flying with a 17mo?

[robinsegg]

Hi!
We're hoping to fly after Thanksgiving 2010. We'll have our DD10, DS8 & DD1.5. Can you tell me what flying with a young child is like? Will we have to purchase a special seat? Will she sit on my lap? Never been on a plane before . . . lots of questions!
Thanks!

 

[mupt02]

Most airlines say under 2 can be a lap passenger. We've always bought a seat for any child over 1 and used their car seat in the plane seat. This way they were comfortable with the seat, we were free to move around and help our other little one, and we had the car seat when we got where we were going. Under age 1 they have been in the infant carrier and we just gate checked it.

 

[Hannathy]

Yes you can hold the 17 month old on your lap. Under 2 is free as a lap child, bring there birth certificate with you and you have to tell them when you make the reservation. My kids always flew as lap children and logged thousands of miles.

It will be very busy at Thanksgiving. Take a lot of diversions and snacks. A 17 month old will run thru a lot of toys. take some new little things. My son at that age loved to play with the ice they give you with drinks. I would get 2 cups 1 with ice one without and he would put the ice back and forth, on the tray and back in the cup, etc, for a long time. Do not plan to do anything on the flight but keep the little guy happy!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Assuming this is a domestic flight, you can choose to book the toddler in his own seat (and pay for it) or as a lap child (free, but you must inform the airline at booking that you will have a alpchild). If you choose to buy a seat for the one year old and bring along yoru carseat, double check that the carseat is FAA approved. Otherwise it will not be allowed to be used on the plane (your child can still sit in his own seat with just the regular seatbelt though).

Even if you book the one year old as a lap child, you can bring your carseat to the gate (if you want to deal with juggling it in the airport). If there are empty seats on your flight you may be allowed to use one and keep you little guy in the carseat.

Many novie fliers assume their party will all be seated together on the flifht. There are absolutely no guarantees that you will be seated next to (or even near) your children in flight (other than one under four in an FAA approved car seat if you purchased a seat for said child--which must also be a window seat). If this is important for you (it is not for everyone--my kids often sit on their own in flight) please pay whatever "seat reservation" fees the airline has as soon as you book and get seats together. Even then, go in knowing that a storm or equipment change CAN cause you to be seperated. Don't worry and stress about it, but be aware and do what you can to prevent it (paying for seats together) if you care about this. The planes will be crowded around Thanksgiving making your odds of juggling seating harder than it might be at other, slower times of year.

My own two sat on my lap several times as toddlers. They were more comfortable that way, and we never had a problem. Kids tend to travel very well, better than their parents Just have your older ones pack a few snacks and diversions and you pack a few for your baby (plus twice as many diapers as you should need--delays happen) and go in with an attitude that this will be a fun adventure and it will be

 

[jlewisinsyr]

For the safety of your child and those around, please buy a seat for your child.

 

[robinsegg]

Sorry I didn't give more info!
Yes, it's domestic, from St. Louis, MO to MCO (to WDW!). If we choose for baby to lapsit, would I be able, once the plane is in the air, to put baby in a wrap so I could wear her?
Are the FAA approved carseats expensive? We won't need a carseat once we get there, as we're staying on property and taking ME there.
If we're separated on the plane, is there some way we can "catch" our kids before or just after deplaning? I can just see us being separated as we leave the plane and having a nightmare trying to find everyone
Thanks again!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Yes, you should be able to "wear" your baby--so long as you can have the sling or carrier on with the seat belt (it is only a lapbelt so I do not see why not).

Many regular carseats are FAA approved. It will have a sticker on it that says "This child restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft" if it is.

Just tell your older kids NOT to get off of the plane until the other passengers have thinned out and they see you waving to them to come along. Or, instruct them to move to the side and wait for you as soon as they make it into the airport (while still at the arrival gate). Given that is the first flight for everyone, I would go with the waiting to deplane until nearly everyone else is off so you can more easily stay together.

 

[Hannathy]

If you don't need the car seat once you get to Disney I would not bother lugging it thru the airport and having to deal with it at the hotel taking up room and carrying it to the room especially with other kids to deal with.

As the PP said if you get separated on the plane just tell them to stay in their seats until they see you. Very quickly actually everyone will deplane and you will be able to see across the whole plane.

