Advice for Traveling with Child

My first piece of advice would be to bite the bullet and buy her her own seat and put her carseat in it. She's already used to the carseat and she'll probably sleep. If you can't do that, bring a backpack full of toys that she likes and snacks. I traveled internationally 7 times in 7 years with my two children. The first trip the oldest was 6 months old. We always bought the seat and she developed frequent flyer miles. We were able to fly to florida for free due to all the miles we had.

I just went through this! We just took a trip to Florida with our almost one-year old. I have to say that if it is at all affordable to buy an extra seat for the baby, do it. Part of it is I have a big baby, so if your baby is smaller it may not be as difficult. We kept him on our lap, but he is so long that he kept kicking the lady next to me, not fun. Plus we weren't able to put down either of our tray tables because he covered my full lap and half of my husband's when he was laying down.

Everyone is going to tell you to try to give the baby a bottle on take-off and landing. This is good advice if it works for you. For us, we could never time it quite right and the baby was generally demanding a bottle by the time we got on the plane, which is well before it actually takes off. Plus, the descent usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes where it is affecting your ears, and my child can down a whole bottle in under 5 minutes, so it didn't work for me. Luckily, his ears seemed to make it through okay despite our failed attempts and the fact he had a cold.

I brought with a couple of new toys that he had never seen before so that he would be interested, I packed a TON of different snacks for him, and a couple of his favorite toys. Plus, it is so important to have your diaper bag organized precisely so that it is really easy for you to find exactly what you need in a tight space.

I also highly recommend the Sit n Stroll which is a car seat that converts into a stroller. We found it invaluable on our trip because we didn't have to lug both a car seat and a stroller with us everywhere. The Sit n Stroll is the only thing like this so even though it's not perfect, it is still a great travel tool.

Lastly, just try to relax. Everything won't be perfect and it is possible that your baby will have a meltdown on the plane (mine did). But most of the people around you will be really understanding and won't be nearly as upset about it as you are.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!!

L.

Our litte one is not as big as yours and everyone has given great advice.
The only other things I would offer are:
Dress in layers, the planes can get hot especially if she is in your lap for the trip and you'll feel the cold on the way home. He also gets hot in the car seat so if you take that, you might want to take a layer off.
Take a dark coloured light weight blanket, if you need to make it a bit darker for more restful sleep then tuck the blanket into the traytable when it is up on the seat in front and wedge the other end either over your shoulder or on the seat back (tie a knot and place between the seats if they have their own seat). This can either be a specail play tent or help sleep.
Good luck on your flight and let us know how it goes.

I just came back from a 2 week trip to FL with 16 month b/g twins & survived with no carseats on the plane.

The trip there was perfect with little fuss but the way home they were tired & very whiny. I heard this same story from others that have traveled with little ones.

~Bring toys but don't over pack! They love to play with the magazines, window shade, sick bags & emergency flight instructions.

~I bought this .99 toy from wal-mart & my daughter loved it. It was ball shaped & made of suction cups so it stuck to everything including the little window. Don't bring too many tiny toys. You'll be bending over to pick them up the whole trip.

~Lots of munchies. I had no problem bringing the freezer packs with bottles filled with milk thru the airport. You just have to show them to security.

~Bottles, pacifiers or sippy cups should be used during take off & landing.

~One person told me to get gas drops to help with all the air build up. I didn't use them there but on the way home I did. My kids were both fine thru the take off & landings.

~One woman mentioned the security strap that connects you to your baby. Check your airlines website. Southwest will not let you use them & stated that it's against the FDA laws.

~We were able to preboard & when we left the plane my stroller was set up for us. That was a nice surprise!

~Are you bringing your car seat? I found Eddie B car seat travel bags at Tuesday Mornings for $6.99. Along with the car seat I stuffed all our winter coats in the bags so we didn't have to lug them thru the airport.

I think that's it! Good luck & don't stress about it like I did. You & your daughter will be fine & just have a great vacation!

