Buying a seat for 15 month old

[abs730]

Any help would be appreciated. We are taking my son who will be 3 1/2 and my daughter will be 15 months in September to Disney. Well we have been discussing the possiblity of driving until I just found a site where you can put in the make, year, model of your car and where you are going and it will estimate how much you will spend roundtrip. Well forget it now, we can fly for about the same price. But would you buy a ticket for a 15 month old. I hate flying myself, scares me to death so holding her could be a challenge for me and I am scared as to how she will handle the plane ride. I mean she wont be nursing anymore so how do you handle the whole ear popping thing and even for my son any suggestions. Do you think he will be bothered as well?

 

[kellyf2626]

I would ABSOLUTELY buy a seat for your 15 month old. You can bring her carseat and buckle her right in.....it will be nice and familiar for her, and you will be much more comfortable. AND it is the safest way for her to be in the plane.

As for the ear thing - bring a sippy cup or bottle filled with something she really likes, and let her suck on it during take-off...or finger-foods - anything that will encourage her to swallow and pop her ears! (Same for your son!)

Oh...another secret....start using a noise machine in her bedroom at night with the "white noise" sound. Then when she is on the plane, the engines will mimick that "white noise" sound the entire time, and she will probably fall asleep - especially if comfortable in her carseat!!

Hope that helps!! Good luck!!

 

[abs730]

Thanks for the advice both my kids sleep with fans in their room so hopefully that will be close enough to the noise of the plane. That would be wonderful if she fell asleep!

 

[mejkjj97]

I completely agree with the sippy cup. My dd (2) used hers the entire flight. It is hard when they are this little but this seemed to work for my daughter.
I flew by myself and did not use the car seat, I did not have enough hands to carry everything through the airport, but there were plenty of people who did.

 

[kellyf2626]

We got one of these to use in the airport so we could check the stroller....

It's called the GoGoKidz Travelmate

 

[canadianmom2three]

In the past I would have saved the $ and not bought a seat, but ever since I saw this video on Youtube, about an emergency landing with lap babies, I just cringe when I hear about lap babies. If you are interested, search youtube for sioux city lap babies, but it is a really disturbing video, so I didn't to link it since you mention that you are a nervous flier. Obviously it is very very very uncommon for an incident like that to happen, but even in turbulance, it can be hard to hang on to a child. I would definately purchase the seat, and make an effort to bring on the car seat. I still bring on my DS 5's seat, he sits soooo much better, and falls asleep way easier. We did try one trip without it, and he fidgeted so bad, and couldn't get comfortable, so as much work as it is to drag it thru the airport, for safety, and comfort, it is really worth it. I am a nervous flier as well, and I always think the more I can do to make it safe(r), the better! We give the kids drinks like a sippy or water bottle with the sport top during takeoff and they have never had a problem with complaining about their ears. Have a great flight!!!

 

[GoofyG]

Any help would be appreciated. We are taking my son who will be 3 1/2 and my daughter will be 15 months in September to Disney. Well we have been discussing the possiblity of driving until I just found a site where you can put in the make, year, model of your car and where you are going and it will estimate how much you will spend roundtrip. Well forget it now, we can fly for about the same price. But would you buy a ticket for a 15 month old. I hate flying myself, scares me to death so holding her could be a challenge for me and I am scared as to how she will handle the plane ride. I mean she wont be nursing anymore so how do you handle the whole ear popping thing and even for my son any suggestions. Do you think he will be bothered as well?

Can I ask what website. We are driving in Sept and I would love to see what it estimates the cost at.

 

[all4fun]

I agree with the PP's. Buy your LO a seat. Not only will YOU be more comfortable but you will also have the extra luggage allowance (lap babies don't have a luggage allowance). With the new luggage restrictions this might be very handy. Plus your LO is simply much safer strapped into a car seat on the plane.

Can I ask what website. We are driving in Sept and I would love to see what it estimates the cost at.

Don't know if this is the one the OP was looking at but here you go!
http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/

 

[stacy6552]

YES! Buy the precious precious baby a ticket and secure her in a FAA approved car seat. Its way too dangerous not to. It is sooooo f-ed (yes I said it) up that they arent required to be in seats, but coffe pots are required to be secured.

That rolling thing looks good. I am a dufflebag girl myself because it leaves my hands free. Worth every penny.

 

[kellyf2626]

That rolling thing looks good. I am a dufflebag girl myself because it leaves my hands free. Worth every penny.

