Traveling Question

When we've traveled, I've noticed families with young children bringing their car seats and/or strollers along. You might want to call your airline (or get online) and find out if you will have to check the baby equipment or if it will be stowed away for you once you get on the plane.

Yes, there's always a chance of loss or damage to anything that goes on a flight. But there's never any publicity about the many pieces that fly without damage. All the same, do you have a friend or relative in Chicago who might be able to lend you a good car seat? There's no harm in asking around.

2 things.. you can rent a car seat. Or birng yours

We are going to FL. but we purchased a seat on the plane. .We have a cover for it, and use that to bring through the airport. Most airlines let you put it at the gate, just like the strolller. With the bag, it will keep it clean.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2960524

You can always check at the counter if there are extra seats on the plane, and possibly just put on the plane with you as well.

Good luck

we bring the carseat and use it on the plane, the kids sit in it, it works out great. kind of a pain through the airport, but those travel bags work pretty well and they have wheels. plus he will be safe and secure and comfortable on the plane, and so will you. and you will have your own carseat that you wont have to worry has been damaged or compromised in some way. they will let you pre-board with it, jetblue even hooked it up for us, they know what they are doing, it worked out great. have fun.

We usually bring our carseat with us and check it at the counter. You can purchase a "travel cover" for around $30. We travel with ours 4 or 5 times a year and have never had an issue. Just be forewarned that they are bulky to carry, especially with luggage!

If you are renting a car, you can ask the rental company for a car seat and they will install one for you. They are not high-end, but they have the same safety ratings and are frequently repurchased. My sister is an exec with Enterprise and I asked her 1000 questions before agreeing to using one of theirs and their cars and carseats are maintained with much more stringent rules- probably more so than most of us! I know I don't "check" my installation on a regular basis and buy a new one after a set period of time.

Have fun!

We are traveling in June with a toddler and the plan is to bring his carseat on the plane for him to sit in, then use around town. If you don't want to bother lugging it around when it's not in use check out companies that have baby equipment that will deliver to a car rental v company, your hotel or the airport. Good luck! http://www.babysaway.com/

I wouldn't rent a car seat because it would end up being cheaper to buy one. What I did was buy the Evenflo Tribute (I think), it retails for around $70, but you can find it at Wal-Mart or use your Babies R Us coupon and usually get it cheaper and a cover for the car seat. This way if the airlines break it, I'm not out a lot of money, like I would be for my Britax. When we flew Virgin America the lost our carseat for 2 days (it never left Dallas), and they gave us a car seat to use until they found ours and it was a nice carseat and hardly ever used. They said that most airlines have carseats just in case they lose them. I take the carseat and check it at the gate. If you got your child a seat, you can also use the carseat on the plane. We ended up leaving the Evenflo at my parents in DC so that we have it when we go to visit, and bought a second one for when we travel elsewhere.