My daughter has always been a big fan of pipecleaners (the colorful ones for crafts- you can get them in the craft section of Walmart or sometimes in the $1 store.)

Take a bag full and you can bend them into pretend butterflies, flowers, bracelets for her, link circles of them together, etc. and pretend with them like you would use puppets. They are VERY portable and since you will have her on your lap and closely supervising, you don't have to worry that she will be trying to put them into her mouth!

Just don't play with them before the trip so they will be something new and exciting for her on the plane.

How about a small MagnaDoodle toy? My daughter loved to watch me draw and write at that age and would scribble a bit herself too. There is no paper to throw away or crayons to lose with this toy either. You can find them at Walmart or toy stores for about $4 or so for the little ones.

"Peek-a-boo" books or lift the flap books were a big hit with my daughter at this age. You can check them out from the library- just ask the librarian and she should be able to find plenty for you!

Some pediatricians recommend giving a small dose of Benadryl before flying- it works to help their little ears from stopping up as well as makes them a bit drowsy. You might want to ask your ped. about this beforehand.

Have a fun trip!
-Amanda

First, I know that flying with a baby in your lap is cheaper, but I'd look into getting her a seat. You can take her carseat on board. Not only will it be safer, but you can buckle her in. We took our 18 month old to Disney and he looked at it as just another car trip. Make sure you have some interesting toys and books for her to look at--try going to Target or WalMart and pick up a couple of inexpensive things that she hasn't seen yet, that way they will be new to her and therefore more interesting than the same old stuff. If she still takes a pacifier, make sure she has it with her during takeoff and landing. The pressure changes can make her ears "pop". If not, she can suck on her bottle if she is still on one, or give her a sippy cup with a little water or milk in it. Other than that, I wish you the best of luck with her first plane trip. Have fun!!!!

We have traveled a lot with our very active son, who is now 23 months, and since he was about 14 months we have purchased a seat for him. Having him in his car seat means he needs to sit still and I think he understands that. But the best thing we have for traveling (and I am not big on TV watching) is a small portable DVD player which you can use for most of the flight. We play the Baby Einstein movies and it keeps him happy. We also bring small toys, books, and lots of his favorite snacks. Another good thing about the DVD player is you can hook it up in your hotel room if you need to occupy a curious little guy while you try and get ready : )

I frequently travel with both of my children, and have been since my first daughter was approximately 6 months, to see their grandparents (my parents). If your daughter still takes a nap, I suggest scheduling your flight around her nap time. I gave my children a bottle during takeoff (to help with their ears) and then found they would fall asleep during the flight. However, as they got older, I now bring with me LOTS of snacks and activities. For example, I bring crayons and paper, the Crayola Wonder paints/markers and coloring books (MAGNIFICENT), books, goldfish crackers, cookies, chips, lolipops, candy, etc. (preferably the individually packaged kind and especially treats they don't get very often, this makes it very special and exciting). I also purchased a portable DVD player and bring this along with their favorite shows (Dora, Little Einsteins, etc.) and this keeps their attention and keeps them quiet for a while. I reccomend letting them run around in the airport until the last possible second you have to board the plane. It is a long time for a toddler to sit still. Hope it goes well!

As a parent of an 18-month old who has traveled with her on a plane (numerous times), trust me when I say get your daughter her own seat and bring the carseat on the plane with you. I know it's cheaper to hold her in your laps, but I guarantee that if your child is over 12 months old she will NOT want to sit in your lap on an airplane. It's a pain to haul a carseat around in an airport, but they make very nice carseat covers now with wheels so you can drag it along like luggage. It is SO much easier to just put your child in his/her carseat for a flight than to constantly be wrestling with them to stay in your lap. Everyone who is sitting around you will appreciate it, also. Just bring lots of (dry) snacks and a variety of books/toys for entertainment. Good luck and have a great trip!

Just a few things I have picked up traveling with my daughter. Bring a couple new toys. She really liked the Aqua doddle collection. It is easy to pack and mess free. Also, be sure and give her something to drink on take off and landing. That will help with the pressure in her ears. Snacks are great and something to watch if you can manage it. Good Luck and have fun!!

