Anyone have know of any good traveling resources? We're taking our LO on a flight to Florida when she's 8 months old. It'd be great to have some helpful tips on how to make it a successful trip!
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OMG, we flew to Florida last month when LO was 6.5 months old. It was a 3 hour flight, which wasn't too bad but getting to the airport, waiting, etc. took a long time and ended up right smack dab in the middle of LO's "nap" time. Of the 3-hour flight, she slept for the first hour. The rest of the flight was all about keeping her entertained, passing her back and forth between me and the hubs, giving her snacks (mum-mums), breastfeeding, etc. It's exhausting but not too terrible.
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Yay for coming to Florida! Where are you going in FL? I haven't had to fly with LO, her first flight will be when she's 11 months. So I'm excited to hear responses!
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@rubies- ya know, I remember reading that you were going on your first trip there. And I meant to ask you how it went. I'm glad things turned out so well. Being exhausted, I'd say, is better than traumatized by it all. Did you nurse her during take off? Did it seem like she was bothered at all by the flight?
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@artbee- we're going to Orlando. We'll only be there for about 3 days in total but we're looking forward to it... for the most part. I think after our first flight, assuming she responds well to it, I'll be totally at ease traveling with her. But for now, I'm nervous. That's why I'd love suggestions!
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@BabyLove: She fell asleep before we even took off! And coming home, she fell asleep in the middle of the flight. In terms of being bothered, not at all (except for being a tired crankypants). My ears pop like crazy but LO didn't show any signs of being in pain or anything. I ended up nursing her just to see if she would settle down a little bit.
How long will your flight be?
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Time the flight so it fits in with LO's schedule. I flew long haul and then a bunch of US domestic flights with LO when LO was almost 6 months. LO didn't seem bothered on take off or landing but I made sure I was feeding then.
Much like rubies, we found the getting to the airport, waiting around etc more of a pain than the actual flight. If you can check your stroller at the gate it is much easier. We took a smaller fold down stroller. Also we put LO in the baby bjorn after we checked the stroller and for when we disembarked. So much easier for us both to have our hands free.
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@rubies- oh that's so good! I must be such a relief to know she can fly without having any issues. I tend to get motion sickness quickly so I'm hoping she doesn't take after me. The good thing is that the flight is only a little under 3 hours, not too long.
@cupcakemama- having the baby bjorn is such a great idea. That way we don't have to lug around the stroller. We have a little stroller too but I'd love to not have to worry about it until we get to Florida.
I wonder too about the carseat though. We'll be renting a car to get around and so obviously need that. I wish we could pack it! But, obviously we cannot. What do people do?
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I wouldn't worry too much about timing the flight according to naps. Sometimes kids get really stimulated with all the movement and noise, so even if they are supposed to sleep, they won't. Just fly when it is convenient for YOU because you've got to be awake and calm to deal with whatever happens.
Since you asked about the car seat, you can either check it like regular luggage if you have a good bag or box, gate check it like a stroller or bring it on board. If the airline has an empty seat, they are supposed to let you bring the seat onboard, but they're not obligated to move people around so you can sit together.
We have a seat we use just for travel, the Cosco Scenera. It's super light, narrow, inexpensive and easy to install. We always buy a seat for our son now, but at three months, I would have probably just had him as a lap child. In that case, I would have gate checked the car seat.
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@BabyLove: We brought our car seat...AND the base! It gets checked in.
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@rubies- Oh! That makes sense. I assume there's an additional charge for it?
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@BabyLove: So, the base (which weighs a million pounds) isn't required as long as the car you're renting has the buckles/clips necessary to fasten the carseat in place. But for the sake of convenience, we brought the base with us. There is no extra charge for it to be checked. As for the stroller, we have a travel system and it was an additional $25 for it. The airline we flew with offered free storage of strollers only if it was an umbrella stroller (which they failed to mention in the fine print).
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The first year our DD was alive, I think we flew with her every 6-8 weeks! We had a Graco infant car seat and bought the snap on stroller frame (doesn't have a seat, literally just a frame for the carseat) and gate checked both items when flying. It was so convenient (for us) to have the stoller up until the last minute because we shoved things underneath, DD had a place to nap, etc.
Gate checking is free and your things are usually waiting for you when you step off the plane on the other side.
If you check the stroller and/or car seat, it *should* be free. They're considered necessary items. -
We have hired a car seat with the rental car before. Mainly because the car seat is kind of the straw that breaks the camel's back in terms of how much cr@p we seem to have to cart around with us. However, we have used a convertible car seat with LO since birth rather than a capsule.
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