EC on a plane--I'm terrified!

[KermitII63]

In two months my dh and I will be moving across the country. We've been doing EC with our ds, who will be 6 months old when we leave. How do we deal with the flights? Sometimes he pees every 15 minutes...and if you don't take him he screams. If he has to poop during takeoff/landing what do we do?? I was thinking bring the BBLP and hold him on my lap, but I can just imagine the person's face in front of me, hearing the ginormous blowout, and then hearingmy dh and I enthusiastically complementing him on his big poop. Sigh. And then the airport bathroom--which I'm typically scared of anyway--I don't know how we'd maneuver him over the sink/toilet without him basically covering every surface in pee.

We use prefolds with no cover, and have about 2 dozen, which typically lasts us 2 days, but I'm afraid we might go through them all on the cross-country flight! Has anyone taken their baby on a flight and been successful with EC? I'm just not sure what to do...

[sapphire_chan]

Next time I fly with my 16 month old who pees less than every 2 hours, I'm buying a pack of sposies.

The airplane bathroom is better for peeing a baby than for using myself.

But the one time she pooped on the whole trip was in the middle of landing. By the time I could get everything to a bathroom, I had to throw away her diaper.

[sdbeachy]

We took our 9 month old on the plane with us for a cross-country Christmas visit. We had three flight of about an hour each, with about an hour layover in between both going and coming. He had no misses either time. It was actually nice having the shorter flights, even though it made for a pretty long day. I could just take him before and after the flights in the airport. He nursed and slept on 4 of the 6 flights. We did have a cloth diaper on for backup, but it wasn't needed. I did take him in the airplane bathroom on one flight and just held him over the toilet--it was fine.

I'm not sure I'd try the BBLP on the lap. Airplanes are so cramped, and if something spilled. . ? Maybe you're more coordinated than I am though. Best wishes!

[Sheryl1678]

I have successfully used a BBLP on the bathroom floor of airplanes and trains. I have also brought along both folding and padded potty toppers in a plastic grocery bag which has worked fairly well. The hardest part for me was gathering it all and getting to and from the bathroom.

I have also heard of mothers using a little tupperware container with a tightly sealed lid. You can potty your lo right on your lap and no-one will no (unless you have a loud poo). I have never tried that on a plane though. I used a butter dish with great success (on dry land) when my daughter was a newborn.

Now that I have btdt and not trying to be a hero, I would totally put my lo in sposies (or cloth) if she were that young for such a long flight. You have enough to stress about with a move.

[sabetts]

Originally Posted by KermitII63

Has anyone taken their baby on a flight and been successful with EC? I'm just not sure what to do...

Hi! We flew across the atlantic on a 9ish hour flight and managed about a 50% success rate catching pees. Our 4mo baby didn't poop during the whole flight. I guess we were lucky .

We packed about 8 disposable diapers which she wore all the time.

Since we were with babe, we were given a seat at the front of the section because it could hold a bassinet. This was super convenient because the bathroom was about 2 seconds away!

We also brought a pack of round tupperware containers. They were the really cheap and thin kind but the only ones with a round, smooth rim. If there was no bathroom around in the waiting areas or we were taking off or whatever we could whip one of them out and have babe pee in it and seal it for disposal later. We used it a few times and apart from being slightly embarrassed about others being totally confused about what we were doing, it worked really well!

With the combination of passive protection from a diaper, quick bathroom access, and a port-a-potty backup we managed pretty well.

Good luck!

[zoebird]

we used disposables when on the plane, but didn't need them.

we traveled from Philadelphia to Wellington NZ when ds was 7 mo. it was no problem. honestly, none at all.

first, we pottied him frequently whenever we had the chance (before boarding, as soon as we were up and able to be around the cabin, etc). we caught everything, and were we traveling for 26 hrs total (layovers and all). it's no problem.

but i used disposables because i thought they would be easier to manage in case of misses and such. i used the diapers for the whole trip (i took 40 with me), and we were in NZ for 3 weeks. I think it took me 4 weeks to finish the diapers? we had very few misses.

so, that's me. you'll be fine and don't worry about it.

[gorgorita]

I know a woman who pottied her DD on the plane. She just put a potty on the floor and used it right there, not in the bathroom.
We did oversea flights with DD at 6 mo. 13 mo and 16 mo. I put her in sposies and after the nap/ dinner, etc. or night sleep I would go to the bathroom and offer her a potty ( I had pottete and when she was a baby just hold her over the toilet). If she went, she went, if not I didn't stress it out. The overnight or not flights of more than 8-9 hours are hard as it is. I don't see a reason to sweat it on the plane. At 6 mo the few hours in diapers will not throw you back to square one but a stressed mama not a fun mama to be around)

[KermitII63]

Thanks for all the good advice! I wish they made really small packs of diapers...I haven't had disposables since ds was tiny...but they might be the easiest option for the plane. We went to dinner and DS peed 4 times before we left the restaurant! We caught them all, but if he goes that often on the plane we'll get a workout for sure. The tupperware's a good idea, I'd just be concerned that it would pop out of my lap because it's so thin...but maybe I could give it a test run in the car.

