Air Travel..any Pointers?

we used the Baby Bjorn carrier on the plane and felt very safe with it. Also I used a bottle during ear popping moments to keep him swallowing. It seemed to work well.

First, congrats on both your marriage and on your babe. I agree with the advice that Gaby G. gave. Traveling with kids under 6 months is WAY easier than after that age. At three mos. they are still sleeping much of the time and you can nurse or give them a bottle. Depending on which, just make sure they have something to suck on (be that your finger, pacifier, bottle, or nipple) on take off & landings. We used the Baby Bjorn and opted for the car seat once; it was such a pain to deal with, that, unless you are traveling alone, I'd go without. It's not required. Having toys and books works well and extra clothes, etc. Always pack pj's as you never know with flights.
Have fun!

Hi A.,

My son is now 12 months old and he has already taken 3 trips to NJ. I will admit, the last trip back to LA after the holidays was really bad (I had to keep him on my lap and he would NOT sleep- he cried and was fussy for 4 hours straight!) Call the airlines and find out what their policy is for brining on the car seat. They most likely will tell you that you cannot bring it on unless you buy a ticket for the baby. Don't let that stop you. On both Continental and American Airlines I was able to bring on the car seat if there was an available seat next to my seat. Here's the catch, I had to have a window seat and if there was an available middle seat, I could bring his car seat on. I strongly encourage you to bring the seat with you. Actually, since you are probably not flying alone, this may not be a big deal. I am a single mom and flying 6 hours one way with a little one is very difficult. In regards to the ears, it's helpful to nurse her or give her a bottle for take off and landing. Another option is a pacifier, if she uses one. Good luck!

I always nursed on the take-off and landing and she was fine with her ears!

Hi, A.,

I've flown internationally and domestically with my babies, now 30 months and 15 months more than a dozen times. One thing that I learned on my last trip was that an FAA-approved rolling car seat does not necessarily fit in the aisle of all jets. (This can be a major hassle--hundreds of passengers were delayed while flight attendants and I tried to move my car seat!) I prefer to check my car seat or not bring a car seat. (I'd rather rent one at the destination, if at all possible. There's nothing like trying to single-handedly carry two babies, a car seat, a stroller and a few even small bags!)

Here are some tips that you might hear from other readers:
(1) bring an umbrella stroller to the gate;
(2) bring a change of clothes for you and your baby onboard in a place that you can easily reach during the flight.
(3) start the flight rested, if at all possible. The more alert you are at the beginning of the trip, the better the trip will be.
(4) reserve seats in a row that is unoccupied. If that is not possible, when you board, ask the flight attendant if there are any vacant rows that you and your baby can sit in.
(5) if you are bringing formula onboard, bring the type that is already mixed or comes in single serving packets. I've tried to measure and mix onboard while holding a squirming infant--not easy.
(6) try to change your baby within half an hour of boarding. The less changing you have to do onboard, the easier for you and your baby. Onboard changing stations inside airplane lavatories are not the easiest places to change babies.

Best wishes,
Lynne E

Hello. My husband and I took our 5 month old son (at the time, now he's two) to Hawaii, so I'm confident you'll be just fine. Our ped. told us to give him a bottle for take-off and landing to help with the pressure in their ears. That helped a lot. Trying a pacifier might help too. Also, just be prepared with toys to distract and change of clothes in case there is a mess. Good luck!

We've traveled quite a bit with both of our kids. We always bought a plane seat for them as it was much easier during naptimes to put them in a car seat, then you could eat, go to the bathroom, etc...

I always nursed on take off & landings and the kids have not had any problems with their ears.

3 month olds are easy, as she gets older be prepared to pack a lot more distractions.

Good luck & have a safe trip!

In addition to tips regarding nursing or bottle feeding during take-off and landing, the easiest is if your baby is sleeping during those times -- do not wake up your daughter to nurse/bottle feed if she's sleeping. Her ears will just naturally acclimate without the sucking and she won't even know that anything changed when she wakes.

A.,

A 3 mos old is very easy to travel with, we traveled with our daughter 2 times before she was 4 mos old on a 6 hour flight but total travel time was more like 10 hours. So here are some of the tips I will pass on if no one else has.

Check-in & Boarding:
Get an infant carseat travel cover. The carseat will get very dirty going through the x-ray machine as well as when it is in cargo.
Travel with your carseat and a Snap n'Go. you can take this right up to the gate and you check it once you are down the gang plank and pick it up at your destination before you get into the terminal. Very easy.
There is no need to have the carseat onboard with you. You can hold a 3 mos old very well on your lap. Challenge is going to the toilet. Where to put baby if you don't have the seat with you. Call the airline and ask if the attendants will hold the baby while you use the toilet.
Going through TSA Security is pretty easy. TSA will escort you to the front of a line or fast-track you so you don't hold everyone else up. Have the carseat in its bag already. If you can put the baby in a sling it is easiest, then take off the sling when walking through security.

Take off and Landing
If you are breastfeeding, ALWAYS keep your baby to the breast. It is best to make sure your baby is a bit hungry so that she will latch and eat vigorously while taking off and landing. Landing was much harder on our little one. If you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, have a bottle of water with you in case you are low on milk/formula. The point is you want to keep her sucking the whole time upon ascent and decent.
Be aware that cabin pressure changes, there is turbulence, so be prepared to have the baby sucking at these times as well. Our ride to VT in Oct proved to be challenging for me--our little one was at my breast nearly the entire trip since her ears had a hard time clearing between the little jumps in altitude.

Basics

CHanging a small baby of 3 mos can be done on your lap. Just take plastic bags with you to put the diapers in. Depending on the airline, changing a baby in the bathroom is really challenging. Change her before take off.
Bring small portable toys and things to chew on.
If you have an iPod put music on it that she likes, buy a pair of small portable speakers (Sony makes one that folds down and fits into your pocket). You can keep the music loud enough to entertain her but not annoy others....then again would passengers rather her music or baby crying??? :)
Make sure you have an easy access diaper bag. I travel with a Skip Hop and so do most of my world traveling mommy friends. I recent received the gift of a JuJuBe and this diaper bag is fabulous and I will be using this for travel.
Bring 2 changes of clothes for the baby, and extra shirt for you, extra diapers than you normally use, enough formula (if not breastfeeding) in case you have a 5 hour lay over, and a couple extra burp clothes.

Hope this was helpful.

L.

I have traveled alot with son and now son and daughter together most the time I was with out my husband. I am assuming that he will be a lap child...but I would still take his car seat and stroller to the gate and when you get there ask the gate agents if there are any extra seats on plane and if so could you have one. If the flight is not full they will try to help and then you might end up with an extra seat that you can put car seat in for naps, etc. 2/3 of the time this worked for me and if its full just gate check it and the they will be right there when you get off plane. And if you are flying southwest...sit in the window seat...no one ever wants a middle and you will end up with that extra seat unless completely full. (who would want middle and next to baby unless it was the LAST seat on plane.) Just be really nice to gate agents...they can do ALOT for you!!