M.

When we traveled with our 6 month old to Vegas, we bought a seat for her thinking she would be sitting in the car seat during the plane ride. The car seat got a very expensive ride as we spent the entire trip holding her on our laps, so smart thinking to skip the seat for your daughter! Now that our daughter will be 9 months old when we travel to Florida next month, we are forgoing the car seat and holding her on our laps again. Hopefully, after a bottle, she will sleep for most of the flight. Bring along a few toys to distract her. Have fun!

S.

When she was a little younger than that, we took my daughter on a flight to NYC. She slept a little in our arms on the plane and the rest of hte time just got a kick out of looking at all the people around her. She's a total people person, so it was great for her. When she was 13 months we took her on a flight to LA, which was super long so she had her own seat, but she did great. She slept for all of 45 min on the plane, but she was totally fine b/c we had books and an MP3 player (she was totally intrigued by the earphones and hearing the music) and crayons. We walked around a little bit, but mostly just sat in our seats and she was fine. Snacks are definitely key - fruit snacks, crackers, etc. The flight to Maine isn't too long (again we just went in Sept, but my daughter was 20 months at the time and sat on our laps and was again great with books and crayons), so a few things should keep her entertained for the duration.

We've taken our daughter to Florida twice now. Once when she was just over 12 months and again this past Thanksgiving (20 months). Both times I bought a seat and I'm glad I spent the extra money. Besides just feeling safer it kept her "contained" so to speak. My daughter is pretty easy going but she's like any toddler and loves to explore and see what's going on around her. I fear that if we had her in our laps she would have been driving us crazy wanting to get down and walk around etc. At least in the car seat she knew that when she's buckled in she isn't going anywhere and didn't give us too much trouble. Before the flight I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of cheapie toys that were new to her as well as crayons and plenty of snacks. By the time we had exhausted everything I had on hand we were pretty much on the ground. She did not sleep much on the plane and I just used her pacifier for the take off and landing moments and we didn't seem to have any ear trouble. My last trip with her was by myself to Florida (hubby couldn't get time off) and I was very nervous but we had her small umbrella stroller which they take and have ready for you right at the door of the plane and I had a carrier for my carseat that was like a backpack. In fact I think it's called Pac Back. This left my hands free to push the stroller and I just checked my bags in at curbside. It can be a little overwhelming flying with little ones but it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, especially when I was by myself. Goodluck!!!

We took our portable DVD player and all of our Sesame Street DVD's for our son when he was 15months old...he loved watching them. We went to Florida..so it was approx. 3 hours. Didn't buy him a seat, but b/c the 3rd seat was empty, he was able to sit in it when he wanted, but I would NEVER buy a seat for a child under 2. My son would never stay put in his own seat and they are EXPENSIVE for little ones who don't even use it much. Also, during take off, I let the little ones sip on juice, milk, etc. It helps their ears from popping. This April we're doing the plane trip with 2 little ones....now 3 1/2 and 16 months! I hope my tricks still work! Good Luck!

DH and I have taken lots of flights to and from Dallas w/ DD and I have done 2 on my own....if you can, get your little one her own seat...or if the flight is not full see if you can space out in the row. The one thing I love is a harness for my DD that she has on for take off/landing that clips to my seat belt....just in case of turbulance or rough landing it is good to have (it is from either one step ahead or right start, can't remember which)I also try to fly during nap times or after 7:00PM since she tends to sleep then....oh, and anytime we sit in the rear near the engine she is asleep in 15 minutes plus if she melts down...no one can hear her over the sound of the engine (at least not as much!)

Good luck and have a good trip!

Jen

Enjoy your trip! I traveled with our children two years ago to Florida and to keep them busy, we made sure we kept small toys, books, and coloring books in the carry on bag with us. They were both too busy looking out the window and enjoying the ride on the plane to get fussy so it may just work for your baby. Good luck. Make sure to have some of her favorite snacks, if they allow it for her.