Tips for Traveling with a Car Seat

[LMO429]

Hi!

we decided to purchase our 1 year old son his own seat for the airplane so I will be bringing my own car seat

We will be renting a car and staying at the Grand Floridian so we will need the car seat for the rental car so that works out

any tips for traveling with a car seat at the airport. any specific case you used to transport it to make life a little easier.

Right now I have the nuna pipa car seat I would tend to think he would still be in the same car seat come October 1st.

Any tips for traveling with a car seat to disney would be appreciated. Or if you use a specific car seat for just travel that would be great too. I read about one at walmart that is about 45 bucks that people seem to like for travel the cosco scenara???

 

[unrequited23]

I think there are two things to keep in mind when traveling with a car seat. One, make sure the width of the car seat is compatible with the width of the seat on the airline you are flying. Two, make sure the seat has the FAA compliant sticker on it. We bought the Cosco Scenara as our second seat for my DH's/grandparents' cars because it narrow, well-reviewed by Consumer Reports and inexpensive. My thought was if I was going to buy a second seat anyway, might as well get one I could fly with.

 

[LMO429]

I think there are two things to keep in mind when traveling with a car seat. One, make sure the width of the car seat is compatible with the width of the seat on the airline you are flying. Two, make sure the seat has the FAA compliant sticker on it. We bought the Cosco Scenara as our second seat for my DH's/grandparents' cars because it narrow, well-reviewed by Consumer Reports and inexpensive. My thought was if I was going to buy a second seat anyway, might as well get one I could fly with.

Yes I am having the same exact thoughts about the cosco scenara myself to buy it for disney and use as a second car seat for the grandparents. How was it lugging it thru the airport? did you have some sort of case for it. My husband and I both plan on using backpacks as carry ons to free up our arms.

 

[alliecat523]

My DD is 12 so it's been awhile but I had a backpack like bag to carry her car seat in. Straps and all. It was bulky to carry but much easier to sling over my shoulder.

 

[unrequited23]

Honestly, we haven't flown with it yet. I would probably strap it to a traditional rolling carry on, use one back pack and wear a baby carrier (if you have one.)

 

[Mousemommy1]

I would suggest the Cosco Scenera as well. We actually bought our car seat, a Diono Rainier, specifically for plane travel because it folds in half and into a backpack. Well, that's great in theory, but not when the car seat weighs 30 lbs! DH was miserable carrying that through the airport honestly and the straps were digging into his shoulders. I kept thinking we should have done the Scenera. Oh well.

Next year, I plan on getting a CARES harness because DS will be 2.5 and bigger. It just wouldn't have worked this time around.

 

[LMO429]

I would suggest the Cosco Scenera as well. We actually bought our car seat, a Diono Rainier, specifically for plane travel because it folds in half and into a backpack. Well, that's great in theory, but not when the car seat weighs 30 lbs! DH was miserable carrying that through the airport honestly and the straps were digging into his shoulders. I kept thinking we should have done the Scenera. Oh well.

Next year, I plan on getting a CARES harness because DS will be 2.5 and bigger. It just wouldn't have worked this time around.

Oh wow I read about that diono car seat thank you so much for the honest review on that!

Would a CARES harness be big enough for a one year old. I need the car seat anyway because we are renting a car but just curious about the CARES harness as well

 

[DopeyDame]

I would suggest the Cosco Scenera as well. We actually bought our car seat, a Diono Rainier, specifically for plane travel because it folds in half and into a backpack. Well, that's great in theory, but not when the car seat weighs 30 lbs! DH was miserable carrying that through the airport honestly and the straps were digging into his shoulders. I kept thinking we should have done the Scenera. Oh well.

Next year, I plan on getting a CARES harness because DS will be 2.5 and bigger. It just wouldn't have worked this time around.

I agree with this 100% We bought the Diono (an older version of it, but basically the same thing) because people raved about how skinny it was and how easy it folded up. I hate everything about that carseat. We used it to fly once and it was absolutely miserable. We actually ended up giving it to my mom and it is now the most expensive "grandma backup carseat" ever.

 

[DopeyDame]

Oh wow I read about that diono car seat thank you so much for the honest review on that!

Would a CARES harness be big enough for a one year old. I need the car seat anyway because we are renting a car but just curious about the CARES harness as well

In addition to size, for a CARES harness to work the child needs to be old enough to actually sit still and not unbuckle anything. For my kids, at one year old, the carseat was a much better option. We most often traveled with our Britax Roundabout on the plane.

