Travel and BF

566 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by hypnohobbit, Mar 31, 2006

narnie

Discussion Starter · Mar 31, 2006

Hello all. I'm wanting some good advice.

I have to go on a business trip, it will be for three nights. My DH is coming along with our baby DS who is EBF. We have not traveled yet anywhere, except to see family. So this trip involves airplane travel and hotel overnights. With my first DS I feel like it's been so long I can't even remember. So, I'm very nervous about the trip and want to be prepared. Please, please, please... suggestions from those of you who have traveled with thier little ones.

Thank you.

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alegna

· #2 · Mar 31, 2006

Okay- random tips-
on the plane get a seat for babe and bring your carseat
plan nursing breaks through your day
does baby co-sleep? if so, sleeping will be no big deal

-Angela

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CalBearMama

· #3 · Mar 31, 2006

When flying, nurse baby on take-off and landing to prevent ear pain.

Dress baby in layers for the flight so you can adjust his outfit depending on the temperature in the plane and he won't end up being too hot or too cold for the entire flight. Our DS tends to overheat on airplanes for some reason, and we once had to strip him and take turns holding him up to the air vent in order to calm him down.

Bring as many different little toys/books/interesting objects as possible, to hold baby's interest.

Try to plan flights around nap-time so there might be a solid block of time that he sleeps and you don't have to entertain him in such cramped quarters.

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narnie

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 31, 2006

Do I need to pay for a seat for the babe--Do I strap him in the car seat while in the airplane? He hates being in his car seat

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vanessab23

· #5 · Mar 31, 2006

If you bring a carseat, then YES you will need to pay for another seat. If they are under 2 you can usually just keep 'em on your lap. My DS is 3 months and we just took our first trip-- I did not pay for another seat...just held him in my lap. DS also doesn't do the car seat for long....AND it's so obnoxious to carry around.

I liked the window seat for nursing and leaning against. Also you don't have to move to let someone else out, especially annoying if DC is asleep

My sling was also a god-send.....but I did have to take him out for security AND for take-off and landing. We pre-boarded and got the first row (southwest has open seating like a cattle-call!) but then we couldn't keep the diaper bag right in front of us, it had to go up top. (but not with anything liquid)
HTH!

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narnie

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 31, 2006

Thank you.

I was hoping I could just put him in his sling and get on the plane. Yes, the infant seat is obnoxious to carry--I can see people getting bumped left and right down the aisle

AND way too heavy... We'll take a window seat

I had read in "What to Expect in Your First Year"--that you should have your babe in a rear facing seat.. and that nursing is impractical on the plane because your DC should be strapped in the entire time. Wow--that would be a recipe for disaster for my DS. But, I didn't want to get on the plane thinking I could nurse and my DS would be able to be in his sling when that wasn't the case at all.

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Hawkeyemama

· #7 · Mar 31, 2006

great tips so far!

I flew with dd when she was about 8 months old. I held her on my lap the whole time and nursed her during take off and landing. I wore her in the sling through the airport which made her feel safe and I liked having her so close to me in crowds of people. It also made boarding easy because I did have other bags to carry and I wouldn't have been able to juggle a carseat too. (I brought a carseat to use at the destination but checked it as luggage)

It was pretty much impossible to nurse discretely on the plane, but my mom was next to me and tried to cover me up with her jacket when dd was latching on, so that helped! I did have trouble timing nursing with take off and landing. Dd has always been a short nurse so she would be done nursing before we were on the ground/totally in the air. She was fine though. I brought some books for the plane but her FAVORITE toy was the bag of pretzels from the airline! She played with that silly bag the whole trip

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hypnohobbit

· #8 · Mar 31, 2006

Quote:

I'm sorry, I hate the 'what to expect' series and have boycotted them. In 'what to expect in the toddler years' they say that nursing beyond a year is pointless and you should go ahead and wean, it's whats best for child.

: I nursed ds until he was over 3 years old and have learned alot regarding the many benefits of extended nursing. I am not thrilled that 'what to expect the first year' said 'nursing is impractical on a plane' yet I am not surprised. I slinged and nursed on every flight we took, no problems, very practical. Your sling and your arms are adequate as a 'seatbelt' and dc will be much more secure feeling in mama's arms than in a carseat. It will help dc to feel calm, safe, and secure and that means less crying and not too many people are thrilled with a crying tot aboard a plane. Besides, when you are taking off and touching down, nursing will help ease the pressure transition that babes feel, and that is important. You wont catch me on a plane without chewing gum to ease the pressure in my own ears, I wouldn't want my son to suffer.

'what to expect' is impractical.

Follow your own feeling, I did and ds, I, and the rest of the plane were all better off disregarding the book.

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