[theboysmama]

I have flown several times w/ dd.
The first time she was 4 months and we used disposable pull ups bcs we were using back-up at the time and disposables were the best option for our vacation. She went through very few of the diapers (no more than what she was normally going through). We brought a potty bowl in the diaper bag and used that when we were not allowed out of our seats and then just dumped it as soon as we could. The lady next to me didn't even notice until dh was off dumping hte bowl and I was pulling up dd's pants. We held her over the airplane potty and the airport pottys w/out a problem.
At 9 months I flew w/ her and she was in underwear. I brought the potty bowl in her diaper bag but never used it. The airplane and airport toilets worked great. I brought a few pre-folds to put in my lap, extra clothes for her and me, and a wet bag. Didn't need any of it though. She did great.
I think it is best to stick as close to your routine as possible but if you do keep your kiddo in undies and don't use any backup make sure to bring some pre-folds and clothes for yourself and if a miss happens it happens. If you are totally freaked about it then use back-up on the plane so you don't stress. Just offer the potty plenty and change frequently and you shouldn't have any problems. good luck w/ your move.

[sabetts]

I'd just be concerned that it would pop out of my lap because it's so thin...but maybe I could give it a test run in the car.

It really helped to have someone hold the container and take it away when baby was done. Doing it solo could result in popping .

[tbmum]

Hi Kermit,

I was thinking bring the BBLP and hold him on my lap, but I can just imagine the person's face in front of me, hearing the ginormous blowout, and then hearingmy dh and I enthusiastically complementing him on his big poop. Sigh.

They'll still hear that blowout in a diaper - so go the potty! It is a squish, but I've done it. So what if they hear? Big deal. If someone complains, ask if they'd rather you lay out a baby's pooey bum to clean up beside them - potties are far cleaner and easier, and you can even ask the stewardess to empty it (possibly?) if you aren't allowed out of your seat?

- It is common for babies to 'let go' on ascent and descent - the pressure changes apparently.

Make your trip less stressful by taking backup:

Here are 7 Tips for EC when Traveling on a Plane:

- Use a potty in a wetbag, if necessary, you can just ZIP it UP! Or pour pee into a jar, wipe up with a wet wipe in a zip-loc bag.

- Use a sanitary pad in a wet bag (a wetbag as you can dip baby's butt in it and easily cover things without too much bulk of a potty).

- Put a sanitary pad, actually a disposable breastpad in a potty to catch wees so spills are not a stress. (and little waste)

- Use a disposable as the potty. Open, pee baby into it, roll it up, pop away for later; put them back in dry pants.

- Planes can be dehydrating, travel in general, (air con) so less wee needs overall most likely. Expect less needs, BUT planes can be very exciting - you may find MANY requests to check out that interesting toilet cubicle! Plus the pressure may play with their body awareness?

- We've found travel EC easy - there are less distractions, baby is always right there, so signals / needs easier to spot or be aware of. relax and be openly aware, that'll do.

- remember diaper free is the destination - it is not a rule of EC - your baby can wear a diaper for backup and your peace of mind (and those around you) even though you don't intend they must use it...

Relax, go with the flow, it won't be so bad!
- Charndra

[KermitII63]

So many great ideas--thanks tbmum! I've been wondering what to do with the box of disposable breast pads I bought and no longer need. What a great idea. It will keep me from having to get up and down a million times. Since I'm not planning to check any bags, I'll have my BBLP with me, so I might as well put it to use. And I agree with you on principle--who cares about what other people think--but for some reason I get a big nervous doing EC in public. My husband is far more relaxed than I am in that department--I think it's because boys pee outside all the time and girls are taught differently. Thanks again for the great tips!

[zoebird]

what else was i going to add?

oh, the big bags of diapers.

we donated the ones we hadn't used (when DS grew out of them) to the local women's emergency shelter. they were *happy* to take all of them. they were obviously unused, and such, and so they had them for any women and babies who came around.

i don't feel comfortable pottying the baby in the open on the plane, so we didn't do that. in general, i don't feel comfortable pottying him in the open any more unless it's summer and we're in a nature area anyway or it's an absolute emergency.

that's just me though.

also, when he was little, we would use a square container to catch. it was an old wipes container. it's easier to squeeze between your knees. it's rectangular actually.

we just use the toilet now, though in public i don't let him sit on the seat. i'm loathe to sit on the seats myself. LOL

[lexmas]

We EC'd on planes on 6 flights while DS was younger. We did use disposibles for flights. You just don't know when you're not going to be be able to get out of your seat. I would suggest buying some kind of pull ups (we used 7th generation) for ease of pottying...if you fold the top over they'll fit the tiniest of babies just fine.

The most useful thing we used was one of these wetbags as a potty:

http://continuum-family.com/index.ph...roducts_id=302

Just stick a prefold in the bottom and you're good to go, it will soak everything up for awhile. I just undid his diaper and pottied him right there in the seat.

When he was older, it was a good distraction to get up and walk to the bathroom, so we did that a lot. We're also the people who intentionally get the seats in the last row, to be close to the bathroom. We never had EC trouble on the plane, some flights he was dry and some he wasn't. He never did poop in his diaper, but if he did, oh well. Really, it's not as big of a deal as you think it is. I thought it was too, but it wasn't.

And have fun, flying is an adventure!