bringing (and gate-checking) the stroller.  That's what we've always done, and it does leave room to accommodate more contingencies: an unexpected delay, restroom trips, moving through the airport quickly and not being slowed down carrying multiple bags, etc.

 

We have always checked a pack-n-play as a piece of baggage.  Could your DH pack some of your and DD's stuff in his bags so you have one less piece of luggage to deal with?  Could he bring the pack-n-play with him?  When we tried to have DD sleep in between us as a baby a few times while traveling, it was always disaster.  Being in an unfamiliar setting + sleeping in a new kind of bed = none of us would get any sleep...she was so restless and fussy.  Thankfully we had the pack-n-play as a back-up (hadn't set it up because there wasn't much room).  Maybe your DD will adjust like a champ, but at least she's used to the pack-n-play (I assume).  One thing I don't like to take any chances with when on the road is everyone getting adequate rest!