Traveling Tips Please!

[dislocator3972]

I'm going to fly from Alaska to Colorado in a few weeks and it's my first time traveling as a parent. DH is following me a few days later, so I will be visiting 4 airports, taking 3 flights, traveling for at least 17 hours, with my daughter, her carseat, her stroller, and our luggage.

So I'm starting my research now.

Any tips from BTDT mamas?

I have a pouch sling and a moby style wrap. She sleeps better in the moby but the pouch is easier to get on and off (and looks nicer). Which should I take?

The carseat goes onto the stroller (these trips are the only reason we got this stroller) and both can be checked at the gate for each flight. If there's room, I can bring the carseat onto the plane with me, but I'm not expecting a lot of empty seats right around Christmas. When the carseat is on the stroller I can still fit the diaper bag (hopefully containing my purse, camera, and laptop), and one small carryon. If I pack carefully, I'm hoping I can just bring the small carryon and let my DH bring the rest of our clothes when he comes. What crucial items should I bring besides a few changes of clothes for each of us?

I think we're going to use 'sposies while we travel, but we're going to use a diaper service when we get to my IL's. So I'll need covers and snappis and a wet bag, and I think we'll just use disposable wipes, so no spray or cloth wipes.

She's still EBF, but I'm going to bring a small hand pump for nights out. Think we'll be ok with one bottle and a few freezer bags?

She sleeps with us, though I'm not sure where she'll nap. Their beds are really soft, and might be too soft for her to sleep on alone. Her stroller reclines to almost totally flat, she could sleep there as long as I hauled it upstairs and away from the dog.

I need to call my IL's and see if they have a baby monitor lying around, because their house is big and I don't want to miss hearing her wake up.

So I've tried to think about carrying, feeding, diapering, napping, sleeping, and listening. Am I missing anything??

[LiLStar]

traveling is usually pretty tolerable with an infant. Although thats a really long day! As for which sling, I'd bring both But I like my variety. with a stroller carrying a carseat with a baby in it, and a carry on in the basket, you can still carry something on your back and probably drag a suitcase on wheels (if you need to, that is) Unless you anticipate being able to put your baby in a car seat on the plane and have her sleep, don't waste carry on space with something like a book or something to do. In my experience traveling with kids.. it doesn't get used and wastes space in the bag. And if you get lucky enough to be able to read on the plane, there's always the airline magazine. and sudoku in there! lol. As for what all you need to bring.. well, you know your own and your baby's needs more than anyone else.

For a place to nap, how about a folded up blanket on the floor?

[dislocator3972]

Originally Posted by LiLStar

For a place to nap, how about a folded up blanket on the floor?

Unfortunately, they have a very large dog that A: pees on everything and B: likes to eat small animals. I'd try just taking her upstairs, but he runs up there every chance he gets.

If you're thinking I wont use stuff to do, maybe I'll just bring the ipod. Can't go wrong with an audio book!

[alaskaberry]

what about sleeping on the floor? Could you guys sleep there?

I just did a 12 hr trip (AK-->NY), 8 hrs of flight time plus 4 hrs layover with 2 kids, an 11m old and a 3 1/2 yr old. The baby slept for most of the trip--it was great. I would try to keep your LO up for as long as you possibly can w/o napping b4 your flight. It makes it sooo much easier--plus you don't have much jet lag to contend with (lucky!). I wore the baby in my mei tai, which turned out to be a mistake because he couldn't fall asleep in it and slept the entire time sprawled out on my lap, so I would bring whichever sling she is better at sleeping in when you *aren't* moving around.

Good luck!

[roadfamily6now]

how old is your little one?

I would not attempt to haul a baby and a car seat/stroller/ and bags onto the plane. I would check everything you can. Carry only the essentials.

I would plan on wearing baby on and off the plane. Do you have an extra seat purchased for baby? I think you are right in thinking there will be few empty seats. I fly back and forth from AK to Seattle a lot with my son and there is never empty seats.

Good Luck!

[roadfamily6now]

if your baby is still tiny, a dresser drawer works wonders as a mini bassinet

[dislocator3972]

My DD is going to be 3 months when we leave. And we didn't buy an extra ticket for her, though I'm starting to worry now that she won be safe.

I'm wondering if the stroller will be helpful during the long layover. I'm guessing I'll want to put her down. During the short layover, I was thinking it might be nice to toss everything into the stroller, leave the babe on me and run for the next flight.

I know families are usually allowed to board the plane early, and I think if I have enough time between flights I might try to stay on the plane and be one of the last ones off.

