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Babies: 9 - 12 Months
EvenAngelsFall
member
If you've flown with LO, please come in!
EvenAngelsFall
member
We are taking our 1st family vacay in a few weeks. DS will be about 9.5 months old. Being me, I'm anxious! LOL Please indulge me with a few quick questions:
* Did you use your regular diaper bag as a carry on, or did you find something else worked better?
* Did you find your mobile baby was really upset about having to be held for so long?
* If LO just had a lap ticket, were you still able to check one suitcase for them free of charge? (Can not find this info on Continental-United's website.)
* Any other survival tips? TIA
Edit: I don't know if this impacts any answers or not, but our flight is international, about 5 hours long.
"If every word I said, could make you laugh - I'd talk forever".
This discussion has been closed.
Re: If you've flown with LO, please come in!
* Did you use your regular diaper bag as a carry on, or did you find something else worked better?
I like to use a backpack for travel
* Did you find your mobile baby was really upset about having to be held for so long?
It is a challenge to hold them still for so long. Try to schedule the flight for a time of day that they're usually in a good mood, or for during nap if you think you could get him to sleep
* If LO just had a lap ticket, were you still able to check one suitcase for them free of charge? (Can not find this info on Continental-United's website.)
I don't think so, but some baby items can be checked without counting to the limit - PnP, car seat
* Any other survival tips? TIA
Check as much as you can so that you aren't dragging too much in the airport. I like to have the baby in a front carrier and a backpack as my only carry on. Bring a blanket for baby.
~Working Mom~Breastfeeding Mom~Cloth Diapering Mom~BLW Mom~
Blog - No Longer on the DL ~ The Man Cave
Shawn and Larissa
LO #1 - Took 2 years and 2 IVFs ~ DX - severe MFI mild PCOS homozygous MTHFR (a1298c)
LO #2 - TTC 7 months, surprise spontaneous BFP!
We flew from our home in Germany to Boston, MA when our son was five months old, so it was a bit easier.
We did not check luggage for our ds, I didn't think of that, I don't know if you can do that.
I carried on a black tote with my things, and ds's diaper bag was my "one personal item". No issues there.
The key item I brought was my Ergo carrier. I wore ds through security so I had two free hands - one to pull my rolling luggage, one for my shoulder bag.
I also wore him on a short leg of the flight - two hours or so, and that helped him sleep.
DS born via unplanned C-section at 40w6d
I know how you feel...I was nervous about it too...it went really well though. We did this two weeks ago, LO had just turned 10 months.
1. Yes, we actually used our larger one so that we could fit toys and my wallet, etc. in it.
2. LO had actually been wanting to be held a lot, so it worked out. For a little while he wanted to switch between DH and I, but for the most part it wasn't bad.
3. I didn't know you got on free checked bag with UNited/Continental...we only checked his car seat, and two bags altogether...we flew SW, so it was all free.
4. keep a pacifier or bottle ready for take off and landing for LO's ears. Buy a new toy/book for the flight and snacks. LO will probably like looking out the window. Bring sanitizer wipes...planes are disgusting, and if your LO is like mine, he loves to put his mouth on and touch everything. (:/) Try to limit your carry-ons so you have more space...don't bother with a laptop or anything that requires room to use...it's not going to happen with the limited space.
Good luck!
We just flew last week.
* Did you use your regular diaper bag as a carry on, or did you find something else worked better? I bought a backpack style diaper bag for the trip but started using it a few weeks ago and will continue using it. It is/was soooooo much easier then carrying a diaper bag on my shoulder. I also brought a small messenger style purse to hold my phone/money/license/cards so that I didn't have to stick everything in the diaper bag and was totally hands free to push the stroller.
* Did you find your mobile baby was really upset about having to be held for so long? She was really happy and excited on the plane and didn't really cry at all so that was good, but it was definitely challenging trying to keep her occupied since she is extremely active. Luckily on the way there the seat next to us was empty so I sat on one end and my husband sat on the other and we pretty much passed her back and forth and let her crawl in between us. She also LOVED looking out the window. She fell asleep about 3/4 of the way there for about half an hour so and woke up right as we were about to land.
* If LO just had a lap ticket, were you still able to check one suitcase for them free of charge? (Can not find this info on Continental-United's website.) You aren't able to check a bag for them but they are entitled to a carry on item (ie diaper bag).
* Any other survival tips? TIA We fed her as we were taking off both times so that her ears didn't pop and she did great with that.
It's because we're platinum members... or whatever they've changed the name to since the merger. DH and I will each get one free checked bag, but I'm still not clear on if LO will get one or if he's even allowed to check one at all.
Thanks everyone for all the tips & advice!
I'm flying with LO alone in a few weeks and from what my friend's have suggested LO is ridding through the airport in her infant carrier snapped onto the stroller. I can put my carry on bag under the stroller and my diaper bag has clips for the stroller handles & i will essentially be hands free. All of the extra stuff can get stashed in the saddle bags of the stroller and go as a free bag! I'm gate checking the stroller and car seat, hoping i will get a curtsey seat for LO. Some people have had luck with measured water in bottles & the formula separate and others haven't. I spent the 15 dollar to buy a scale to weigh the bags that way I can make sure when I pack on the return home I won't be over weight. I also upgraded my checked luggage from 2 wheels to 4 which will make it easier to push a stroller and wheel a bag.
