flying with baby

[wishiwereindisney]

we are first time parents and will be traveling to wdw with a 5 month old. this may be a dumb questions but i honestly have no idea - will baby need his own seat? do we hold him during the flight?

thanks!

 

[Hannathy]

You can do either. Children under 2 may ride free as lap babies. You hold them the whole way, they do not have a seat and you need a birth certificate at check in to prove they are under 2. You may buy them a seat if under 2 and bring a car seat. If they have a seat they MUST be in the seat at all times the seat belt sign is on. If they have a paid seat they do not need the birth certificate.

I never bought a seat for my kids when they were under 2 and had no problems and we flew tens of thousands of miles. It truly is personal choice no matter what some on here will try to tell you.

 

[JLR]

When we travelled with our dd (now 9) we always bought a seat (usually they are 1/2 price) and installed the carseat in the airplane seat, then she slept in it during the flight. You must have a car seat that is FAA approved (it will say so on a sticker on the side of the seat). We also always carried on the stroller and gate checked it so we could put the carseat and bags in it to go from one gate to the next. This was before baggage screening days though. I have seen other families doing the same thing more recently. Once you get the hang of it - it goes pretty easily and makes for smooth travelling. Best of luck!

 

[nexttripdisney]

We never bought a seat for any of our children when they were under 2. I liked holding them, especially during takeoff and landing when I could nurse them or comfort them during those periods when they had to deal with ear pressure pain.

 

[Suellen]

We didn't buy a seat for ours when they were under two. Most times we were able to get an empty seat without a problem (just ask when you check in if the flight is full).

If the flight wasn't full and it was a pick your seat thing we would us our carseat ~ if it was full we would gate check the carseat with the stroller.

That being said ~ I believe that airlines are trying harder to make sure flights are full. So I wouldn't count on that. If you don't want to hold the child the entire flight buy a seat. If you are flying an airline that requires you pay for seat assignment do it. Otherwise you may not be sitting near your baby. <-- this is ridiculous to me... but we were separated from our 3 year old on airtran because we didn't prebuy our seat assignment so do it!

We also did hold the kiddies a couple times and it wasn't a big deal when flying with more than one adult. I don't think I could have held either one of the girls three hours straight.

Don't worry about flying with baby! It was definitely my favorite time to fly with the kids. Now they want something to "do" the whole flight.

 

[stacy6552]

Please please buy the baby a seat and secure him in a FAA approved carseat in flight. All studies and anyone in the know recommends it. Come on coffee pots are required to be secured in emergencies, but babies are not?

 

[TaliaB]

Some airlines do charge babies.

American Airlines charged me 123$ to take my 11month old down South

 

[Swimalie]

I would buy a seat as well. I did when I flew alone with my 12 month old. The way I looked at it is if there was (God forbid) an emergency, could I handle getting myself and my son out if he were sitting on my lap? I didn't think I could. But if he were in his car seat in his own seat then I had a much better chance. I ended up calling the airline and I got my seat for the regular price and got a huge discount on his seat. So try calling and see if you can get a discount on the seat. And with a child, you can get on the plane once first class has boarded, too.

 

[syudelson]

I always bought infant fares for all three of our kids. It's nice to have the extra space and it keeps them safe in event of an emergency -- there are a lot more minor plane accidents than most people realize. Unless something has changed though, you don't have to keep them in the seat the entire time. After take off I would usually take them out, nurse, play etc. and put them back for naps, and of course, landing.

 

[crashbb]

Some airlines do charge babies.

American Airlines charged me 123$ to take my 11month old down South

Did you baby have its own seat? Or did they charge $123 for you to hold the baby on your lap?

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

We are going to Universal in July and we are just holding her. Between the two of us I think she will be ok. Shes a snuggle bunny and I know that if the cabin pressure is too much for us she will want to be held anyway.
I personally feel like it's an inconvenience to have to lug a car seat onto the plane for a 2 hour flight.

 

[Hannathy]

I always bought infant fares for all three of our kids. It's nice to have the extra space and it keeps them safe in event of an emergency -- there are a lot more minor plane accidents than most people realize. Unless something has changed though, you don't have to keep them in the seat the entire time. After take off I would usually take them out, nurse, play etc. and put them back for naps, and of course, landing.

If the seat belt sign is on and they have their own seat they must be in it and buckled, at least this is they way it was always explained to me. and some flight this can be the whole time.

I totally agree about the inconvenience of dragging around a car seat.

 

[ZeroMyHero]

As others have said, it's your choice whether or not you want to pay for a seat. It is a pain to lug the carseat through the airport, but we have a backpack attachment that allowed DH to carry it on his back (minus baby, of course). My kids are always more comfortable in the car seat and if there is turbulence they are safer buckled in than they ever would be on my or DH's lap. Lots of people travel with lap babies, but for us it wasn't an option.

 

[VAfamily1998]

We've always purchased seats for our babies when we've flown with them. If your plane encounters severe turbulence, the safest place for your baby will be buckled in a secure carseat. The AAP recommends "a mandatory federal requirement for restraint use for children on aircraft. The Academy further recommends that parents ensure that a seat is available for all children during aircraft transport and follow current recommendations for restraint use for all children."
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/pediatrics;108/5/1218

 

[waltskids]

It's your choice what you wish to do but for us we found lap baby worked best before DS (or now DD) was crawling. Once they are on the move, it was difficult to keep them sitting with us. We flew DS as lap baby at 3 months, 7 months, and 9 months (and this age was the struggle since he was crawling at that point). After that we started buying him a seat using his carseat. DD flew lap baby at 9 weeks and 4 months. She will get a seat on her next trip. BTW, our DS loved using the carseat on the plane so he could see out the window better.

 

[Suellen]

Hmmm if there was a "accident" God Forbid. Would it be easier to be holding baby or trying to get baby out of car seat?

I can see cases where being IN a carseat would be good and I can see cases where it might be bad (i.e.) a water landing and I couldn't get baby out of carseat.

 

[adamsclan]

I have 5 children, and we always flew with them as a lap child. I know that none of them would have stayed willingly in their carseat during take-off and landing. My 2 year old has to be wrestled into her seat on the plane now. And most true plane crashes have such forces that I doubt a car seat would be much help.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I have 5 children, and we always flew with them as a lap child. I know that none of them would have stayed willingly in their carseat during take-off and landing. My 2 year old has to be wrestled into her seat on the plane now. And most true plane crashes have such forces that I doubt a car seat would be much help.

It's not about being in a "true plane crash" though--the danger is in the turbulence. Two months ago I was on a flight from Dulles to Hethrow and we encountered some SEVERE turbulence. Thank God there were no "Lap babies" on that flight.

 

[sherylivan]

I completely agree with Hannathy! It is a personal choice and you should take a call based on what will make you and the child comfortable. Additionally, child’s safety is another priority I would personally look at.

 

[Zeebs]

When I was researching our decision to fly with a lapchild, information I found on the internet - please don't ask me where as it was a few years ago.

Suggested the risk of being seriously injured or killed during a plane flight was 1 in 10,000,000.

As I was breast feeding and wanted to fed on take off and landing we took the "what I feel was a" pretty low risk.

Do what you are comfortable with.

Kirsten