Hellobee Boards

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: How old is your LO?

we have travelled with a car seat, it was convertible seat by Britax and LO was 3 at the time. It really was a big pain in the butt and the now that she is 4 we will avoid bringing her carseat on the plane. if necessary we will just check it at the gate.
If you do decide to take it on the plane then just try to get on the plane earlier than the others and as you board ask for a seat belt extender which makes all the difference in attaching the carseat to the plane seat

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: oh i see are you planning to gate check the stroller? I havent travelled with LO on a plane that young but I do know people that gate checked the seat and just had a lapseat for their baby

That's a tricky one! I think you'll want your baby to be comfortable as possible for the drive there... I would have said do lap baby with cheap seat you can check... I think if either of your seat is "lighter" I would use that one and just buy a seat for him on the plane (hopefully company will) to make it worth bringing. I don't know maybe this advice sucks! Lol

I would ask the company to rent you a car for the return trip. I imagine a single time installing the car seat would be so much simpler than flying alone with an infant and gear. Plus security, long waits. If the drive was less than 7 hours, I'd drive.

You could practice a few times installing the seat before you leave so you aren't doing it alone on the road for the first time. It's a good skill to know anyway.

Do you really think your company would buy an extra ticket for your baby? None of my employers would have done that - they don't pay for family members to travel with employees.

For a 9-hour drive, I would rather fly and I would luggage check the seat. We have a travel car seat which is small/skinner than our usual seat and it doesn't fit down a plane aisle unless the plane is a huge one. It's a PITA and not something I would want to deal with alone with luggage and an infant.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: do you have any friends with slightly older babies who aren't using their infant seats anymore? I know you only have the convertible seat but this is one instance where an infant bucket seat would make things a lot easier. If anyone could lend you know (obviously you wouldn't buy one just for this) you could borrow or pick up a second hand snap and go.

If not I would go with driving with your regular convertible seat, either one, and just carrying him on as a lap baby. I know at that age both my babies would prefer to be held anyway and nursing on take off and landing is really good for their ears. I wouldn't bother attempting to bring a huge seat on board, and I wouldn't want to do a nine hour drive with a new unfamiliar travel seat.

Have you looked into renting a car seat? Then you don't have to schlep yours back, but I know sometimes the rental seats can be questionable.

No matter what you decide you should familiarize yourself with installing your car seats. It's really not as hard as you think once you do it a few times and you never know when you will need to.

Honestly, we have checked the NextFit a handful of times, and it's heavy enough to be a pain in the ass just doing that. We have a travel bag, and it always takes some finagling with the recline to get it to fit right....and we have been accused by the gate agent of putting a lot of other stuff in with it because it weighed so heavy (to be fair, there was an extra pack of diapers in there with it...but 98% of the weight was the actual carseat!). It's great for everyday use but SUCH a beast for travel.

We have light/inexpensive carseats now for travelling that are both easier and that I don't care if they get checked and banged up.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: We just bought the Evenflo Tribute LX car seat for just airplane travel. Purchased through Amazon Prime. It was only only $49 shipped! The car seat is 9 lbs!

We have Diono convertible car seats (which they are still in the Chicco Keyfit infant seats), but after my sister flew with her Diono car seat and the airline lost the $250 seat... yeah, I would rather just get a cheap travel car seat.

I got a Cosco Scenera Next for a similar purpose.

@bluestriped bee: The Cosco is made in the USA and Walmart shipped it for free.

@honeybear: Oh, I didn't know, it is made in the US, as well. I do know the Cosco Scenera is a Walmart exclusive model. I try not to go to Walmart because it's always crazy and the other part is their business practices. (Though, Amazon's warehouse practices aren't perfect, either.) I do buy from Walmart if they have things online and shipped.

Oh, I needed it shipped within two days so Walmart shipping was too slow. So Amazon's two day prime shipping won.

I just flew with a 4.5 month old. It's way easier than driving. I'd carry LO on and check the seat. I personally wouldn't want a car seat on a plane-- it's way more hassle than its worth.

Cosco scenera next. Hands down. For this trip and those in the future. So easy, so lightweight, so safe. Easy install too. You should force yourself to learn how to install car seats. It's not difficult, will make you more confident, and will prevent problems in the future.