Hellobee Boards

How wiggly is your LO? At 12 months, mine would not have been happy being strapped into a seat the whole time and probably would have spent most of the flight on our laps anyhow.
I think this also depends on how you time your flight- if you book a flight to start right around naptime, you may luck out and get LO to sleep in a seat the whole time so you and your DH can both pass out in your respective ways
It's not a terribly long flight, I'd probably just hold LO, but then again I don't mind flying and DH is cool with staying awake and dealing with LO as much as needed.

My kids end up in my lap anyway, I wouldn't waste the money.

PS I hate flyin and I find holding the girls very comforting

We flew our first flights with our LO (8 months old) as a lap baby on commuter planes. The first flight he bounced around between us and didn't want to sleep. We had a pacifier with him to handle the pressure. Those were the times he fussed a bit. On the way home, he bounced between us again, but we had the seat across the way free and the flight attendant was cool about DH sitting there and having two seats for LO and I. I found the lap baby experience enjoyable. LO handled it well.

Also, I packed LO's birth certificate and was ready to present it at the ticket counter and TSA. Both times, it wasn't necessary. The TSA agents love babies and we're super nice to us during that process.

I wouldn't buy a ticket for such a short flight. We've flown 6 times already with LO, sometimes she sleeps (rare), most of the times she plays with toys and tries to engage the people around us in a game of peek-a-boo. If a grandmother type is sitting in the row behind you, you're golden!! Haha we also do a lot of walking up and down the aisle so LO can see and wave at everyone.

On one flight there was an empty seat in our row so we sat window and aisle and tried to put LO in her own seat in the middle but she was having none of it and would only be good if she was being held.

So, long story short haha, id save the $$.

We have always bought an extra seat for LO - for us the savings isn't worth the safety trade-off, and as a bonus it's nice not to have to hold him for the whole flight.

@Mrsbells: yes, that's all there is to it. You are strapped in with your seat belt for take off and landing, but your child isn't strapped in at all. On some flights, they will give you a seat belt extender thing that you can use, but those are even worse IMO.

It depends on your baby, but I think I would just save the money, but also do the booking a window and aisle near the back trick, if you can. That way there is a decent chance no one books the seat in between you anyway-- are there any open rows of 3 available now?

This could be naive, but I'm not really that worried about the safety factor-- I won't get into the reasons why because it won't help, but I think you will be plenty safe holding her in your lap (or your DH, who should absolutely have to stay up with you guys!)

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: we don't let her annoy them. We only let her interact with people who initiate the interaction (last 2 flights two women started playing peek-a-boo and we asked them to tell us if they did not want to play anymore so we wouldn't bug them. Both said they were visiting grandkids so this was a "perfect warmup"). I don't want to be *that parent*.

If/when we walk up the aisle we don't interact with anyone, LO smiles and waves but she doesn't care if people wave back at her and she is quiet and doesn't touch anyone.

She will also just sit in our lap and play with books/toys and babble to herself most of the flight. Her attention span for playing games with people is only about 10 minutes max and we ask them every few minutes if she is bothering them and to please be honest!!

I wouldn't buy another ticket! Especially for a shorter flight...

Can you get bulkhead seating?

I voted lap ticket - no sense spending the $300 besides I think 1) DH should be told he has to stay awake and 2) I think cuddling may make you feel better.

Also - as someone who will likely travel with DD around 6 mos I am trying to figure out in my mind how there is an option other than them sitting in your lap? How exactly do you strap a child in to their own seat at 6 mos old? 1) I would think the strap could cause severe damage if there was a collision and 2) I would think a LO would just wiggle right out. So you'd essentially be holding them anyways? I understand the desire for having the extra space completely - but aren't you basically going to be holding a LO under say 12-18 mos anyways for take off?

Also - FYI on my last flight the attendant would not let the parents walk the aisle's with their baby b/c it was to be used for going to/from the restroom only - not for strolling. Not saying either party was right or wrong but some FA's are not so easy going!

@looch: @mrsjazz: ok makes tons more sense now - I was super confused and picturing a baby just chillin alone in an airplane seat.

I still vote lap certainly for a LO under 22lbs!

Good luck! I'm with you on being terrified of flying. When I travel alone its a xanax and glass of wine that does the trick- when I am around people and want to seem classier I stick to just the glass of wine!

I have bad airplane anxiety as well, and so I say buy the extra ticket! You can't put a price on feeling even a little bit better when you have flight anxiety. I know! I pretty much give myself no budget when it comes flying because just getting through it is a triumph!

I take my vote back. Normally I would say lap, but it sounds like that $300 will buy you peace of mind and an extra ticket, so I would do what it takes to keep you sane!