pbharris4 said:
I purchased one on
Amazon (Eddie Bauer one) and it had 105 really great reviews and I got it for $20! I haven't flown since somewhere around 1998 or 1999 and I never flew with kids. So I should gate check..not to sound stupid, but does that mean I check the stroller and car seat as I board the plane or when I get up to the podium at the gate and they check my boarding passes? I'll be checking in online (another whole new thing), but I will have other luggage that will need to be checked in as well. Does the stroller and car seat count for carry ons or checked baggage? Thanks for your help!
Yes, gate checking means that you take your stroller/car seat through the airport with you and you leave it at the end of the jetway just before you board the plane. It sounds like you will print your boarding pass at home. Then when you get to the airport, you will still have to stand in line to check the regular bags. Sometimes they have special lines for people who have already checked in at home, depends on the airport. Take the stroller/car seat with you through the airport. At the gate, talk to the agent and ask for a special little card to attach to the items that you are gate checking. Then when it's time to board, just take all your stuff with you and leave the stroller/car seat at the end of the gangplank thing (what is that called? you know what I mean I hope.)
Hmmm...I'm not sure if they count towards your bag limit. They wouldn't be considered carry-ons if you are gate checking. But they may count towards your checked bag limit. But I don't think so. At least the stroller. Not sure about the car seat. You can call and ask the airline.
And I did want to say something about the backless boosters. You have a convertible seat with a harness. Which is great. A "booster" means one of the seats that don't use an internal harness and instead use the car's safety belts. Your alpha omega (i think you said) converts into a booster at a later stage, however it's not the best booster out there unfortunately (I have one too). A backless booster is just a little seat that boosts the kid up to use the seatbelt. New studies have shown that they are not as safe as a high back booster seat in side impact crashes. The use of a high back booster will reduce the injury rate compared to a child using only a seat belt by 70%. While those in a backless booster experienced no statistically significant reduction in the reduction of injury risk.
http://www.carcrash.org/mediaweb/00019.pdf#search='backless%20booster%20versus%20high%20back%20booster'
Of course backless boosters are great for travel, car pooling etc. However, they should really only be used with older kids. Current recommendations suggest not moving to any sort of booster (high back or otherwise) until a minimum of 4yo and 40lbs.
I know that's not what your post was about though, so sorry to hijack it. I just wanted to make sure this new information got out there. These are relatively new studies.
