Traveling with 11 mo. old

steph20830

Any tips or suggestions for flying with an 11 month-old?  She doesn't sit still very well so I'm super worried about how I'm going to keep her entertained for a few hours!  How do you do formula and bottles?  What do you suggest carrying on?  I'd really like to bring our jogging stroller (a City Select) with with & gate check it...can I do this with this stroller?  I have the adaptor so that the stroller will hold her car seat.  Then I can pack the seat for the stroller in my suitcase.  Thanks!

baloneydisc

We took a 2.5hr flight with DD right after Thanksgiving.  I wore her through the airport, we checked her car seat and did not bring a stroller.  Bottles do not count towards what you can take through security, but you will still need to remove them from your bag when going through the scanners.  For carry ons, I brought her diaper bag and a backpack with books, puffs, and toys.  I nursed her during take off, then she played for awhile and fell asleep.  She slept for abut half of the flight.  On the way home we had a later flight (7pm) and she slept the entire flight.  

Are you purchasing a seat for her?  If not you'll have to check your car seat as well.  Check with your airline, you might also need to bring a copy of her birth certificate. 

MariJ1008

we traveled with DS when he was 7 months. it wasn't as bad as I prepared myself to be.  If you are able to purchase the necessary items when you land, I recommend doing that. trying to pack all the diapers, baby food, wipes, it's a lot and way to much to carry, on top of all the clothes and toys.

We were able to check the carseat and base with our luggage (it was considered as one piece of luggage, flew Southwest, so I had one suitcase and carseat and didn't have to pay extra) then we gate checked the stroller no extra charge either.

I was able to get through security with a couple of jars of baby food and one bottle premade. I didn't need more than that for our trip. Just have to take it out of the bag and they check it, didn't give me any problems. 

Brought lots of toys for DS for the plane, luckily it wasn't full, so we sat in the back and got lucky with an empty middle seat; that was nice because he was able to crawl around a bit.  He drank bottle when we left and a little when we landed so his ears wouldn't pop, and he did great. He slept for about half of the flight, the other half he was more interested in playing with DH iPad and Laptop. he was also really intrigue with staring out the window. overall it was a good experience!

good luck and have fun

footnotegirl

We have flown twice with our daughter, once at 4.5 months and once at 10 months. I'll talk about the most recent flight since it's more pertinent.

 We didn't take our car seat. We were renting a car while on vacation and simply paid the extra $5/day for the rental company to provide one. Less lugging, less space, less things to keep track of is important to us.

We did take a fold up stroller. This was used in the airport and gate checked just before getting on the flight. 

In addition to your 1 carry on bag and 1 personal item (purse, bookbag, etc) with an infant in arms you are also entitled to add 1 diaper bag on most domestic carriers. 

We also tend to go by the 'they sell things there' mantra, and only took the formula/diapers/wipes that we would need for travel time, and bought a pack of each upon arriving in our destination. 

 

noahchristopher

Our jogger was too big on one of the airlines (can't remember which one), so they made us check it and pay a fee.