Air Travel after C-Section

anonymous · September 2012

My H's job just transferred him to an office across the country, but it couldn't have come at a crazier time. It's a long story, but our lease runs up on this place on 6 January and I am due on 15 November.

Assuming the baby comes on her due date or later, the baby will be 5-7 weeks old and, either way, I didn't want to try to take a newborn on a five day car trip across America. So, my mother has asked me to fly to her place (in FL) and stay while my husband and his father make the drive with our cars and a moving truck.

The trip to my mom's is 6 1/2 hours long (which includes a layover for about an hour), but I won't have any help past my husband helping me check my luggage. My pregnancy has been healthy and there aren't any signs, yet, that I would need to schedule a c-section, but an emergency c-section looms out there as a vague possibility.

We have the option of extending our stay, here, just in case but it will likely cost us somewhere close to 3K for the extra month. The worst part is that, if we plan to stay the extra month, I have to let the leasing office know a full three weeks before my due date. So, we don't have the option to wait until she's born to make a decision. We're trying to make an educated decision, but don't know what we're doing. Opinions from people who are experienced with this would be immensely helpful.

For those of you who have been through the procedure, do you think we're cutting this close? Does the trip seem reasonable? Does anyone have any experience with flying after a c-section or advice to help things go smoothly?

TIA.

uncharch7 · September 2012

doable? yeah. ideal? not really, but it's not like you have much of a choice.

i had a fantastic recovery after an unplanned c/s (pushed for 2.5hrs before they made the call). even if you did have a complication or rough recovery, i still think it's doable.

my bigger concern though is bringing an infant that small into one of the germiest places on earth. DS was born in december and if we went out shopping or to a public place, i wore him in the moby for the first several weeks. people were less inclined to try to touch him since he was right up against me. something to consider...

one thing i'd also do is do all of your research with flying with a baby prior to birth and make notes. what do you need to do with breastmilk/formula, what you'll need to do with getting through security by yourself and all your stuff, etc. those first few weeks (at least for me) were a pretty big haze... notes i had made prior to giving birth were great since i didn't have to concentrate on much.

ladybugpjb · September 2012

I flew with DS from HI to TX when DS was 1 month old. We had two stops, and the longest flight segment was about 5 hours. I had one of my friends with me - she had flown out to HI specifically to help me out since I was moving temporarily and had a TON of stuff. We flew at the very end of September, so not in the middle of cold/flu season like you will be. I flew three other times with LO by myself before he was 7 months old.

As long as you plan well (and don't have complications at birth that would give you a hard/long recovery), it's totally doable.

-Give yourself at least thirty more minutes at the airport than you would usually take. If you take a carseat or stroller through security, you have to get a gate-check tag for them at your gate, so you don't want to be standing in line for that when they call for family pre-boarding. (Unless you're taking your carseat on the plane - then you don't need the gate-check tag.)

-Plan out how you're going to get through security. Know the rules. Don't take a giant stroller because they are hard to fit through the x-ray machine while trying to hold your baby. If you wear LO, they shouldn't make you take him/her off.

-Pack as lightly as possible for your carry-on -- you don't want to be trying to lift a ton of bricks into the overhead bin, and you don't want to have to be digging through it to get what you need.

-If you are pumping, it really sucks to lug the pump around for air travel, but they shouldn't count it as an extra carry-on. BFing is easiest for air travel because you don't have to worry about a pump or bottles.

-Keep essentials easy to access on the plane - have a diaper, wipes, pacifier, bottle (if you're using them) in a smaller bag that you can easily get to on the plane. Also, get yourself a bottled drink at the airport - it's hard to hold a baby and have your tray down in your lap to hold a drink, but you need to stay hydrated.

-Make friends with the flight attendants, and accept help from other passengers if you're comfortable doing so.

anonymous · September 2012

Thanks for the advice, ladies. This makes me feel a lot better. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't pinning myself in a corner with this trip. I appreciate, too, all of the advice for getting through the airport.

