suggestions on how to get a first time mom through the airport with a 10 month old?

Question

Ok, so my family has to go on an unexpected trip to seattle from Iowa it's a 6 hour flight! and I have never traveled with a baby before. My daughter is ten months old. I would like to have some suggestions on how to make this as peacefull as possible. Any suggestions on quite toys besides book's. Which I already have planned to take. and hand puppets.
Also has anyone ever used the car seat cover/carrier's that have straps on them to place it on your shoulders and the wheels to move it "easily" through the airport. should I even buy one or will it be a wast of my time and money? And what should I expect from the airlines. Are they normally pretty good with passangers and young children. I guess since that family got kicked off the flight for thier daughter crying to much a few weeks ago it has made me nervous. We will be flying alsakan airlines and no I am sorry I dont' have a choice on leaveing my daughter at home. I know some people are very against taking babys on flights. Thanks

thank you so much for the help and encuragment. Abby has just gotten tubes put in her ears yesterday and the doc said that she should do fine and wont have a prob with the ears poping. also she does pretty good in the car. she we coo for a while and then fall asleep after a while.

ooh and i read the airlines things on baby's but it didn't say if I needed to have her ss card or her birthcertificate. do I need those for her? since we need form of ID does she ?

Answer 1

Each and every airline that I have flown on has allowed me to use my child's carseat. My sons have been much happier being in a seat that they know. At ten months, it will be getting pretty tight to have your daughter on your lap. I had my oldest on my lap in a window seat on a flight from Utah to Rhode Island and it was the most miserable 5 hours ever. He was just too big at 9 months for us to be comfortable. Ever since, I have bought an extra seat for him. He is comfortable and can sleep and we are not squished together.

I bought a $15 luggage cart to attach my seat to. I attached it with the latch anchors and threw all my carryons on top. It worked out well. I also have a bag with wheels that I have attached to the stoller handle with my seat in it and pulled it behind us. Both were worth it to me while I was traveling alone.

You should be able to preboard with your baby and have extra time to install her seat. Her seat will take up a lot of room because it is rearfacing, but it will fit. The person in front of her may not be able to recline their seat, but it will fit. You will be asked to put her in a window seat so that nobody's exit is blocked in case of emergency.

BTW, cat-g-you- according to American Airlines website, it encourages the use of a child restraint for all passengers that fit. You can find their policies regarding child restraints here, on the page about traveling with children- http://www.aa.com/content/travelInformation/specialAssistance/childrenTraveling.jhtml#Seating%20Restrictions

HTH clarify and that you have a great trip! Just don't forget the drinks and snacks and you should be fine.

Answer 2

I have been flying with my daughter since she was very young and my husband works for the airlines. I believe there isn't anything wrong with taking a child along.

I would suggest making sure that she doesn't get much sleep before she flys that way when she gets on the plane she will be good and ready for a nap. Also I suggest bringing her favorite snack along, even if it's something you don't like to give her all the time. Do you happen to have a laptop with dvd compatibility or a portable dvd player. That is always great to have along...they really keep a baby busy. Even a soothing cd player with head phones is nice. I always make sure I have my girls fav blanket to snuggle with. I also pack a kids backpack with all sorts of interesting goodies that I only allow her to play with on planes so they never get boring...so maybe a few new toys that will strike her interest. Oh and remember that her ears might start to bother her at first so be patient. Sadly at that age you can't give her gum to help so maybe if she will let you you can attempt to put in ear plugs. Also once the plane is safely in the air if she starts to get irritable try letting her crawl/walk around. I see parents doing that all the time and in most cases other people are friendly and understandable.
Your not the first person to have a child on a plane and certainly not the last so fret not.

Answer 3

First, how does your daughter travel in a car? Does she fall asleep quickly, coo through a trip, or does she cry most of the way? This can give you a hint of what to expect on the plane. No, it's not the same, planes are louder and have the pressure issues, but this is a starting point. If she does not do well in a car, speak with your pediatrician about a dose of Benadryl for the plane (or have it for emergency).

Airlines are usually very helpful with babies and children (future customers). If you can't or don't get the sit and stroll, try a small umbrella stroller and carry the carseat. Call the airline ahead to see if they help with cart service to the gate in Iowa and from the gate in Seattle.