When my kids were little guys like yours I used to save the toys that came with kids meals and have several new unopened ones in my carryon so they had something new and different. Be ready to switch quickly if something isn't working because sometimes the usual doesn't. My DS on some flights would play for 30 minutes with a new matchbox car or 2 and then the next flight would bore with them in 5 minutes!

 

[NHdisneylover]

If you don't need the car seat once you get to Disney I would not bother lugging it thru the airport and having to deal with it at the hotel taking up room and carrying it to the room especially with other kids to deal with.

As the PP said if you get separated on the plane just tell them to stay in their seats until they see you. Very quickly actually everyone will deplane and you will be able to see across the whole plane.

When my kids were little guys like yours I used to save the toys that came with kids meals and have several new unopened ones in my carryon so they had something new and different. Be ready to switch quickly if something isn't working because sometimes the usual doesn't. My DS on some flights would play for 30 minutes with a new matchbox car or 2 and then the next flight would bore with them in 5 minutes!

Funny, I used to do the same thing with kids' meal toys. I also agree about the carseat.

 

[puffkin]

Many people on here will insist that you need to buy a seat and schlepp a car seat onto the plane. While valid advice, I would suggest NOT to do that in your case.

1. 17 months and using a wrap, your baby is probably more comfortable with you than in the seat.
2. It is a fairly short flight.
3. You have other children and their stuff to deal with.
4. Being that you have never flown, it is extremely stressful the first time through the process. It is not easy to get the seat installed correctly on a plane with the stress of other passengers trying to board, your inexperience with flying and having other children to worry about.
5. If you won't need the seat in MCO, it is a waste to take. I am sure you will have plenty of other stuff to drag around!

JMHO, but I flew once with a carseat (17 months ironically) and we said NEVER again (I sitll feel badly for the very nice couple in front of us who DS kicked their seat the entire 2 hour flight. Nothing we did could get him to stop except for forcefully holding down his legs, and then he SCREAMED bloody murder....they were so nice though about it but we were MORTIFIED). The carseat got checked on every flight since then, DS did much better as a lap sitter.

 

[Missytara]

My friend just came back with an 18 month old for their first flight; it was just two hours.

He did beautifully. She gave him his bottle right as they were taking off, in order to keep down the ear popping. Both ways he went off to sleep about 15 minutes after taking the bottle.

She said on the way home, he insisted on sitting on his father's lap, next to the window. He loved looking out at the clouds with the top of his head pressed against the window. And that is where he fell asleep.

Have fun!

 

[jlewisinsyr]

1. 17 months and using a wrap, your baby is probably more comfortable with you than in the seat.

Comfort does not equal safety.

 

[bumbershoot]

I have *never* heard of anyone being allowed to wear their baby in the air. I have *only* heard of FAs telling people that the wraps/slings are not approved and cannot be used.

DS's first flight was at 17 months. We went the cheap way. I was miserable. My arms were sore for DAYS. Sure, he nursed to sleep twice. But who got to hold him? That would be me. Who couldn't move while he was asleep b/c I so so so did not want him to wake up? That would be me. Who is 5'3" with short legs who got to be on her tippytoes so her lap was straight to reduce some of the work her arms were doing in holding DS? Again, me.

It was NOT a good start to our vacation, and we didn't budget anything for problems, so I dreaded the flight home the whole time. That flight he didn't sleep much and was his usual strong self and it took all I had, strength-wise, to keep him from bugging other passengers.

Not the best way to get home, either.

And if there had been a burst of sudden, violent, turbulence, who knows if I would have been able to hold him? If there were light turbulence to give me warning, and I was holding onto him well, maybe. If it was a big huge air pocket that slammed the plane suddenly, and if I was adjusting my grip or whatever, I imagine there would have been a flying baby.

Buy the seat.

 

[Hannathy]

well I have flown many multiple times not just 2 flights with a lap baby and never had any problem even in turbulence AND a Rough landing where we had to brace ourselves in an emergency position. My kids always did fine.

As far as the sling I do believe she is talking about during the flight not take off and landing. then you are supposed to be holding them and if you want to be to the letter then against your chest with them facing you.

It really is up to every parent to make their own decision not to be bullied by one train of thought.