We are flying to PA in the late summer and trying to figure out the logistics. So, if you've flown with an infant, can you answer some questions for me? Ellie will be 7.5 months old when we fly
1. Best time of day to fly?
2. Buy a 3rd seat or have a lap baby?
3. Try to fly direct or have a layover? (if we fly direct it will require driving to SFO, which adds more time anyway, although we may drive to SJ the day before)
I should also note that we are making the trip with our ILs as part of the wedding celebration for my SIL. So, its possible if we decide to fly from SFO that we could fly WITH the rest of the family, so maybe if there are 6+ adults, we won't need to worry about the 3rd seat? Would this make a difference to you?
Re: Flying with an infant questions...
1. Nap time
2. For that long of a flight, I would buy a seat, you will all be more comfortable.
3. Fly direct
Ummm.... we're flying TOMORROW! Eek! I've received a lot of great advice already, but I can't wait to see what's offered here.
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Haley Beth ~ March 3rd, 2011
At 7.5 months, I would try to schedule flight around naptime (so nap will be onboard with awake before and after) and go non-stop with the family. It's safer to have baby in their own seat, but I can't see baby being happy in their own seat for that flight (and $$ it's not there for me...I know, I'm bad, putting $$ before safety)
We didn't get the extra seat, for a number of reasons. For one thing, Baby H HATES her car seat. She still screams every time she's in it. So there's the most obvious reason, along with the fact that we don't have an extra $400 for the seat. Also, we're flying Southwest, and since you board on your own, if the plane is not full, we'll get to have an extra seat for free. I know that most flights these days are full, but we're crossing our fingers.
I will definitely let you guys know how it goes and what I recommend. We have a pretty fussy baby, and I think it's safe to say that I'm more than apprehensive about this trip tomorrow. But we're going to Wisconsin to see my parents, so at least I know that at the end of the flight, there will be two grandparents there to entertain Baby for a while!
PM me for our family/baby blog
Haley Beth ~ March 3rd, 2011
You guys got my hopes up for lots of responses!
GL flying M!
~~ married 8.11.07
~~ DD1 1.16.11 ~~ DD2 1.3.14 ~~
~~ BFP3 12.22.15 MMC 2.29.16 @ 13 weeks ~~
~~ 2 D&Cs (3.1.16 and 3.10.16) for MMC
~~ BFP4 10.27.16 MMC 1.23.17 @ 16 weeks ~~ D&E 1.26.17 ~~
right now, i have no idea when nap time is! She is not a reliable napper yet.
~~ married 8.11.07
~~ DD1 1.16.11 ~~ DD2 1.3.14 ~~
~~ BFP3 12.22.15 MMC 2.29.16 @ 13 weeks ~~
~~ 2 D&Cs (3.1.16 and 3.10.16) for MMC
~~ BFP4 10.27.16 MMC 1.23.17 @ 16 weeks ~~ D&E 1.26.17 ~~
2. Buy a 3rd seat or have a lap baby? I'd do a lap baby at that age. If you can swing it, first or business class is super nice because there's room on the floor for the baby to play, move around. We've done that a few times and it's been awesome.
3. Try to fly direct or have a layover? (if we fly direct it will require driving to SFO, which adds more time anyway, although we may drive to SJ the day before)
I'd try and fly direct, especially if you may spend the night in SJ. Having extra family to help is a bonus too.
Married August 22, 2009-TTC #1 since 1/11
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PS -when we flew out 3.5 weeks ago we flew in the evening (left her at 3ish, landed 8ish Dallas time) and this morning we left DFW at 7:20 central and landed at 9:20 pacific and there was NO NAPPING either way. Too much playing. Thank God for his own seat. I would have gone BANANAS having to entertain him in my lap.
1. Best time of day to fly? I would fly early morning. It's a long flight so you're sure to hit naptime somewhere in there and I would want to be at destination and settled by bedtime.
2. Buy a 3rd seat or have a lap baby? Buy a 3rd seat. For safety reasons (my mom was a flight attendant so I've heard horror stories) and comfort I think it's best. My guys both hated the carseat, but I put them in for take-off and landing and it was also nice when they got tired of being held. They didn't hate the carseat in the airplane quite as much as in the car because you are right there to talk to and play with them.
3. Try to fly direct or have a layover? (if we fly direct it will require driving to SFO, which adds more time anyway, although we may drive to SJ the day before). Fly direct, no question.
I should also note that we are making the trip with our ILs as part of the wedding celebration for my SIL. So, its possible if we decide to fly from SFO that we could fly WITH the rest of the family, so maybe if there are 6+ adults, we won't need to worry about the 3rd seat? Would this make a difference to you? I'd still want the seat for LO for safety, but would like traveling with the other adults for the extra hands/bit of a break for you on flight.
I traveled with DS a handful of times between 2 and 6 months. By myself. I found the following helpful:
1. Timing didn't matter too much. DS has never been a good napper. I even took him on a red eye around 4 months and that was no problem.
2. I like flying direct. But that was pre-mobility for DS and traveling by myself.
3. For nursing, and especially if you don't buy an extra seat, I liked having my boppy.
4. I have yet to buy DS the extra seat. But most flights had an extra seat for him anyway. Just check in with the gate agents a couple of times before boarding.
5. People will help you. I have been helped by TSA agents. businessmen, the pilot, etc. People who saw I was traveling with a baby, especially by myself, would ask how they could help.