As for toys - small vibrating/pull toys that can attach to the car seat, a wrist/ankle rattle, or a 'crinkle' toy (a fabric covered toy that makes noise when moved). These made enough noise to keep my little ones busy and not disturb others around me. And as others have said - lots of favorite snacks.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

I've flown six times with my son since he was born and he's 20-months-old now. He's an awesome flyer -- better than some adults even! Pack as light as possible. Don't pack diapers except a few in your carryon. Buy them when you get there. Use a backpack instead of diaper bag and make sure to pack snacks, juice and a change of clothes. My son always sat on my lap, so I never took a car seat with me (we used one from rental car companies or my parents when they picked us up). When you get to the gate, see if you can get a window seat. Babies LOVE to watch everything going on. If the baby is still nursing, let him. It helps them stay calm, puts him to sleep and helps relieve pressure on his ears. If not still nursing, give the baby a pacifier especially for take off and landing, but even leave it for the entire flight. Airlines let you board first. Take your time and don't worry about the other passengers -- the plane's not leaving without anyone. I also found that if I acted nervous or felt nervous, my son was too and that made it a harder flight. If you remain calm and are friendly to the people around you, most people actually are very understanding. If you have a layover, try to let the baby crawl around at the gate or in a play area in the airport. Yes, the baby will get dirty, but they wash off. Better to have a relaxed, dirty baby, than a stressed, cranky and clean one. I hope your flight is good.
EDIT: If you're taking a stroller, just take it all the way to the gate and as the attendant for a gate check ticket. Remember, you'll have to take the baby out of the stroller or carrier or whatever and it (the stroller) will have to go through the scan machine at security. You'll also likely have to take off the babies shoes too.

Answer 5

First, the family that got kicked off the plane--- it wasn't because the little girl was crying. It was because she would not sit in her seat and put her seatbelt on, and her parents could not control her. It's a FAA regulation that everyone is in their seat, she was too old to be a lap baby, and if you don't have your seatbelt on, the plane won't take off. So don't be afraid if the baby is crying--- yes, your fellow passenger want her to be quiet during the trip but you won't get kicked off. Make sure you reserve a seat for the baby and the car-seat. If you have a stroller and car-seat that come apart, the gate agent will check the stroller part into baggage for you at the gate and give it back to you at the destination gate; you can wheel the baby through the whole time. The stroller does need to gothrough the x-ray so make sure you can break it down easily.

Answer 6

My daughter (now 22 months) has been traveling on airplanes nationally & internationally since she was 20 days old. I've never had any problems so I'm tell you what I do to help the process.

Every airline (except international flights) allow children 2 and under to fly for free. You just have to hold her on your lap. Do everything you can to have her (and you if you're holding her) in a window seat, she'll have a blast looking at the airplanes and baggage trucks.

Use a small umbrella stroller. They are lightweight and can be taken all the way to the terminal. Just get a gate ticket and the attendents will tell you where to leave the stroller. You will also be allowed to board first since you are a "special needs/circumstance" and typically take a few mins to get comfortable.

Depending on when your flight is, wake your daughter up early OR have her skip her nap. She'll be extra tired. As soon as you board, give your daughter some Infants/Children's Robitussin or Allergy Alixer (will not only help with the altitude change but also the mass amount of germs in the airplane!) Make sure she has enough formula (or a pacifier if she uses them) so she can drink while take off and landing (it helps their ears to pop and is also comforting!). The medicine will help her fall asleep within 20ish minutes and combined with needing a nap she'll be out a good 2-3 hours.

Order a Cran/Apple from the stewardess (it's juice) and put it in her big girl cup. Ask for some of the Biscoff cookies (they are ginger based, soft and perfect for babies).

Show your daughter how to open and close the window shade...this will most likely keep her occuppied a good 15-20 minutes! Go through the SkyMall magazine pointing out every Doggy, Kitty Cat, Bird...

Even if she cries she most likely won't be kicked off the flight. That situation where the family was kicked off was definitely an extreme case and obviously the parents hadn't taken control of the situation and most likely the kid was running down the isles, kicking, screaming and out of control. Out of the 30+ flights my daughter has taken, she HAS been hysterical only twice. We never had any problems and the stewardess was very understanding and went out of her way to get cookies, snacks and other things to help calm her.