Thanks,again.

MichelleL1118 · September 2012

Just a note - if you wear LO, you WILL have to take her off to go through the x-ray machine, because the carrier (moby, bjorn, ergo, sling, whatever) has to go through the big machine. But, I recommend wearing her until the last possible second. If you're flying out of a major city, they should have a special lane at security for families & people with special medical equipment - it moves slower but they EXPECT you to need the additional time. And if they don't have that, they'll probably let you go through the first-class passenger security line. I was about 4 months post-c/s the first time I flew with DS, and had no issues. I had a really easy recovery, though, and was back to my normal workout routine by 6w post-c/s (with dr. approval) so even with a c/s, you should be able to fly with minimal issues.

ladybugpjb · September 2012

MichelleL1118:
Just a note - if you wear LO, you WILL have to take her off to go through the x-ray machine, because the carrier (moby, bjorn, ergo, sling, whatever) has to go through the big machine. But, I recommend wearing her until the last possible second. If you're flying out of a major city, they should have a special lane at security for families & people with special medical equipment - it moves slower but they EXPECT you to need the additional time. And if they don't have that, they'll probably let you go through the first-class passenger security line. I was about 4 months post-c/s the first time I flew with DS, and had no issues. I had a really easy recovery, though, and was back to my normal workout routine by 6w post-c/s (with dr. approval) so even with a c/s, you should be able to fly with minimal issues.

From the TSA website: "If a baby is carried through the metal detector in a sling, additional screening may be required even if there isn?t an alarm."

I carried DS in a front carrier, not a sling. I had to ask to leave him on, and they let me know I would have to be screened - all that consisted of was testing my hands for residue, though they initially implied I would get patted down.

If you opt for the carrier/sling, you might have to ask to leave it on. They might frown (because then they have to take the time to screen you), but you're allowed to do it.

RayRay007 · September 2012

ladybugpjb:

MichelleL1118:
Just a note - if you wear LO, you WILL have to take her off to go through the x-ray machine, because the carrier (moby, bjorn, ergo, sling, whatever) has to go through the big machine. But, I recommend wearing her until the last possible second. If you're flying out of a major city, they should have a special lane at security for families & people with special medical equipment - it moves slower but they EXPECT you to need the additional time. And if they don't have that, they'll probably let you go through the first-class passenger security line. I was about 4 months post-c/s the first time I flew with DS, and had no issues. I had a really easy recovery, though, and was back to my normal workout routine by 6w post-c/s (with dr. approval) so even with a c/s, you should be able to fly with minimal issues.

From the TSA website: "If a baby is carried through the metal detector in a sling, additional screening may be required even if there isn?t an alarm."

I carried DS in a front carrier, not a sling. I had to ask to leave him on, and they let me know I would have to be screened - all that consisted of was testing my hands for residue, though they initially implied I would get patted down.

If you opt for the carrier/sling, you might have to ask to leave it on. They might frown (because then they have to take the time to screen you), but you're allowed to do it.

I've always carried DD in an ergo-type carrier through security and have never been asked to take her off or had extra screening. I'm in Canada though.

OP, barring unforeseen complications, I think you should be alright flying on your own with LO at 5-6 weeks PP.

capulet · September 2012

I flew across the country with both kids about seven weeks after DS was born. Three flights with long layovers. I carried him in an Ergo and brought nothing else except a diaper bag (and I think a backpack, which DD can carry but often wants me to take when we're traveling). At that point I had sufficiently recovered from my c/s that I don't remember even worrying about it and it didn't cause me any problems. I think you'd have to have a pretty awful c/s recovery not to be able to fly with a baby a month and a half later, give or take. Also, newborns are way easier to travel with than older kids, in my experience.

Want a personalized experience?

Air Travel after C-Section

Re: Air Travel after C-Section

Choose Another Board

Search Boards