We've flown a ton with carseats. I borrowed a friend's Go Go Kidz traveller for one trip: http://www.amazon.com/GO-GO-TRAVELM...0&sr=8-1&keywords=go-go+babyz+kidz+travelmate
It was OK, but I had to take the carseat out to go through security and that was a huge PITA.
We also have a carry bag.
What we ended up doing most consistently, though, was to put the carseat in the stroller (not clipped in or anything, just set it in there) and push the carseat while carrying the kid in an ergo and a backpack on the back. I'm sure we looked like ridiculous pack mules, but it worked!

And super-duper kudos for buying your child a seat and using a carseat on the plane!

 

[Mousemommy1]

Oh wow I read about that diono car seat thank you so much for the honest review on that!

Would a CARES harness be big enough for a one year old. I need the car seat anyway because we are renting a car but just curious about the CARES harness as well

So, the Diono is awesome just as a regular car seat - don't get me wrong - it just sucks to travel with.

For the CARES harness, it depends on how big your one year old is...they are supposed to be at least 22 lbs and up to 44 inches. Our little guy was right at 22 lbs and I just didn't feel comfortable about it.

I agree with this 100% We bought the Diono (an older version of it, but basically the same thing) because people raved about how skinny it was and how easy it folded up. I hate everything about that carseat. We used it to fly once and it was absolutely miserable. We actually ended up giving it to my mom and it is now the most expensive "grandma backup carseat" ever.

See, we like it as a car seat, but traveling with it was no bueno!!!

 

[LMO429]

In addition to size, for a CARES harness to work the child needs to be old enough to actually sit still and not unbuckle anything. For my kids, at one year old, the carseat was a much better option. We most often traveled with our Britax Roundabout on the plane.

We've flown a ton with carseats. I borrowed a friend's Go Go Kidz traveller for one trip: http://www.amazon.com/GO-GO-TRAVELM...0&sr=8-1&keywords=go-go+babyz+kidz+travelmate
It was OK, but I had to take the carseat out to go through security and that was a huge PITA.
We also have a carry bag.
What we ended up doing most consistently, though, was to put the carseat in the stroller (not clipped in or anything, just set it in there) and push the carseat while carrying the kid in an ergo and a backpack on the back. I'm sure we looked like ridiculous pack mules, but it worked!

And super-duper kudos for buying your child a seat and using a carseat on the plane!

Thank you for the tips. We originally did not purchase my son his own seat for the flight but after much thought and 375 dollars later UGH!!! we just bought him his own seat. It was making me nervous the thought of having him not buckled in during take off and landing when everyone has to be buckled in (flight attendants.etc) except a baby!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hi!

we decided to purchase our 1 year old son his own seat for the airplane so I will be bringing my own car seat

We will be renting a car and staying at the Grand Floridian so we will need the car seat for the rental car so that works out

any tips for traveling with a car seat at the airport. any specific case you used to transport it to make life a little easier.

Right now I have the nuna pipa car seat I would tend to think he would still be in the same car seat come October 1st.

Any tips for traveling with a car seat to disney would be appreciated. Or if you use a specific car seat for just travel that would be great too. I read about one at walmart that is about 45 bucks that people seem to like for travel the cosco scenara???

make sure the FAA sticker is on and not torn. sticker must be there to use. saying you know that type has the sticker after the sticker has been removed will not work. just aheads up. saw a mother unhappy cause she could not use her carseat as she told FA she removed all stickers so her child couldn't. was not allowed to use it had to go under the plane

 

[DizzyDis]

We did recently for our 4 yo and chose to take our cheaper/lighter option for a seat as taking our big Britax would not have been a good choice for us! Ours has a strap on the back that you use to install it, so DH was able to throw it over his should like a backpack without needing to buy something else/unwrap it before installing, etc. The other nice thing is LO liked to climb and sit on it while waiting for our flight, which wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

Other times we have been told by flight crews that they don't check for the sticker since all current seats are FAA approved, but I didn't check into it afterwards. One other thing, are you bringing a stroller? If so, consider loading it with luggage/car seat and carrying LO for higher stress portions (security, etc) as you will need to take them out of the stroller anyways.

Have fun and the trip down may be a little rough, but it will be worth it!!

 

[quagmire0]

There are videos on Youtube that show you how to attach your carseat to a rolling carry-on. That way, your child can actually ride in that as you go through the airport. All it requires are some inexpensive metal rings from the hardware store and a small piece of rope.

You *will* need to send the seat through the scanner at security though. We've never had anyone check our seats for stickers.

We have travelled with 2 and 3 kids, respectively and will be traveling with 4 in a few days here. Usually we end up using the stroller and then just tossing the extra car seat on top of it.