LOL....the rolling thing is so that you can put your child in the carseat and be able to roll him/her through the airport instead of lugging your child AND the carseat separately and the stroller! Your post made me laugh....makes it sound like you put your little one in a duffle bag!!

 

[Mom2JPL]

If you don't want to lug your carset with you, you can try one of these:

http://www.kidsflysafe.com/

and if you don't want to buy it, I saw that you can rent one off of ebay (I was researching it for our flight last Oct).

Also, like a pp said, make sure your kids are drinking on take-off and landing - that really helps with the pressure in their ears.

Have a great vacation!

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Way back when (my DS is 10 now) our pediatrician urged us to give our son sudafed (or something similar) just before flying. We began flying with him when he was 6 weeks old -- and always made sure he had is own seat ! I know that there are "studies" out there that say that decongestants don't work for small children...but there are also "studies" out there that say just about everything causes cancer too .

Anyway, I'd definitely recommend anything that will make your little one swallow (sippy cup, finger food, etc.) and talk with your pediatrician about sudafed or something similar.

Have a great flight...by the way, if you are flying Southwest tell the flight attendant that this is your child's first flight. Sometimes they give out wings or stickers.

 

[puffkin]

Just curious, but what type of car do you drive and what did the cost come out to be? We don't live far from you and I always wondered what it would cost to drive (although I will always fly because I hate being in the car for more than a few hours).

I never bought a ticket for my son until he turned two. I guess I am a bad mother but my son seemed to do better (and be much quieter) when he was held.

 

[nemomama]

I never bought a ticket for my son until he turned two. I guess I am a bad mother but my son seemed to do better (and be much quieter) when he was held.

We also never bought seats for our kids until they turned 2, simply because we travel a lot and it's cheaper to buy 3 seats versus 4. But, I do agree that it is much safer for young children to be in car seats on airplanes, it is pretty crazy that babies are the only thing that doesn't need to be strapped down during takeoff/landing/turbulence! However, from what I have always heard/read you are much safer in an airplane than in a car. So, I guess what I'm saying is that you need to decide what you're comfortable with when it comes to buying a seat for your 15-month old.

Also, we've never had a problem with our kids' ears during takeoff or landing. Have a great trip!

 

[katied]

I've flown w/ DS quite a bit - now he's 13 months - I buy him a seat. He's happier, I'm happier, and he's safe too. So yes, buy a seat. I take a car seat for him if I'm going to need it on the other end for him to sit in, or else use CARES harness to hold him into the seat.


Also, ear popping has never been a big deal - I just make sure I have a bottle with milk or juice for him on take off and landing to help w/ ears (or a sippy cup w/ a regulator so he has to suck to get the juice out).

 

[abs730]

Wow, you guys are good! All the suggestions are so appreciated! I hate flying for fear of death, I know it is safer than driving, but with driving I have control. That is why the thought of buying a seat came up. I hate to say it but I know my husband can not hold her for 2 and half hours especially if she gets fidgety!! Before the kids I usually took something to knock myself out but with the two of them I guess not anymore!

I will have to mention it to my ped. that we are flying and see if suggests anything. That is my biggest fear that their ears wont pop or something and how can you tell a 15 month old to swallow? Okay but another question with all the guidelines with liquid how to you take sippy cups or juice boxes with you on the plane? Sorry I haven't flown in two years!

I can not post the link for the driving cost infor because I only joined last week but it is the same as the other one posted above


We have a pathfinder wow about 410 dollars!

 

[canadianmom2three]

You can just take an empty sippy cup or two in your carryon, then once you get thru security you can buy, pour in the sippy and take on the plane whatever beverage you like.

 

[katied]

For our trip a few months ago with DS to Greece - the dr. recommended a dose of tylenol about 1 hr before takeoff and again 1 hr before landing just to help make him a bit more comfortable (of course, we were on that place a VERY long time).

We did the wheel thing for our carseat too on that trip, and checked the stroller. It worked great.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Go to TSA website. You can take liquids (in a bottle...not sure about a sippy cup though) with you. Be sure to take enough! It's easy to say...well it's just a 2 1/2 hour flight, but I've been stuck on a tarmac before for 6 hours, making my total "flight" closer to 9. I'd hate to do that with a little guy and not have enough diapers, food or drink! Trust me, it was bad enough as an adult!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

I say buy a seat. We've flown with our kids several times when they were under a year, and even then, they got a seat. I don't understand why the option to hold a baby on one's lap is an option when flying. If everyone else has to be strapped in, why not the most delicate passengers?