Answer 7

i am a single mom and i've traveled with my daughter a few times. First time she was 2 1/2 months with no problems and second time at 17 months with no problem and a few times since then. Babies do not need an ID you only need yours. I brought hers just in case but never needed to use it. I brought my daughters normal car seat and a basic fold up stroller (umbrella stroller) I paid the quarter for a cart to push around the airport and just stacked everything on that. You can use the stroller in the airport then when you go to get on the plane go up the desk at the gate and ask for a boarding tag..they will tag your stroller and/or carseat and stash it for you when you get on the plane and then they put it right when you walk off the plane at your destination. All the people at the airlines were very nice on all of our trips and were happy to accomodate my situation. For my daughter on the plane we got her a little CD player with some kids cd's. She was young but she seemed to love being able to put on the headphones (make sure you get the type that goes over the head not in the ears or they won't fit in there tiny ears) We also got her this little battery light show thing. You hold the button and it spins around and makes little lights in different pattersn. It was only like $3.00 at walmart in the toy section and she LOVED it. I also brought books, puppets, and extra bottles/sippy cups. Also stacking/nesting cups or little baby puzzle things..rings on the peg...something like that. Keeps them preoccupied. Actually she ended up sleeping most of the time. Good luck and don't worry im sure it will be fine.

Answer 8

i traveled to ohio from texas with a 4 year old, an almost two year old and a 2 month old. it wasn't easy. but what helps is to have a stroller. a stoller and a strap that you can attach the carseat to and roll it around on. even if you must put your baby in the stroller, the car seat handles will slide into the arms of the stroller for easy carrying. the airlines don't treat you any different than that of a regular passenger. my daugher who was almost 2 at the time, threw up on me and they were helpful in just giving me a bag to put our clothes in with coffee to hide the smell. the people who got kicked off the planed b/c their daughter was throwing a royal fit made a good point: what would the airline have done had they been 30,000 feet in the air? ha! so don't worry if your baby cries, or is bad, or is anything like that. you may hear snickers and it is best to treat that with kindness and a smart remark. kill them with niceness. as far as when the plane takes off and lands, feed your child a bottle. or have her suck on a sugarless lollipop. this will help her ears pop. good luck to you.

Answer 9

Actually should not be a 6 hour flight, more likely 3-4 hours. As for the baby, airlines are very accomodating to parents with babies. I dont know how to keep a 10 month old entertained, but I am thinking pasifiers and bottles of juice or milk.

Good luck

Answer 10

Nothing wrong with taking babies on flights--we do what we have to do! I flew on American Airlines a week ago with my 2 year old in his car seat. We pre-boarded and everything went very smoothly, more so than I thought it would be. I brought snacks and some Crayola Color Wonder stuff (that stuff never ceases to amuse my kid), along with a few favorite books and stuffed animal. He slept part of the flight and all was well.

I'm not sure why a flight attendant for AA has said they only allow car seats for medical reasons--that confuses me. I printed out the AA policy on car seats just in case I encountered trouble, but no trouble at all!

Answer 11

Babies need to travel too and we were all babies once. Don't worry about the insensitive people, they boil in thier own juice and that hurts them not you.

I've traveled a lot (even overseas/overnight flights) and have 3 children. From 10 months up to say 2 years is a hard age for travel, because they are working on walking and want to get around.

Books, clickety fidget toys, and most of all finger foods and drinks. Keeps them happy takes awile to eat much and keeps the ears cleared.

Oh I've never tried a car seat stroller thing, sounds neat but woulnt bother If you dont travel a lot. I think a 10 month old would prefer to be in your lap even if you buy her a seat. I advise the smallest umbrella stroller because they take up little room and are easy to carry. If the child doesnt want in it then the stuff can pack in it.
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Food :cherios, gerber stars, grahm crackers
Fidget toys: a box they can open adn shut and put things in and out of. Or a book with pockets to hide things in. things that twist. Blankie for peekaboo. Mittens to put off and on (my 1.5 year old loves this - dont know why)