No, we're not going anywhere with Arthur. Yet. ;)
A friend of mine just asked me for advice on flying with an infant. This is not the first time I've been asked about this, so I thought I'd go ahead and write this all out in one place so I can refer people to this post in the future. We flew with Eleanor to San Diego at 4 months old, to Cincinatti at 11 months old, to Puerto Rico at 14 months old, and I flew by myself with her to Greenville, SC at 19 months old. This is what I've picked up from my experiences and from advice that others have given me.
Your carry on bag
Be sure to pack extra diapers, an extra outfit or two for the baby, and an extra outfit for yourself. You never know when a nasty blowout can happen... Thankfully this comes from a friend's experience, not my own! ;) Personally I always try to pack at least one outfit for myself in my carry-on anyway in case my luggage is lost. And, if I can help it, I don't check any bags in the first place. If you're traveling with an infant you really don't need much else; in fact that only other thing I would take is a blanket that I can use as a cover when nursing and to keep the baby warm. If your child is older then of course bring whatever small toys or books keep them entertained. Avoid anything with multiple pieces, and try to bring at least one brand new toy that will keep their interest. And of course, if you fly on a plane that actually serves any kind of drink, you can ask for a cup of ice and let the kid play with one ice cube at a time on the pull down tray. They will be thoroughly entertained! Snacks can also keep toddlers occupied for a long time, and a favorite lovey or blanket is a must!
Arriving at the airport
Have a plan! Also, allow about 30 minutes longer than you would before kids. When we fly together, Hunter drops us off at the terminal with the car seat, stroller, and all of the luggage. Then he parks the car in long term parking and takes the shuttle back to the airport. Flying by yourself is much trickier though. I've only done it once and thankfully I flew out of a small airport where I could walk from the long term parking to the terminal. Believe it or not, that's much easier than carrying everything on and off of one of those airport shuttles with a baby/toddler in tow. I had Eleanor (19 months old) in her umbrella stroller and I had one suitcase on wheels that I could pull. I brought a bungee cord with me and tied her HEAVY car seat to the suitcase handle. It was a slow walk pushing the stroller, pulling the suitcase behind me, and stopping every 2 seconds to adjust the car seat, but it worked. Of course, if you're lucky enough to have somebody dropping you off at the airport then none of this matters!
Getting through the airport
Should you wear the baby or use a stroller? Personally with an infant I like to have both options. With a baby I like to check the car seat at the gate (I'll get to that) so I always bring along my stroller frame to get the car seat through the airport. Sometimes baby wearing is more practical or soothing for the baby though, so it's nice to have that option. When we went to San Diego I brought along my sling, which folds up and hardly takes up any space in a carry on. On the flight out there we didn't end up with a seat for her, so I wore her in the sling on the plane. I was very thankful for it when we went through some major turbulence! On the way back we flew San Diego-Los Angeles-Orlando and since we got seat for her on both flights I was able to leave her in the car seat the whole way. It was a red eye and she slept the entire time, even during our layover in LA. Plus she was safely strapped in when we had turbulence, and I was able to move around freely and even go to the bathroom on the long flight without a baby strapped to me. It's the little things, folks.
What about the car seat?
Unless you're lucky enough to visit people who have a car seat waiting for you at the other end, you have to take yours with you. With a baby, I like taking the infant car seat with me to the gate and not checking it because: A. You don't want your car seat to get lost; what will you do at your destination if you don't have a car seat? B. If you're not checking any other luggage you don't want to have to wait 30 minutes at the baggage claim just to get your car seat, and C. If you end up with an empty seat beside you on the plane (I'll get to that) you can carry the car seat on and have a seat for your baby. Just check with the worker at the gate right before you board to see if there are any empty seats around you so you know whether to carry the seat on or check it at the gate. If you don't have any kind of stroller that takes the car seat you can just carry it through the airport (no fun), or of course if you have a stroller frame or other stroller that it fits into you can just check the stroller at the gate. When Eleanor outgrew her infant car seat I did check her much heavier convertible seat. I was by myself and no way was I going to drag that thing through the airport.
How to get a seat on the plane for the baby
The best advice anybody gave me on flying with an infant is how to try to get a seat for the baby, but you have to have 2 adults flying for this to work. Of course, you can always buy the baby a ticket, but I've never done that. Assuming your airline allows you, choose your seats on the plane when you buy your tickets or when you check in and select one seat on the aisle and one seat by a window. The middle seats are always the last to go. If somebody does end up sitting in that middle seat, they will probably be more than happy to trade with one of you because they probably didn't want that middle seat in the first place. One time we had somebody in between us but there was an empty seat elsewhere on the plane, so the passenger kindly moved to the other empty seat and we had the row to ourselves. This has worked for us at least half of the time, if not more.
Eleanor on her very first flight
Be sure to give the baby something to suck on during takeoff and descent. You can nurse, give them a bottle, give them a pacifier, or with a toddler get them to drink from a sippy cup. This helps their ears to adjust to the change in altitude.
Feeding the baby
Flying with an infant (<6 months old or so) is easy because they're still young enough that they don't want to be up and moving around. They probably will want to eat more than usual though - Eleanor nursed practically the whole way to San Deigo, which was very unusual for her - so make sure that you have lots of water and snacks for yourself! I was extremely hungry and thirsty on that flight thanks to her nursing so much and we finally forked out $6 for a pack of peanuts or whatever it was. It's a pain because you're not allowed to take bottled water for yourself past security. They're completely fine with it if you have formula in your bag or if you're carrying on a sippy cup, but unfortunately they can make you throw away your water if you're "just" breastfeeding. I've had security officers let me carry it on, but I've also had them make me throw it away. It's ridiculous and unfair, but you can always just buy a bottle of water once you get past security. Make sure you get a big one, drink up, and top it off at a water fountain before boarding your plane!
I've only done this once so I don't have too much to share here. I normally try to carry on as much luggage as possible and avoid checking anything, but when I flew by myself I paid the extra $20 or so to check my suitcase. (I was on one of those airlines that charges for every little thing.) It was totally worth it because I was able to fit everything in ONE bag instead of trying to juggle multiple small bags by myself, and I didn't have to deal with a stroller and any big bags as I went around the airport. I just took one backpack as my carry-on and that was it. My flight was only about an hour long so I didn't have to deal with going to the bathroom, but I have friends who have even just left their kids with friendly grandmotherly type passengers while they went to the bathroom. It's not like they can go anywhere with your kid! Of course, babywearing would also help if you need to go to the bathroom in flight and have to take your baby with you.
No comments:
Post a Comment