Buy him a seat!

[noraply]

I have flown with both my kids when they were around 6-9 months and didn't purchase them a seat, but once they started walking (10 months) I found it was much better to purchase them a seat and take their carseat for them to use. My kids were much to big to sit on my "lap" by the time they were 2 and there is no room to have the diaper bag under the seat in front of me and have them standing there as well.

In retrospect, I think it would have been much safer to purchase a seat for my kids even when they were little, because there is no way you can hold them if you are getting shaken around.

Wouldn't you have to bring the carseat anyway? This way you have it with you on the plane. My kids like being read to while they were sitting and drawing on a travel magnadoodle.

 

[seashoreCM]

Try to get an "FAA approved" car seat. Once in awhile an airline refused to let someone bring on board a non-approved car seat.

It is OK for the seat to wobble a bit when strapped in. Not all car seats fit the airplane seat perfectly.

IMHO it is OK to ask for an aisle seat for yourself when bringing your infant w/car seat, don't call attention to the child. (Unless the airline offers a discounted seat for the child only at the window.) No sense swapping your aisle seat with a businessman seated by the window only to have him pull out his laptop PC and materials and then you can't get out.

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[Pluto4President]

when my daughter was 4 months old, she made her first flight to WDW. Yes, we bought her own ticket and brought her car seat right on the plane. No questions about it. We also had my son, 3 at the tiime, so there was never any question about her being on our laps.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

And keep your ticket handy. I had more than a few flights when my kids were little where the flight attendants assumed that my son didn't have a ticket. They would come by and tell me that the flight was full - so I would have to check the carseat and put the baby on my lap.

whew - I do not miss the days of travelling with a baby.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

no you don't have to bring a car seat onto the plane.

if your child is under two you can utilize the infant fare which is half of your fare.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Toby's Friend - the same thing happened to us. Our flight was full and we had purchased a ticket for our son who was about 15 months old at the time. We had him in his car seat. When they were trying to fit a few more people on the plane, they kept counting his seat. I showed them his boarding pass stub and they left us alone.

 

[cheeringmom]

It would be hard for me to carry a car seat, plus a diaper bag and push an umbrella stroller. We are going from MS to MCO so my baby will sit on my lap. Hopefully the plane won't be too full!! My hubby is meeting me at the airport so he will have the car seat. Wish us luck on an empty flight!

 

[disneynewbie2]

My children are 5 and 7 now so I have to buy a seat. When they were babies we flew twice. I have just recently seen a show on 20/20 or something about airline crashes and children. If they do not have a seat, the stewardest will tell you to put your baby on the floor in a crash situation! How likely do you think that baby will survive if they have to land with no wheels or something like that? If I would have known that I would have had to put my baby on the floor while everyone else had seatbelts/carseats, I would have bought them a ticket!!

 

[TrudyZ]

Cheeringmom:

You can wish for an empty seat all you like, but we just flew back on 10/20/01 and the flight was so crowded they were offering $300 per person to give up seats--they were 6 seats short.

They also indicated that since the cutbacks and consolidation of flights; more flights than you would think are at capacity these days.

Somehow, we (and sometimes I) manage to get it all on the plane. Here is what I do: I have a diaper bag like a backpack (and put my purse in it too), the carseat lays over the top canopy of the stroller, and then gate check the stroller and take the car seat on.

My advice: Much easier to control a kid in a carseat--and the only safe way to travel with a child. (This is the voice of experience. Have done 8 flights with my daughter before she turned 3. Her first flight was at 11 weeks. And yes, each time I bought her the seat).

Trudy

 

[cheeringmom]

Now I'm really bummed! I thought flights have been pretty much empty and wouldn't have a problem with putting her into a seat next to me. Maybe I will check into an extra seat. I'm just a little concerned about juggling all of the "luggage". My baby hates the stroller as it is. Hmm something to think about. Thanks for the advice. Pam

 

[akasleepingbeauty]

I just returned yesterday from a trip with my dd (18 months). It was just the two of us on this trip and it was somewhat difficult getting our gear on board but we managed. I did buy her a seat as I have for the previous 7 flights she has taken because the fare is so cheap relatively and it is a great to have the peace of mind it offers.

Here is how I managed with a diaper backpack, a stroller, a carseat and a baby. I have a backpack carrier for my carseat so I put that on my back (bulky but not really heavy) while I pushed the stroller with dd in it and the diaper backpack hanging from the handles. I got a gate check for the stroller at the gate. At the entrance to the plane, I got the carseat out of the carrier and set it on the floor. I then removed her from the stroller and buckled her into the carseat. I then folded up the stroller and left it there for gate checking. I put the diaper backpack on my back and carried my daughter in the carseat down the aisle. I placed the carseat in the airplane seat and buckled it in. I reversed the process when getting off the plane.

It was somewhat of a struggle but it was the best way I could work out to "contain' my dd and still get safely to our seats. Amazingly enough, NO ONE offered to help in any way during my first flight and I only got one offer on my return flight. The flight attendants and gate personnel were less than helpful so it was a good thing I wasn't counting on their help.

I find the carseat to be a lifesaver in many ways on board. It keeps my dd safely restrained and since she is used to staying put when in the carseat there are no tantrums etc. I KNOW I could not have managed to hold her on my lap without a major meltdown and she would have been WAY too small for the airline seat belts.

I would definitely consider a seat for any child under 2 especially since the infant fare is so reasonable. Also, both of our flights were COMPLETELY full and there is no doubt that we would not have been able to use a seat if we had not purchased one.

Good luck to all of you parents traveling with little ones!!

 

[robinb]

I also have a carseat carrier, but mine is not a backpack type. I attach it to a standard luggage cart and roll it behind me. People do take pity on me! I make quite a sight pushing my DD in her stroller with my daypack backpack hanging on the stroller, my backpack luggage on my back and pulling the car seat behind me!

I swore that I would never travel with my DD alone again. So what happened? My DH convinced me to book into TPA on FF miles while he flies into MCO on business. *sigh* I must be dumber that I look.

 

[Olaf]

If they do not have a seat, the stewardest will tell you to put your baby on the floor in a crash situation!

This is exactly what happened to the babies on the plane that made a crash landing in Iowa several years ago. It was horrible listening to the flight attendant describe putting the babies on the floor. Afterwards, they found one in an overhead compartment.

I flew once with DS on my lap and then never again. We had one of those car seats that snap off and settle into the stroller. It was a hassle, but it's worth it.

 

[seashoreCM]

PUtting the child on the floor is better than on your lap during a sudden stop situation.

So far putting the child on your back as you lean forward does not work. The child and papoose carrier would go flying forward entangling your neck and strangling you.

If you are loaded down with gear and child, don't hurry up a sweat whether you are first or last to board. Yes this is a political statement too, it will encourage the return of preboarding with children as well as keep you more comfortable in limited air conditioning.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by cheeringmom
It would be hard for me to carry a car seat, plus a diaper bag and push an umbrella stroller. We are going from MS to MCO so my baby will sit on my lap. Hopefully the plane won't be too full!! My hubby is meeting me at the airport so he will have the car seat. Wish us luck on an empty flight!

It's NOT that hard, if you really care about your child you'll buy him a seat and put him in it. If you truly can't manage, the airline will take you on a cart to the gate.

Anne