Traveling with a 1 Year Old

We strapped the carseat into the stroller and wore the toddler in a backpack. It worked great and we were able to put carry-on bags under the carseat and in the basket under the stroller. Have the big boys use backpacks for their carry-on items so they'll have their hands free to roll a suitcase or hand their baby brother a toy. If the toddler get stoo fussy, put him in the stroller and lengthen the straps on the carseat as far as they will go. That should be enough for you to wear the carseat as a backpack.

I found it easier to put the bulky carseat where the kid goes in the stroller, and carry the kid! You might even be able to fit more than one piece of luggage in the stroller along with the carseat. A one-year-old is still light enough to wear in a baby wrap if you can borrow one for the trip, or just pack light enough so everything you would need to carry fits in the stroller. Have the 10-year-old push it. Is it a stroller? No, it's a luggage cart!

I would call the airline and arrange for someone to help you through the terminal.

Yes, you'll be a packmule! Last trip we took via plane, I was pushing a child in a stroller, pulling a suitcase (I think I somehow attached it to the stroller) and had two large tote bags to carry on each arm. Not fun. Check out the website for The First Years. I'm pretty sure they have some products to help carry a carseat through the airport. Good luck!

It wasn't easy'but I did it with my daughter when she was 9 months...by myself. I pushed with one hand and carried the car seat with the other. They can check the stroller at the gate. St least you have your 2 kids to help. Have a great trip.

I remember having a little man in one of my day care classes whose parents traveled a lot with him. They had this nifty car seat that was also a stroller. It was not much bigger than a regular umbrella stroller, but it folded up easily into a car seat. They said it saved them a lot of headaches in the airports. I wish I knew where it came from, but maybe a quick google search might help.

I found a link to what I was talking about....
http://www.nextag.com/Lilly-Gold-Sit-and-80348280/prices-...

It is a little pricey but if you will be traveling a lot it might just be worth it.

I bought the go go babyz. It is wheels for the car seat. Check the stroller with your luggage and use the carseat as the stroller. It worked wonderfully. The wheels come off the seat easily to install on the plane. On the plane ride home, I left the wheels on the seat and it still fit nicely into the seat.

You use the stroller to help you carry all of your things and then check it at the gate. the older boys are totally capable of holding their own bags....pack light.

Do you need the car seat at the other end of the plane ride? If not I would leave it at home. I have traveled the world with my boys since they where born. (I am a military wife and have been overseas for 12 years) You do not need a car seat on the plane, they tend to take up a lot of room and are difficult to get into the small seats. Whenever possible I would have a car seat waiting at the final destination so I did not have to deal with one while flying.

i've traveled by myself with my 3 boys 5, 3 and 13 months quite a bit and the thing that saves me everytime are the wheels you attach to a carseat you already have. they are a lifesaver and everytime i travel people always ask me about them. if you do get them i would try to attach it before hand and roll around a little. it makes it like pulling a carry on and my little guys have always loved it:) hope this helps and good luck on your trip.

here's the website
http://www.safeandsecurebaby.com/GoGo-Kidz-Universal-Trav...

I purchased the go go kids travel mate that attaches to the car seat and turn it into a stroller. It was wonderful when I traveled by myself last year with my 1 YO and 6 YO.

If you travel often, I would recommend getting a "Child Aviation Restraint System." It is basically a belt system that turns the airline seatbelt into a 5-pt harness. I have one for my sons and LOVE it. It eliminates the need to carry a bulky carseat (airlines check them at the counter for FREE), but keeps them securely in the seat. And it's tiny! You can check out their website at:
http://www.kidsflysafe.com/

They're a bit pricey, but easily resold once your son outgrows it. Good luck!

If you have a luggage carrier or cart with rolling wheels, strap your child in the car seat and strap the car seat to the carrier/cart. if you have to have the stroller at your destiny check it with the baggage. We don't travel with the stroller just our homemade car seat on wheels. My son loves it and people are constantly asking how we did that!

