Need Advice: Flying for first time!

beccalee721 · June 2013

I need any and all advice you can give on flying with a 10 month old. She's only 7 months now, and I don't know how she'll be (eating, mobility, etc) when she's 10 months. We're flying from Jacksonville, FL to Los Angeles, CA for a week to visit my husband's family. Is it worth it to get her her own seat? Any tricks you've used to keep your LO entertained for such a long time? Any advice on bringing a breast pump on a plane? We don't breastfeed anymore, just pump but we aren't supplementing with formula either. I'd prefer to not have to start supplementing just for this trip. I'm not even sure what questions I need to ask, any advice is welcomed!

MaggieF516 · June 2013

I've flown three times with my son and it definitely isn't relaxing at all, but we made it. I would definitely not get a seperate seat. She won't want to sit in it anyways. I'm not sure why you would bring your pump unless you were worried about it getting lost if you checked it, I'm guessing you wouldn't pump on the plane. I would check it and bring pumped milk for her. You can bring over 3 oz of milk, baby food, etc. They just check it when you go through security. I didn't check my pump bag once and carried it on and it was just one more bag to have to drag around. I would also make sure you bring some sort of wipes to sanitize the seats. I brought my son a few weeks ago and he was touching everything and got a cold after (his first cold ever). I would also bring a new toy or something "new" for her to look at. I would also get the diaper bag super organized with everything you need right there. You have no space and finding things is hard!

Latham12 · June 2013

If you can afford to get LO their own seat, I would. It's much safer and you could put them in their carseat. I know lots of people check carseats but they toss carseats around like crazy and once tossed, it's the same as being in a car accident, which means your carseat is no longer safe. If you don't buy a seat for your LO I would either rent a carseat or have someone meeting you buy you a cheap carseat. That's what we do. I wish I could have afforded to buy LO her own seat for our trip to Florida later this week, but since we couldn't, we are borrowing my aunt's carseat she has. Plus I bet my DD would be happier and less of a handful in a carseat!

allardr · June 2013

I like all this advice as I'll be flying with my 12m soon. I love the idea of a "new" toy. My LO is 10m now and I have to agree with lap. My LO would hate to be strapped in that whole time. I also did research and they suggest plane side check of carseat vs. regular checking. A little less tossing around.

Thanks for the flying advice!

beccalee721 · June 2013

Thanks everyone! I love the idea of a new toy! I'm pretty sure my husband will be good with whatever I choose (seat or no seat) because he knows I'm a crazy planner / list maker when it comes to new and potentially stressful baby situations.

jnnfrrose6 · June 2013

Just got back last night from a trip cross country. It was our 3rd flying trip and the longest. The flight out was tough because he was tired and wouldn't nap, but overall not too bad. Coming home was much easier (and I had to do it without my husband). We have yet to buy him a seat. I take his stroller with carseat (we have the kind where the seat locks into the base of the stroller) to the gate and ask the agent if there is room on the flight for us to bring his seat on. It's been a 50/50 shot so far. If it's a no, then it gets checked at the gate with the stroller. I have no interest in checking it with our luggage, I've seen them get banged around through the airplane window and at baggage claim. We do go ahead and pack as much as we can into one checked bag and just pay that fee and only bring on what we need for us and him on the flight.

We're still nursing, so I can't speak to the bottle issue. I would bring the pump on with you if it isn't too bulky. That's one thing you don't want to go missing if your luggage doesn't make it for some reason. Maybe just bring the pump itself, but pack the accessories as those are easier to replace. We do bring puffs and other things for him to snack on, you'll know what your baby likes by then, and for the longer flight an actual packet of baby food. I purposefully got the kind in a packet instead of jar for easier packing.

One thing I found useful this last trip was bringing along the mobile that attaches to his car seat. I was able to hang it off the hook for the tray and he played with it. I also used a baby carrier for the flight home and was able to get him to sleep on me with that and have my arms free for reading and my own snacking. I also agree with the PP about changing right before you get on the flight, and I would do it as soon as you get off as well. Newer, bigger planes do have changing tables in one bathroom, so ask the flight attendant when you get on. You may get lucky.

Overall as long as you are making an attempt to keep your child happy and quiet, everyone else around you will be ok with it. I know the worst flights are always the ones where the parent's don't seem to really try to control their kids, not necessarily the quietest ones.

beccalee721 · June 2013

Thank you for all the advice and especially that last part! I'm sure it's every parent's worst nightmare to be "that parent" that has the screaming baby on a 6 hour flight. But thinking back, it was always the parents who seemed to try to ignore their kid instead of comforting and trying to fix the problem (no matter how futile that attempt is)

We booked our flights last night and have about a 1-2 hour layover right at meal time (lunch and dinner) so hopefully that'll make it easier to keep her well fed and happy. And give us time to change her without trying to deal with an airplane bathroom.

Thanks so much everyone!

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