How to Avoid Airtravel Nightmares for Mommy and Baby

I'm a flight attendant. The CARES is good, but I would consider this as well. Although the car seat is a pain to get to the gate, it allows your child to sit higher in his seat. If there is an entertainment system on the seat in front of you, he will be more "eye to eye" to view it. The same if the monitors are throughout the aircraft. Also consider if you think the carseat is overall more comfortable than a passenger seat. Most kids seem to sleep most comfortably in their car seats...I can't say the same for a passenger seat.

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hey Kristi:
I travelled to Florida in last December with my 8 month old from Ohio. It was a 1 hour journey and with a changeover between flights. I had decided to take him on my lap. I had planned on taking him in the car seat but that ws too expencive. I cant say about CARES because babys usually are not comfortable in new environment. My baby really gave me a hard time.Since I breast feed him I had him constantly latched on to make him go to sleep. I think you should take along your car seat as this would make him comfortable and you can always carry his stroller along so you dont have to carry the bulky car seat.The flight hostesses keep the strollers with them at the entrance so you dont have to go through the hassel of storing it. I think new seat may make him fussy,so you may wanna think about it.Keeping him in your lab is not an option coz its a long journey. Make sure you have all his favorites food and toys with you.

I am planning to go to India this summer with my baby,I dont know how I am gonna manage that!!

Good luck to you!!

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Hi K.,
We just got home from a trip to California from Ohio with our 16 mo old. We've been traveling w/him since he was 6 weeks old, sometimes both of us, sometimes I'm solo. My advice is DO NOT bring the car seat on the plane. It will take up a lot of space in his airplane seat, and he's going to want to crawl around a lot during such a long flight. The child restraint system is all you need to keep him safe for take off and landing.
We bought a "sit and stroll" car seat that has wheels that fold up into it. You use it as a stroller in the airport, and then it becomes a really great car seat once you reach your destination. Can also be used as a seat for feeding him in. It's around $200, though, so it's a big ticket item. But definitely worth it if you can afford it. We convinced my parents to buy one for us for Christmas. :)
-L.

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K.,

Don't bother trying to carry along his car seat--I tried that once. It is just another big, clumsy thing to tote and its base was TOO WIDE to fit in the airplane seat anyway.

Kids like presents, so when I went flying with our 2 little boys, I used little paper bags to "wrap" presents that they could open now and then. The gifts were things like little cars, a set of index cards and washable markers, a small book, some stickers, some multi-colored paper clips, a couple finger puppets. I also packed a bunch of snacks. The headset and ability to change channels for the sound system entertained for a bit (though I did have to keep turning the volume down).

Basically, the way to be least frustrated, is don't even intend to read, watch the movie, or sleep. As long as you don't have any hope of doing anything for yourself, your trip will be fine. Likely when little one finally goes to sleep, you'll be landing. And exhausted. And sticky from the lollipops and spilled food. You will have made three new sympathetic, former parents of little kid friends, and one grumpy solo business traveler non-friend who just cannot believe fools travel on airplanes with little kids and why can they not keep them in better control.

Be sure to take pictures of the little guy to show him later. And take his favorite blanket, stuffed toy, whatever. Carry your stuff in a backpack. It will all be fine.

Best wishes,
K.

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I haven't used CARES but I can tell you that taking off and landing can sometimes hurt a baby's ears because of the changes in pressure. Have him suck on a bottle or pacifier during those times and it should help. I've heard that this has the same effect on a baby as an adult chewing gum if his or her ears are bothered by the pressure changes. Also, be sure to take things along for him to do--books, soft toys etc., but please out of consideration for other people take only toys that don't make noise. Good luck!

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we traveled to Florida with our little guy when he was about 15 months old -- we lugged the car seat along but were glad that we did --- if you are renting a car, you can use it there, too. We also took his stroller and in the airport, we took him out of the stroller and packed everything else on it! It was like a leaning tower of Pisa... lol We also took the pack N play. It was nice having everything we needed when we were away from home!

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I don't know anything about the CARES but you may want to consider it if you get good feedback on it. Only because if you take the car seat you'll have to lug it around the entire trip which may be a lot more hassle than its worth. Especially when you'll already have a 1 y.o. to keep tabs on!

We've traveled internationally with our daughter since she was about 6 months (shes 3 1/2 now). Amazingly enough, she did better with the time changes than we did! They are very resilient. On the airplane ride I made sure to have lots of activities for her to do initially. Then I always encourage her to go to sleep very early into the flight. This way, when we land, she's had 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Then, once we get thru customs and get in the car to travel to where we're going she'd have another good nap. After that she's usually good to go.

Since you're going to Germany its not to bad. You're probably leaving the US in the early evening. If you can get your son to sleep ASAP he'll get a good chunk of sleep in before you land which is usually 7 a.m. (1 a.m. EST). Then let him take a good nap in the morning and he should be calibrated pretty well. I think you'll be surprised!

Good luck! I hope it goes well!

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I travelled with my son at about the same age, from Cleveland to SF, California. Not as long a flight, but still a good day's travel.

If your son is comfortable in his own car seat (and most are, I imagine), I'd use it. It'll be a measure of comfort and security when everything gets unfamiliar (except you & his special toys/blanket/etc.).

Also, depending on where you're going, you can use the car seat for driving around in Germany... again, comfort and familiarity being key, plus safety.

As for long travel like that, I gave my son a little decongestant medicine (recommended by his doctor & several friends) --- right before we boarded the plane --- then nursed him as we were taking off (helps with ear pressure) --- that way, he fell asleep for a good nap.

And being in his own seat would be great for you, because then you can sleep too, or read, whatever ....

