Seeking Advice on Air Travel with a 7 Month Old

I 've been traveling with my 2 1/2 y daughter since 3 months old. It 's much better having the rental car with the carseat installed when arriving at the airport. Sometimes they even gave us choices. But some cheap rental companies don't have any carseats. So, I think, the best you can do is call them and make sure they have available the proper carseat for her age. Or check your carseat at the curbside.You don't need any bulky stuff at the airport.

I wouldn't rent it. You never know what kind or condition it would be in. I remember reserving one for my brother a few years ago on a trip to AZ, only to get there and be told that they ran out. The rental company couldn't/wouldn't do anything for us. I had to sit at the rental office with my brother while my mom ran to the nearest Target to buy one. We have checked it with our luggage, or used it on board for my daughter.

Check your carseat and take your daughter on as a lap-child. Unless you bought her a seat, she won't have one anyway. Anyway, at this age she'll be happier being held by mom and dad. I would bring a sling/bjorn/baby carrier for her while in the airport. (Personally, unless you have a compelling reason to, I would avoid bringing a stroller altogether. Alternatively, you can bring the infant seat - check the base and bring the carseat along with a Snap N Go if you want to have a stroller - then gate check them all). If you check the seat first thing it's not that much of a hassle - you just need to lug it to/from the car.

I always buy a ticket for my son when we fly, which makes a car seat on the plane mandatory. Graco now makes a car seat carrier for babies up to 30 pounds. I'm thinking of buying one when my son passes 20 lbs. since I already have the frame stroller. When I travel, i push the baby in the car seat carrier on the frame stroller. My carry on fits in the stroller, so my hands are free. Usually I check my larger piece of luggage. But, once I had to carry on all of my luggage and the baby and the car seat. With the kindness of strangers, it all worked out.

We have traveled with my son since he was 3 months old. I hihgly recommend bringing your own carseat (I know it is a pain) but you know it's history (ie involved in an accident) and it's clean. If you decide to rent a seat I would recommend bringing an old towel so you can slit holes for the straps so your baby isn't sitting in the dirty seat. Check it curbside so you don't have to carry it through the airport and ask the agent for a carseat bag to keep it clean. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

hi there-
i have traveled extensively with my daughter who will be 3 soon.
if you absolutely cannot bring the bucket,the airlines require
a seat until they are 2. so if you are bringing the convertible for the car, bring it for the airplane. i have done this many times alone and found the following helpful:
- if you pull the straps all the way loose, you can wear the seat like a backpack.
or.. if you are bringing a travel or fold up stroller, the straps of the seat will fit over the handles- ours never tipped unless we took our daughter out but we never tend to let go of it. this way, i checked the stroller at the gate and put the seat on the plane.(this is a bit bulky but doable for sure)
- this way we always have our seat with no worries or concerns
about the safety of another seat.
hope this helps!

When I traveled to Lake Tahoe with, at the time, my 15 month old son, we carried our covertible car seat through the airport. It was a total pain but I'm glad we did. Since we had a seat for him, we just secured the car seat into his seat and he pretty much slept in the car seat like he would when we drive. Much better than holding him and knowing that he would be fussy and trying to run around. I think we plan to buy that luggage system where you can secure the car seat to wheels this year when we fly to San Diego, except this time I will have 2 car seats to think about. First, did you purchase a seat for your daughter? If you did not, you can't take the car seat into the plane and will have to check it in obviously. If you bring your convertible check it in curbside so it won't be a total pain to carry through the airport. But if she sleeps in her car seat like my son does it will be nice to have on the plane since more than likely she will sleep for most of the flight. For us, it was worth every cent having bought a seat for him and having him sleep through the flight.

Unless you have purchased a ticket, yo will not have a seat for your daughter. Check the car seat and take the stroller to the gate and do a gate check on that. That way, you have something for your daughter to be in while waiting for the flight and luggage on the other end but at the same time you have a car seat that you can rely upon during your travels.

Hopes this helps. I did this several times with my daughter at that age and it worked wonderfully!!

D.,

We have traveled many time with our now 21 month son.
This product is the BEST
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

hopefully you can copy and paste that link. it is on the one step ahead site, the wheels that attach to a car seat and that serves as your stroller AND car seat while in the airport. It is the best purchase we have ever made for traveling. We put our umbrella stroller in a large duffle and checked it with the large suitcase. then we just had a carry on with all the necessities and our baby in his car seat on wheels.
When he was small enough to be a lap child we just took him out as we boarded and gate checked the seat. Now he is too big to sit on our laps, so we just wheel him on to the airplane, take the wheels off and put the carseat in his airplane seat - we love it.
good luck.

check the car seat but use an umbrella or small strudy stroller & get a gate tag & gate check it so you you have a way to get her around both airports & you have a stroller on your trip. Just tell them at the desk when you check the car seat you want to gate check the stroller.

We have traveled often with our 2 sons. Beginning around 6 months, (our big boys were both too big by then for the bucket!). We always purchase a seat for them, and we drag all the junk with us. It is a pain, but we have not come up with a better way. For shorter flights, a lap child is okay, but when your 7 month old is over 20 lbs that makes it hard. The seat is great on the plane so you have a place to put the baby if she falls asleep.
Now if you don't have a seat for her, and don't want to buy one then you have to decide if you are willing to risk checking your car seat. The airline will not take responsibility for damage or loss. We have rented car seats from rental car companies before and they are really fine. Thank goodness for universal government safety standards! Good luck and have fun!

I took my travel system through and checked it at the gate. I found that despite having to bring more through, you will glad you did. It's too hard to carry the baby, even in a carrier like the Bjorn and everything else. It get's tiring. I traveled twice from Chicago to Hawaii by myself when our baby was 4 mos and 6 mos old this past fall. If I didn't have the Carrier/Car Seat travel system.....I would have had a hard time. I even brought the Bjorn with and folded the stroller about 10min. before boarding so I could carry him into the plane and get settled while having my hands free for the baby bag and my computer rolling bag. It definitely made it much easier for me to have both available.

You will need a car seat to get to the airport. Are you parking at the airport or taking a cab? I would check the carseat curbside. The convertibles are all pretty bulky and heavy to carry around the airport with you. so I would check it. you may not need a base. you can use the seat belts instead to go through the car seat. As for renting one. It depends on what you already have as to whether it will be better or not. If you currently have the top of the market, Britax Boulevard with wings, then yes you likely won't get better at the rental place. On the other hand, they probably wont be that bad either as there are liability issues for the rental company. My choice would be to bring my own car seat and to check it curbside.