I read somewhere on a web site they suggest putting a few diapers & wipes in a bag then tucking it into the seat in front of you. that way if you need it during the flight it will be handy and easy to carry to the bathroom.
* Did you use your regular diaper bag as a carry on, or did you find something else worked better? I used my regular diaper bag, but I had 3 gallon ziplocks inside to compartmentalize. One ziplock had diaper supplies - diapers, wipes, changing mat. One ziplock had new toys - magna-doodle, new book, oball, winkle. One ziplock had snacks. So when we boarded the plane, I put my diaper bag up above and kept the 3 ziplocks under the seat in front of me.
* Did you find your mobile baby was really upset about having to be held for so long?My guy was great as long as he was sleeping, but he was fussy when he was awake. He wanted to get up and move around, not stay in his seat.
* If LO just had a lap ticket, were you still able to check one suitcase for them free of charge? (Can not find this info on Continental-United's website.) We didn't have a suitcase for him, so this isn't applicable. We packed his clothes in our suitcase, and checked his pack-n-play and stroller for free. (We gate-checked his carseat)
* Any other survival tips? If you have a carrier, use it! That was the smartest thing we did. I wore him through the airport which made me hands-free. I didn't have to take him off through security, just threw down my diaper bag and waltzed on through. I saw another couple with 3 kids wearing them all in carriers - mom had one on her front and back, dad had one on his front. We also got a bag for our infant carrier which also made things ridiculously easy. It had straps like a backpack, so DH wore that through the airport. We were both hands free and able to maneuver.
We are taking our 1st family vacay in a few weeks. DS will be about 9.5 months old. Being me, I'm anxious! LOL Please indulge me with a few quick questions:
* Did you use your regular diaper bag as a carry on, or did you find something else worked better?
Biggest regular diaper bag.
* Did you find your mobile baby was really upset about having to be held for so long?
Yes, she got squirmy. It was best when she was napping so i tried to keep her up beforehand so she would sleep on the flight. Also, having a window seat was helpful for a little more room for her to move around.
* If LO just had a lap ticket, were you still able to check one suitcase for them free of charge? (Can not find this info on Continental-United's website.)
I flew SW which is awesome, but they don't give you any extra baggage allowance. They don't count a travel crib or PnP toward your allowance, and if you need to bring one that would be worth checking on.
* Any other survival tips? TIA
I second PP's comments about something to suck during takeoff and particularly landing.
Instead of wearing baby I went through and gate checked the stroller and carseat. My baby is on the small side and still uses her infant carseat with a snap n go. This allowed me to keep her secure, not have to carry my bag and have a carseat ready to go on the other end.
Best wishes for a smooth trip!
DD is almost 10 months old (crawling and furniture cruising like you would not believe) and we (DH and I) just had a 4 hour flight this past weekend. We flew Southwest (due to baggage allowance and in this case, the method of seating works to our advantage-see below).
* Did you use your regular diaper bag as a carry on, or did you find something else worked better? We use our regular diaper bag - which is not a diaper bag per se, but a bag that I already owned and works well for us. The nice thing about this bag for travel is that there is a part of the bag that allows you to "attach" it to your suitcase. It's very big and a microfiber material that doesn't get dirty/is easy to clean. Foodwise, we brought puffs and a banana, both of which she consumed. Wipes are a must. She didn't really play with her toys since everything on the plane was so much more interesting (esp plastic bottles and cups). She loved to look out the window.
https://www.loandsons.com/the-og
* Did you find your mobile baby was really upset about having to be held for so
long? Not very upset, but she did get squirmy. We always sit in the back which works well for multiple reasons. See below.
* If LO just had a lap ticket, were you still able to check one suitcase for them free of charge? Yes, lap ticket. We flew SW, so I think you get 2 per person for free (can't remember bc we only do one pp, if that). If you fly SW i would suggest sitting in the very last row, since that will give you the greatest likelihood of getting an entire row to yourself. Having a baby is flier repellent. Not only that, the flight attendant is likely to try to maneuver things for you so that you get an entire row to yourself. There was only one empty seat on the plane, and we had it in our row. Additionally, this may be a con to some, but for our flight, only the bathroom at the front of the plane had a changing table. This will give you a good reason to traverse the plane, which DD really enjoyed. Last, the flight attendants will hang out in the back, and often provide much entertainment for baby. DD just watched them, and often, they would give her attention, which she loved.
On a previous trip, we flew Virgin and ended up with me in an aisle seat and DH in the seat immediately behind us. (We moved so that the two rows only had two people each - two middle seats were unoccupied). DD loved this since she could peek behind her and play games with her daddy.
We brought our umbrella stroller and gate checked it (does not count towards allowance). This worked out very well for us, especially since we would need a stroller at our destination anyway.
* Any other survival tips? TIA
If you nurse, try to sit in the window seat for more privacy. I just use an Aden & Anais swaddle blanket for a cover and as a blanket if needed.
If it's free, check as much as you can and really only carry the items you need. I kind of forgot about this since we didn't fly SW much before. Since I'm still bfing, we just kept the (chilled) stored bm in the checked bags.
Good luck with your trip!