Flying with 3-Month Old

A.,
My son is now 16 1/2 months old and I have been flying to Az and back with him since he was 2 months old. At your baby's age, he will probably sleep the whole way..atleast mine did. And yes, make sure you give him a bottle as you are taking off for his ears..more than likely he'll go to sleep after. AS for your stroller and car seat...DO NOT check the stroller in at the baggage counter. You can actually take that to the gate with you. One you get on the plane, they will tag the stroller for you, and physically take it down to the plane themselves. When you land, they will bring it back up and when you get off the plane, your stroller will be right there waiting for you. As for your car seat, I have always tied mine up in some sort of trash bag (see through if possible)....that way the airline crew can still see inside, and your carseat won't get dirty. As for it being a "travle system", I think you can just take the whole thing with you until you board the plane. And then again, they will take it down and bring it up for you. GOOD LUCK!

S. S.

We flew when my daughter was around 6 months. We gave her a little benadryl before take off and right around take off she went right to sleep. As far as her car seat we put it inside two great big garbage bags and they were fine. And we just gate checked her stroller. You'll need the stoller for the layovers.

We are very active travelers with a 13 month old. We have been flying with her since she was 4 months old. I invested in a pricey solution to the car seat/stroller dilemma. It is called a "Sit N' Stroll". It is a car seat that has a bar in the back of it. When you press the bar, wheels drop down and it becomes a stroller. It has a comfortable handle bar that raises up. You can wheel your baby down the jetway, and then just pop the wheels up, and your stroller becomes a seat. Also, after arrival, we use it as our car seat in our rentals. It currently cost $250, but has been great for long trips especially. She sat in it all the way from KC to Hawaii, no problems. Obviously because of the price, it isn't for everyone. I would, however, recommend that you get a bag to cover either your stroller or car seat if you are gate checking. The baby items get very dirty in the cargo hold, and for around $20 you can get a cover at BRU. Our baby is a formula baby, and Similac is now making 8oz. travel bottles. You just have to put a nipple on them and they're ready to go. They've been a lifesaver...no mixing formula on the plane. Happy travels...we've had many with our little girl.

A.,

We took our daughter to visit her grandmother whe she was almost 4 months old. Here's some tips...
Take plenty of cans of liquid formula (if he's on formula). Airport security cannot limit that to 4 oz., and as long as it's in it's sealed original packaging it doesn't need to be refridgerated.
If you didn't buy a seat for the baby on the plane, gate check the car seat, that minimizes the risk of it getting lost or delayed (plus it gives you a place to set the baby if you get tired of holding him). We were going to take the stroller part of the travel system, but decided against it at the last minute. I don't know if it could have been gate checked. I know umbrella strollers get gate checked all the time.

We did take her pack-n-play to sleep in and it fit nicely in my husband's golf bag cover for checking.

If you don't want to gate check the car seat, you can purchase a cover for it at Target (I think by Eddie Bauer) for around $20.

Lastly, we tried to keep her awake while in the airport, gave her a couple of ounces of formular during take-off and she slept the entire flight. I did wake her up before landing to give her a couple more ounces and she did just fine. Once we got the rental car we found a back parking lot so I could breast feed.

If your baby has been congested, you might ask your pediatrician if there is anything you can get him for the flight, because that can be miserable during the pressure change. Unfortuantely they took infant decongestants off the market last fall.

Good luck.

You can buy a cover for the car seat, but we always gate check ours. We've flown with our 16 month old about seven times since her birth. Almost every time we were allowed to bring the car seat on the plane with us. You just need to ask at the gate if there are empty seats and if you can take the car seat. They always let you unless the flight is full. Definitely bring something for the baby to suck or drink or eat. They need help getting their ears to pop. Good luck!

We flew the first time w/ my daughter when she was 4 months old. I made sure she was a little hungry before taking off, that way she would want the bottle--or at least a binky. I brought lots of simple picture books for her to look at when she got a little upset, and when she was ready for her nap, I just got up and walked up and down the aisles w/ her of stood beside my seat and did knee bends until she fell asleep...everyone understands. I would recommend covering your stroller and carseat w/ a protective bag; they sell them at Babys R Us. We didn't do this, and they destroyed our stroller at KCI. Also, check them right before you get on the plane so that when you deplane, they'll be right there for you. Good luck!

Hi!
Here is my quick advice to protecting your travel system. I have always carried the car seat part into the plane with me, so easy to keep track of. The stroller part, I have always tried to gate check- then I could use it as long as possible. Saves your arms! I have found that the parts of the stroller that get damaged the most is the canopy and the tray across the front. Take off the parent tray and cupholders and such that are removable. Then fold up the canopy and wrap it in saran wrap. Sounds silly, but keeps it from getting dirty, scratched or bent out of shape because it is now stuck folded up. A couple of layers of cheap saran wrap is all it takes. If you kind of stretch it as you wrap it sticks really well. I also wrap the kids tray. Although it is usually removable, I leave it on because without it you can't clip on the infant seat. Even with the saran wrap, you can use the stroller exactly as before- except the canopy. However, as soon as you get out of the airport you just rip it off and you are ready to go. Hope that helps, I have seen lots of strollers coming off the luggage belts missing trays and with bent canopys that opened during storage.
As for traveling with a kiddo, well, the nice thing is that once you are on the plane, you have nothing to do but keep them happy. You will have your hands free to rock and feed them whenever they need it. I have done lots of LONG flights (16 hours +) with my kiddo at various ages, and frankly, the plane knocks her out. Wouldn't hurt to travel with baby motrin in case her ears get irritated from all the up and down. Good luck!

Don't worry Mommy....he'll be just fine. One thing I suggest is holding his nose & blowing into his mouth...IF you can tell he's just too cranky for some reason. It helps me when I fly for my own self, so just keep that in mind. You can roll the stroller up to the door of the plane & they'll check it for you....JUST MAKE SURE YOU TELL THEM UPON ARRIVAL! I hope you have a safe & wonderful trip, good luck & God Bless!