Make sure you have a slew of things for him to play with (get enticed with!!) once he wakes up --- toys, board books, finger foods..... As he gets bored with one thing, introduce another --- have new things, too (they don't have to be expensive, just new!!)

I also took my son for little walks up & down the aisle of the plane, just to get him out of his seat & moving....
He made friends with all kinds of people -- you'd be amazed how little kids can make even grumpy-looking people smile & get chatty!! Many younger kids also get really friendly with little tykes...

Make friends, chat, explore -- it really helps the time go by...

One last thing - if (when!) your son gets kind of whiny, crying - usually because he's tired (but not at home to have the usual sleep routines), I stood kind of in the aisle & kind of by my seat & held him while rocking gently back & forth & singing a little song softly to him, over & over, until he fell asleep.

I had to try 2-3 songs before he kind of let me know which one he wanted -- by not crying so loudly! Some of the adults nearby thanked me later!!!

Sorry this was so long -- Good luck!

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I have traveled quite a bit with my two sons (including several international trips). I have always taken the carseat at this age! (And I hate to say it . . . but I think this is the most challenging age to travel with . . .)

If nothing else, it is a familiar space for your child. He is probably already accustomed to spending lots of time in it, so he might fall asleep better than just trying to get comfortable on the seat/your leg/etc.; plus it really is safer.

What type of carseat do you have? I found a way to attach the carseat in the stroller with velcro straps so I didn't have to carry it. It does take a litle longer at security to disassemble, but totally worth it to be hands free, especially with more than one child! This system works for our Evenflo Titan, but not the Britax Roundabout (too wide).

Some people have used Benedryl to help induce sleep, but definitely check with your child's doctor first. And do a test run beforehand, some children get hyped on allergy meds.

If you have access to a portable DVD with a long-life battery, I would recommend taking that with some videos like Baby Einstein.

And last, but not least . . . bring plenty of diapers! We got stuck a EXTRA 6 hours delay and used every last one we had with us! You can get food, you can get drinks, but it is difficult to find diapers in some airports!!!!

Good luck!

E.

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I have traveled a LOT with my two boys, (now 4 and 8) as I am from Scotland. I always got a seat and brought their car seat as I needed it on the other end. As I traveled alone, the best deal for me was the car seat/stroller combo from One Step ahead. The problem with car seats is that the child's legs are now in the right place to kick the person in front of them! The good thing is they are comfortable and familiar with the car seats as are the airlines. They may or may not (depending on the air crew) let you use CARES for take off and landing, which is when you really need the added safety . My husband is a pilot and has seen unrestrained children get hurt, so in my opinion, take the seat, (Or CARES) and keep the baby buckled in as much as possible. Also,if it's a European airline, they usually have 'baby belts'.
Trying to keep a 12 month old happy will be hard, but you will probably be flying overnight. I changed them into jammies , read stories etc to make it like our home bedtime routine and they went to sleep. (I heard Lavender helps calm them)I also bring a few new toys.
When you get there, take him out in the sunshine as much as you can and try and stick to the new food times and bed times. Wake him up from a nap and don't feed him in the middle if the night. After two days he'll be fine, we are the ones that take longer to adjust!
I hope this helps !

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I would definately take along the car seat. Not only would he feel more comfortable in a seat that he is used to but won't you need a car seat when you get to Germany??
Have Fun!!

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Hi Kristi,
I did alot of traveling when my son was small and I strongly recommend the car seat and stroller. The car seat is what they are used to and is very safe for travel. The biggest bonus was half the time he didn't even wake up as we changed planes. He just stayed in his seat and I would put him and his car seat in the stroller and then back into the next plane seat, usually without him making a noise.

The only problem I occasionally had was his ears equalizing.
I recommend your son drink from a sippy cup or bottle to equalize during descents. I also found these wonderful flying ear plugs that have small holes in them that automatically adjust the ears to pressure changes. See a local drug store! These work great and cut down on the noise level that the child experiences which lead to better sleep! Since your son will be nearly one, you may want to help acclamate him to the time change before you go by eating meals for 3 days before you leave at the same time you would at the place you are going. If you can also adjust your sleeping patterns it works even better! Their little tummies though help adjust their body clocks, even if you can't change the sleeping times before departure. They won't be as tired or grumpy.
Good luck and bon voyage.
N.

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I have used CARES. We went to Disney World in December with our 22 month old twins. They each had their own seat and we used the harnesses. You should ask to board early to attach the harness to the seat. It is pretty easy, but we were one of the last to board and the plane was taxing while we were still trying to get one of the harnesses adjusted. On the way there one of the flight attendants had to look up the FAA regulations on CARES. Since they are relatively new alot of crews haven't seen them. We had no problems and I felt like our boys were very safe. It was much easier than lugging 2 carseats around the airport, just check it if you need one on the other end.

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We've used our carseat for our many plane rides with our son.
We have a backpack to carry it in which helps a LOT with connections, etc... We like to use the carseat b/c he is comfortable in it.
Portable DVD players and new toys to play with and new books to read are great for keeping them entertained. Our biggest problem is our son refuses to sleep while traveling...and can get pretty cranky so we no longer go on super long trips!!

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I havent used CARES, however I have traveled with my 3 young children quite a bit on airplanes for long trips and the best advice I have is lots and lots and lots of patience! Have plenty of snacks, entertainment and patience. You can not control how he will be at any given moment during your trip so I would take a deep breath and try to stay as relaxed as possible. Oh... and I would have plenty of drinks available in a bottle or sippy cup, whatever he is using. I hear that helps with the air pressure. And lollipops. They also entertain and help with air pressure.
Good luck!

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