How do you nurse a babe to help with altitude? On takeoff and landing? Or if she's sleeping should I just let her be and nurse her when she wakes up?

When it comes to nursing on the plane, did you find yourself more comfortable to be covered? I've only ever covered once and it was AWKWARD, but with strangers on either side of me. . .

I feel like I'm learning to travel and fly and nurse all over again. lol

[sunshynbaby]

I planned on nursing during take off and landing since everything I read warned to do that. Just before we got on the plane a BTDT mom told me she worried about that but her baby was fine. I'm so glad I ran into that mom, because DS fell asleep before takeoff and would not wake to continue nursing. He was fine. The same happened for landing and on the way back. He did fuss a little bit during the decent and we yawned until he yawned and popped his ears (yawning is contagious for babies too). We bought a seat for him because I'm super paranoid about safety. It was really nice to not have to hold him the whole time too. Buy a few bottles of water before you get on the plane. I ran out.

[tallanvor]

First time I flew with a baby was from Alaska to Michigan. She was about 5 months when we left, so a little older. I wore her in the sling wrap that trip, which was nice. I was not allowed to leave her in the wrap on the plane, though. She slept just about the whole trip, except for the lay-over, so the majority of the 13 hour trip (unfortunately, she was awake a good bit when we got there and I wanted to sleep). She was fine during take-off and landing. I was the one in pain, not her. Didn't really bother my older two, either. For her, all I would take on the plane would be a few diapers and wipes, and a couple changes of clothes. If she takes a paci, take one of those. As for you, wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get a change of clothes in there for yourself if possible, in case she spits up or her diaper leaks. I wouldn't take anything else for you except maybe one book that will tide you over and/or your ipod or whatever. It is hard to maneuver to get things when you're holding a baby. And honestly, I wouldn't take the stroller/car seat on the plane unless you are just concerned about checking it. If you have the wrap you won't need it in the airport. And if you have a short lay-over it is just one more thing to have to deal with.

[sunshynbaby]

Originally Posted by tallanvor

As for you, wouldn't be a bad idea to try and get a change of clothes in there for yourself if possible, in case she spits up or her diaper leaks.

Ditto this. DS actually gave me a nice golden shower in the airplane bathroom while I was changing his diaper. I was wearing dark colors, so it didn't show. I just felt peed on all day, lol!

[roadfamily6now]

I'm not a paranoid person at all. Probably anti-paranoid if there is such a thing. The way I look at it is, if the plane crashes, no one is going to be safe.
Luckily planes dont crash very often!

I have never had an issue with nursing, I am very discrete. Can you get a window seat so you have only ONE stranger next to you?

[batsister]

My son is 4 months old, and I have done one cross-country trip with him alone (plus a shorter trip closer to home, with my husband one way and without him coming back). So not a lot of experience yet, but here are my tips:
-if your baby is awake and willing to nurse during take-off and landing, great-- it might help with the ear pressure, but if she is asleep, I would just let her sleep
-I agree with the pp(s) about taking both carriers. I found my ring sling very useful for flying-- I could carry him through the airport, then easily take him out while going through security (they generally make you do this), then put him back in quickly. Also, on the plane, it was easy to slip him into the sling to nurse, then cover up with the sling's tail-- quite discrete when elbow-to-elbow with a stranger (however, there really isn't much ROOM for nursing on a plane, I discovered-- I had to kind of turn sideways, but my son is long for his age). Once at my destination, though, my mei tai was better for longer duration trips carrying my son.
-I did not travel with a stroller or carset because I didn't need them at my destination (I just had a backpack + tote bag + baby in sling)-- I carried everything on, and it worked pretty well. My advice would be to pack as lightly as possible re: the number of bags you are taking, and a backpack might be nicer than wheeled luggage b/c you can be hands-free that way.
-To maximize space and maintain some level of organization in my bag (a top-loading backpack), I categorized my son's clothes (e.g., pants, short-sleeve onesies, long-sleeve onesies, etc.), then put each "category" into a gallon size zip-lock bag, pressed the air out, and stacked them in my bag.
-On the way there, he stayed clean(ish) in one outfit the entire trip; on the way back, he went through three outfits during the trip.
-Extra shirt for you is a good idea (for all the reasons mentioned above and...)-- also, if you use nursing pads, maybe bring extras or double up... I found that there were long stretches where I could only nurse on one side (due to orientation in plane seat, etc.), and/or my son didn't want to nurse much (too much to see, or was just fussy, or...), and well, leaking through shirt can happen.
-Regarding a place to sleep: is there something at your destination than "firm up" a portion of the soft mattress? Like a self-inflating camp mat, stiff lap pad, etc. you can put under the sheet? I have also heard of people using one of those foam changing pads with the contours (U-shaped) for babies to sleep on... maybe you could buy one at your destination, and put her in it on the bed?