As CAWriterMom wrote- you'll be a packmule.. however- you have a 8 & 10 year old who can really help you. The 10 y.o is old enough to either help with the carseat or push the stroller- the 8 y.o can even push the stoller. Once you get to the gate & are boarding- the attendants will help take the stroller & put it below. The stroller will be readily available when you are getting off the plane. My SIL has 4 kids & made many trips on her own with 4 kids.. they all had a job to do in helping mom keep her sanity while at the airport. I have 2 boys- & the older one was always helping me through the airport when I'm searching for the ID & keeping my sanity.. it pays off in the end for them when they saw a happy grandpa waiting for them & nice Margarita for me :o) Happy Traveling :o)

This may help, depending on whether your son is still in an infant carrier or in a toddler seat. When I fly with my daughter it's usually just me, so I've had to figure some of this out on the fly. If your son is in a toddler seat you can use the "latch system" buckles to your advantage. If you hook all of the straps together on the back of the seat you can carry it like an over the shoulder bag. Leaving your hands free to push a stroller and carry a bag or purse. This also makes it easier as when going through the security checkpoint you have to remove the child from the stroller (God forbid you actually get to push the whole thing baby and all through). Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

There are all sorts of ways to attach a carseat to other things so you don't have to have it in your hand. I used something which is called "Cheeky Monkey Pac Back", which is basically a backpack frame that can snap straps around your car seat and hold it on your back, freeing your hands to push the stroller. (retails on Amazon.com for about $40)
Probably a good idea to look at reviews and see how well it matches with the car seat you have--it was a tight fit with my son's carseat, but the reviews told me to expect that.

There's also an FAA-approved carseat that has foldup wheels of its own, so it's a stroller in the airport and a carseat on the plane. Pretty cool, but only for a certain weight range. It's called Sit n Stroll, and I loved this when my son was small enough! But this is more expensive as an investment (like buying a nice stroller, about $250), so you probably only want this if you expect to travel with him a lot while he's this young.

There are also ways to attach wheels to your carseat, or to attach it (sort of side-saddle) to a rolling carryon bag. I haven't tried those.

Backpacks for the older boys.
The 10 year old can push the stroller and you can carry the car seat. The 8 year old is in charge of picking up anything the baby drops or needs until you are on the plane.
YMMV
LBC

Try one carry-on per child, your older boys can have backpacks and be in charge of them. You get a small umbrella stroller that would be easier to manage. You can then have the diaper bag and/or personal carry-on that has all your usual purse items as well as you carry-on snacks and whatever you need. You should be fine if you give your older boy the responsibility of pushing the stroller and one year old when you have the car seat in hand.

I just did this last week - flying to FL with my 4 year old & 2 year old. I actually put his carseat on the stroller. It seemed pretty secure, but just to be safe, I bought some bungee cords (at Target) and used them to actually strap the carseat to the stroller. It worked perfectly and getting through the airport/security was much easier than I thought. Also the bungees were easy to strap on & take off, and were small enough to store in my carry-on bag.

There is also a product that I saw on Amazon called "Traveling Toddler Car Seat Travel Accessory" for $14.99, where you can strap the carseat on to a carry-on piece of luggage. Then you can just check your stroller (most airlines its free). This also seemed like a good option, but I tested out strapping my carseat to my stroller at home and it worked great, so that's the option I went with. I also liked having the option of the basket under my stroller, in case one of the kids got tired pulling their backpack (advice I got from a Mom on this site).

The whole idea of getting through the airport & through security, while lugging our stuff - and - keeping an eye on both kids, was really stressing me out pre-travel. But I practiced at home (also had my kids practice wheeling their little carry-on backpacks), gave myself plenty of time at the airport, took a deep breath, and was very patient. It really went off just fine and I found people were very helpful & friendly - most people said they'd "been there / done that"!!

Good luck with the travels - and have FUN on your trip!!! : )

I had this issue too, but with 2 kids and 2 car seats and 2 strollers, none of which connected together. What we did was to sit the car seat on the back of the stroller, another time we had the baby strapped into the car seat-just before we boarded the plane, and sat the car seat on the stroller to walk to the plane. They take the stoller at the gate and you get it we you get off. Most airleines offer pre-boarding for families with young children, and definitely try to be one of the last people off of the plane.