6. DS looooves people and entertained himself on the plane by making friends with everyone around him. Especially the guy behind us playing peekaboo with him.
7. Since DS was still is his infant carseat, I brought his seat and the stroller frame for it. Brought them right up to the plane. Kept the carseat if there was an extra seat on the plane for him and otherwise gate checked it. Always gate checked the frame. If no seat for DS, I found an Ergo or other baby wearing device helpful for getting on and off the plane.
8. Nursed for takeoff and landing. Nursed anytime he was fussy.
9. I packed light on the plane. Just brought what I needed for DS and just a book to read for me. But mostly I was busy entertaining/feeding DS.
10. Most planes have a changing table over the toilet in atleast one of the restrooms. Just look for the sign telling you that restroom has it or ask the flight attendant.
That's all I can think of.
I'm taking DS to Europe this summer as a 13 month old. Stopping on the east coast for a few days each way. Hoping all goes well...
Can you tell I just flew this morning?
We've flown a ton of times back east (my family is all in Florida). The first trip, DD#1 was 8 weeks old. She now has flown more times than I can remember. DD#2 flew for her first trip at 3 months.
Always schedule a flight during naptime. We typically end up with a layover. It's not too big a deal, they are usually quick with getting the stroller back up in the jetway. Plus, if you're traveling with a bunch of other adults, a layover won't be tough.
We've never purchased a seat for our under-2 kids. They cannot be strapped to you, per FAA regulations, but FYI - car seats have to face forward. Not only will a convertible seat not fit rear-facing, but the flight attendants will say you have to put them forward facing. Occasionally we've been on a flight with an extra seat, but that really hasn't happened in a while. Seems like the airlines are all booking them up solid.
Good luck!
If DS was fussy, I would take him out of his seat for takeoff and landing to nurse. I assumed the fussiness was due to pressure changes. If you don't feel comfortable taking baby out of seat, then a bottle would help.
I rear-faced our britax boulevard this morning and it fit and no one told me to switch it. I always RF them. In fact, she moved the guy in the seat in front of us to an empty row so he could recline his seat if he wanted.
Oh cool! Our marathon definitely wouldn't fit (on the flight we were on). And glad you didn't have the same experience as us! After the first time we tried to get it in RF, and the flight attendant said we had to turn it around, we never tried it again. So nice that they moved the guy in front too!
1. Best time of day to fly...depends on your child. Naptime is good, evening (bedtime-ish works too)
2. I didn't buy a seat for Emmy until I had to (over 2 years old). I flew with her to San Diego at 6 months old, Hawaii when she was 13 months old, Seattle when she was 16 months. She was great for all of those flights. The Hawaii one was the only one we did red-eye/late evening because it was a long flight. But you never know how red-eye flights will work out, at 2 years old we flew red-eye to Dominican Republic and she did not sleep the whole way! Not a fun flight. For us the seat thing even the couple of times where we had a spare seat because of low attendance on flight we didn't use. She wanted to be in our laps passed back and forth unless she was napping and she did that on us for the flight.
3. Direct is easiest but I know can be $$
yeah, it just barely fit, I can see the bigger ones not working.
and I had the NICEST flight crew this morning. My faith in American is *almost* restored.
We're still taking the train to Seattle in the fall, though. Hello, Bar car! ;-)
hi there! we've flown about a dozen times with Ms. B, so I'll throw in my two cents. We've done it just about every which way (direct, layover, multiple layovers, extra seat, no seat, etc). The most helpful thing I have found is to sit at the very back of the plane. If she gets fussy, I just hop on back to the restroom area and chill out for a few minutes. The stewards have always been accommodating and some even help distract/play with her. My second best piece of advice? Bring a change of clothes for you in your carry-on. I got spit up on pretty bad on one flight and had nothing to change into.
To your specific questions:
We've flown at all times, but never a red eye. I don't think we ever will. I know I expect to sleep on a red eye and I don't want to chance having a fussy baby on a plane full of people who expect to sleep.
I prefer to have her own seat, but we haven't always purchased one. We usually cross our fingers that there are extras. It's nice to have her strapped in her carseat, but honestly, it's very hit or miss - sometimes the carseat makes her even more unhappy and she spent most of the trip in our laps.
If you get along well with your ILs and they will be an asset, then I'd recommend flying with them! We've flown with family and it's been a lifesaver - we play pass the baby for the flight, they help carry baby luggage, etc.
Thanks everyone for all the helpful tips! Now I need to bookmark this post so I can find it in the future. (Emmie - love your tips about footed PJs and an overnight diaper! We'll probably use disposables for the trip instead of cloth)
I'll let you know how it goes! And I'm sure I'll have more questions as we get closer
~~ married 8.11.07
~~ DD1 1.16.11 ~~ DD2 1.3.14 ~~
~~ BFP3 12.22.15 MMC 2.29.16 @ 13 weeks ~~
~~ 2 D&Cs (3.1.16 and 3.10.16) for MMC
~~ BFP4 10.27.16 MMC 1.23.17 @ 16 weeks ~~ D&E 1.26.17 ~~
oh yes - plane and long car travel are the times when we use 'sposies. I can't imagine accomodating a wetbag in the carry-on. And then you never know how long until you can get it washed...just easier not to.
We really like earth's best, but they don't make an overnight - so we used huggies for that. On my long, skinny boy - if that makes a difference.