That was a bit long and rambling... anyway, good luck, and have a good trip!

[JMJ]

I can usually make it through security with my baby in my moby-style wrap. I went through security once with her asleep in a ring sling and had to take her out because the rings set off the metal detector. They still let me try since there weren't other people waiting. It just depends on the screeners. If you can only bring one, I would recommend the moby. Just keep it tied around yourself the whole time.

I would actually recommend the aisle seat, especially for a long flight like that. I find myself up and out of my seat a lot with a baby. They sure do like their adults to stand with them. This also allows you to hang your baby's legs out into the asile for nursing if needed. Just beware of the flight attendents and others coming by. The only risk is that you may have to get up and out of the way while trying not to wake your sleeping babe in your lap.

As far as nursing on a plane is concerned, definately offer on takeoff and landing, but don't wake the baby to do so. DD happily latches on in her sleep. There have been some horror stories of women being asked not to bf on a plane before, but airlines have received a lot of flack for those cases. I'm still more comfortable covering as best I can on a plane. If you do cover, I would recommend a designated nursing cover that allows you to see the baby well and a shirt that either opens from the top or has designated nursing holes. If you do not cover, I would recommend either a shirt that has designated nursing holes with some fabric above baby's mouth or a shirt that pulls up and a nursing tank underneath so that you can rest the extra fabric from your shirt around baby's mouth so that the people around you don't actually see much, and what they might catch a glimpse of is hidden again very quickly. When you're actually in the act, people are likely to not even know what you're doing.

As far as sleep is concerned, you might be able to solve the soft mattress problem and the place for the baby problem all in one fell swoop if you can convince them to let you put the mattress on the floor. I got my mom to do this for our upcoming Thanksgiving trip, and I'm considering it for Christmas at the inlaws.

[kimellett]

My first trip with dd (6 months) (and ds (5)) was from Korea to the states, via Japan (3 hour layover). Ditto everything everyone said. I'd bring both slings, use one to cover, or not. I didn't make an effort to cover, no one seemed to notice or care. Do not be afraid to ask the flight attendants for ANYTHING!! They can be especially nice and helpful (they don't want to listen to a screaming babe any more than you do!) On my trip, they had apparently done away with pre-boarding families, so I just asked, and they happily let us on. I had 2 car seats, 2 carry-ons and a babe to carry. Physically impossible. Flight attendants were more than happy to help, and one even held the baby while I installed the car seats. They moved a passenger so I could be next to my kids, and helped us off the plane. (we were last off! Even the pilot beat us!) Can't say enough good things about United flight attendants!!

[claras_mom]

My recent experience is that I didn't have to take baby from the carrier--the bjorn, btw--for security.

[AKislandgirl]

I've traveled with dd from AK to Seattle... two flights each way. I have an ergo which I did not have to take off for security. I also learned that I could bypass the long security line and go to the family line. That was great.

If you are used to cloth and switch to sposies for the trip consider having your dd wear a cover over her sposie because I have only gotten huge blowouts in sposies. (this is what I plan to do when I fly just after Christmas). Keeps the mess to a minumum.

I wish I had used my backpack instead of the diaper bag on the last trip. Less to carry and left arms free.

Bring a liteweight blanket for the airport floor so you can put her down to stretch out during layovers. Also, don't worry about changing her in the corner on the floor (with blanket) because this is probably much cleaner then the changing table in the bathroom.

I love your audio book idea for the ipod! I'm going to borrow that one!

Good luck and have fun!

[red and lulu]

Last month I flew from the east coast to hawaii with my (then) 3 mo. old (and a pregnant girlfriend). It was so much easier than I anticipated. I wore her in the wrap in the airport and we checked the carseat. This allowed me to have my hands free, and also kept her calm in the airport/boarding chaos. Also, since it's flu season, it kept oglers from getting in her face. And they didn't make me take her out at security- I wore her through for all four flights. Long and the short, don't take the stroller, it's much easier without it (IMHO).

[claras_mom]

Traveling alone with a baby, the only time I missed a stroller was when it came time for me to pee. It is of course entirely possible to pee while wearing the baby, but it is a lot easier if there's a safe and above all sanitary place the baby can be stashed for those few moments.