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Northern California Babies
Carseat and flying question..
Everytime we have flown with Darrian he has been a lap child. Now that he is over 2 he would get his own seat. I am thinking of flying with him on my own in July back to FL.
I really can't see me dragging through the airport two carry on's, carseat, stroller, and a 2 year old.
I am trying to figure out how to narrow down the amount of things I have to drag around. The carseat would be the hardest since his Britax is HEAVY and it would be a pain to take across country.
He doesn't HAVE to be in a carseat on the plane right?
My friend has two kids but doesn't have extra carseats, I would not be renting a car or anything. Would you maybe purchase one off CL for use while there then my friend could just sell it ?
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Re: Carseat and flying question..
Honestly, I would have your friend in FL buy you a super cheap one and use it while you're there- you'd likely pay as much if you rented through a car rental company. It doesn't seem worth the hassle, though a Gogo Kidz would make it easier.
The bare minimum: an umbrella stroller, luggage, and kiddo IMO.
I would not take a cross country flight with a child D's age without a car seat for that child to use on the airplane. It's a long long flight, and it is likely that your child will not fit properly in an airplane seat. In an emergency or even bad turbulence, the seatbelt is unlikely to keep him safely secured in his seat.
If you absolutely can not take his carseat on board with you for him to use, buy a cheaper seat when you get to your destination. I would not risk attempting to buy one from Craigslist -- trying to arrange a pick up and purchase would be challenging and if it wasn't up to snuff you'd have to start over.
We are taking a 16 hour+ flight in June when DS will be almost 2 (he'll turn 2 on the trip) and he will have his own seat. He will be traveling in his carseat on all flights and then we will use his carseat for the destination (lots of car travel). It's a PITA to carry it through the airport so we will either buy the GoGoKidz or use the rented luggage carts. We don't need his stroller at the destination so we are planning to leave it at home and either wear him in the Ergo at the airport or use the gogokidz with him in his carseat.
I flew alone with Eve to SC in January. She had just turned two and had her own seat. I checked her carseat and picked it up at baggage claim with our other luggage. Eve was great on the plane without her carseat and I think having the extra room to move a bit made it easier on both of us.
Her seatbelt fully tightened over the top of her and even during some turbulence, I felt like she was safe (or at least as safe as the rest of us on the plane). Being able to just take a carry-ons for the two of us and nothing else made a world of difference when traveling alone with her.
Most kids get one free checked item, so the carseat would be free. If you could get both your stuff and D's stuff into one suitcase then you'd only be paying to check one bag - much cheaper than buying or renting another seat in FL.
Did you worry about your carseat getting damaged in baggage claim?
I thought about doing this but worried about the seat getting banged up.
https://www.albeebaby.com/cosco-scenera-convertible-car-seat-22160atr.html
Cosco Serena on sale for $49.99. Can't do much better than that. I've seen tons of girls on the national boards that have this for grandma's car or whatever and really like it, they say it's not as padded as others but for this who cares.
That's what we bought for the nanny's car.
I personally wouldn't want to check a Britax carseat.
Fricksgirl let me borrow a carseat carrier/cover. I also checked her carseat for long flights when she was an infant. They would put the seat into a large plastic bag. It's always arrived on time with my other luggage and in the same condition that I checked it. I was worried the first time I did it, but haven't worried since.
Ditto - worst case scenario you could just have it shipped directly to your friend? I know PITA for her to store for a few months, but would make things much easier!
Yes I was thinking I would do it that way so I don't have to get it to me. I was just looking on overstock and they have one for $40 and shipping is free so I may do that. It actually is pink and flowery but oh well
.
Do a search on google for baby equipment rental in Florida. Not sure if you are comfortable using one of those companies, but it may be easier/cheaper then bringing your own.
Yay for a mother/son trip!!!
We flew Southwest to Chicago last October and braved the GoGo Kidz and both Britax Decathlons. It wasn't the best idea, but we dealt with it. In hindsight, I would've asked my family back there to see about borrowing two seats or just going thru the rental car company.
I would think that buying a cheap one might be best.
(BTW, I was also one that did not want to check my carseats---while the airline said they are careful not to damage them, I didn't trust 'em as far as I could throw 'em.)
I thought about using one of those for this trip but since we hope to got to Disneyland I still need my umbrella stroller so that won't work. I think ordering one there is my best bet, or my cousin might have one here I can borrow and check in where I won't be as concerned as checking the Britax.
I'm planning on getting this for when we fly. FAA says that carseats need to be 16" in width, and our carseat is much wider than that. The Cosco Scenera fits and it's cheap.
Photo by Zemya Photography
GoGo Kidz Travelmate