Have any tips for flying w/3.5 month old infant?

[ACinnamonGirl]

Hi ~
I will be flying United Airlines from Seattle to Dallas with my 3.5 month old daughter at the end of this month. I did not purchase a separate seat for her, so she will be in my lap. I thought I'd use the Baby Bjorn carrier (I've read the previous posts). Do any of you wise, experienced parents out there have any travel tips for this first time Mom? Of course, I've heard lots of horror stories about problems with infants ear pressure during take-off and landing. Is this really a problem? Help!
Thanks in advance,
Jules

[Nooknookmom]

I made sure my daughter was either drinking a bottle or had a binky in her mouth to relieve pressure-this is what my pediatrician advised me to do. Hope this helps, also ask the fl. att. if you can move your seat to behind the bulkhead, you will have much more room for the babe!

[mom@home]

One word of warning to using a bottle during takeoff - air sickness! When we flew with my 12 month-old daughter, we gave her a bottle of milk and within 15 minutes, she threw up all over herself and her carseat, making for a very smelly, very messy rest of the flight. Definitely make sure you have an extra change of clothes for both you and your baby with you on the plane because you just never know what might happen. Good luck!

[mma800]

We flew to Mexico when my daughter was 5 months old. I put her in the Baby Bjorn carrier- and it was great. In retrospect- I wish I'd brought the stroller on the plane- rather than checking it with the luggage. We had a 3 hour layover and I had no place to lay her down for a nap. Plus my back was so tired by the end of our trip!

I found a product called EarPlanes at my local Walgreens (near the eardrops and ear plugs) There were sizes for kids and adults. They are little plugs to go in the babies ears to help relieve any pressure. It said for age One and up- but we used them anyway- and had no problems. Don't really know if they helped or not- but she was quiet! We flew again when she was 7 mos old- and again- no problems.
We brought pacifiers and bottles with us- and offered them on take off and landing.
I thought I'd brought EVERY possible item I'd need for our 1st plane trip- but forgot to pack an extra outfit- and needed to buy a onesie at the airport disneystore due to a squirmy poopy baby during a diaper change!
I'd also dress the baby in something that's warm and easy to snap on/off during changes. My daughter had a poop each time we hit cruising altitude- and not all airplane bathrooms have a pull down changing table. Also- ziploc bags to put the nasty diapers in- no need to stink up the whole plane!
We also brought non-electric sound toys- so as not to disturb other passengers. Soft books, cuddly toys, etc.

Have fun!

[ACinnamonGirl]

Hey, thank you all for the great tips! I never would have thought of packing extra clothes for myself (new Mom, afterall) and bringing only "passenger friendly" toys is also a great idea. The longest leg of my flight will be 2 1/2 hours, so hopefully Jacqueline enjoys earning her "wings!"
Jules

[vbfc]

LAST EDITED ON Jun-25-01 AT 01:10AM (Mountain)[p]If you are nervy - carry your infant carrier/bucket onto the plane. This worked for me once (one of the only times we did not buy a tix for daughter).. I just told the flight attendant that the gate said there might be an empty seat and that if there was not they could always gate check it. It worked. There were about 6 empty seats and no one minded moving so I could get two together.

You can also ask the gate agent to block an empty seat near you for as long as possible if not a full flight. Some will - some won't. If there are 2 of you traveling, book A and C seats and leave middle B empty. Middle seats are the last to go.

ASK - no insist- on bulkhead. It is for handicapped, but also used for frequent flyers and moms with kids in tow. I get it all the time.

Make sure you pack enough diapers, food, formula for at least 12 - 14 hours. Delays and G-d knows what else are possible (and always likely these days). My poor sister got to her destination with 2 year old son 12 hours later thaan expected (last week). That was fine - except airline had lost luggage - so she had no clothes for him and only one diaper left in her diaper bag. Not the best situation.

Also, gate check stroller. Nice to have for layovers. Be warned - if it is raining out, this and any other gate checked items will get wet. We travel with a giant hefty bag for our infant carrier. It is worth it to buy a stroller bag.

Ears can be a problem. We always use a binky. (even for the child that does not like). The problem with nursing is that the baby is not secured. This defeats the whole purpose of wearing the Bjorn - unless you are very talented and can nurse attached.
Bottles pose their own hassles - but better than nothing. One friend uses apple juice and sugar water - even for little ones - to make sure her kids drink while the plane takes off and lands.

Pack snacks for you - so you don't have to deal with lack of airline food and fatigue. Take advantage of preboard, that is why they offer it - so you can get settled. Of course, I make my hubby get on with seats early and the kids and I get on at the last second. Keeps them from getting crazy. (I just realized this may also be a good way to sneak on the infant carrier).

When the flight attendant offers to help - don't hand over the baby - hand over a heavy bag. Most really try to be helpful - it is part of their job.

Pee in the handicapped potty (so you can take stroller in) before you get on the plane. No fun to pee with kid in Bjorn on a bouncy plane - and you won't want to leave the little one unattended.

You may want to double diaper baby. One less accident is good at 25,000 feet.

Good luck!!

[acadiaphile]

I can't speak with personal experience yet, but I've heard tale of babies doing a whole lot of especially messy diaper work on planes. As a result, don't forget a change of clothes (at least a shirt) for yourself!

[ACinnamonGirl]

Hi All ~

I just wanted to thank you again for all the useful information and let you know how our plane trip went. My daughter slept all the way thru the first leg of our flight from SEA to DEN (she did the same on the return flight). Thank goodness, because this portion of the trip was 2.5 hours in the air.

She did get fussy on the 2nd leg of the flight from DEN to DFW. I brought a bottle with breast milk for her, but only enough for 1 feeding. Although she had a pacifier, she got fussy during the landing. In hind sight, I should have brought enough for her regular feeding(s), plus extra for take-off & landing. Also, because she got bottle feedings instead of breast feedings on the plane, I should have brought a manual breast pump to relieve engorgement during the layover at the airport. I personally wouldn't have felt comfortable breastfeeding her on the crowded plane.

We lucked out in the poopy diaper category - I only had to change wet diapers. Whew, I wasn't looking forward to dealing with a diaper blow-out at 35,000 feet! However, the bathrooms on the planes were incredibly small - none had pull-down changing tables. The only flat surface available was the lid of the toilet, which wasn't really long enough for a baby. Even though I brought a changing pad, it was incredibly awkward to accomplish a diaper change in such a cramped space. I did change my daughter in the airport before getting on each plane, but was on "hyper-poop alert" after reading all the e-mails. :) So, I checked her once during each leg of the flight.

With regard to using the Baby Bjorn carrier - it worked out great! However, I did have a flight attendant tell me that I couldn't use it during take-off & landing on the DEN - DFW leg of our trip. At first she said that United did not "recommend" the use of such carriers, then she came back and told me that United "prohibited" the use of them. I had to hold my daughter in my lap. Their lame reasoning was that if the plane crashed, the seats would collapse forward and the baby would be crushed - as opposed to being catapulted clear out of your lap. Hmm....okay. It was interesting to note that I did fly United to & from Dallas, and only that flight attendant mentioned anything about the BB carrier. No one said anything to me on the other 3 legs of our trip. Go figure...

I think that if my daughter were older (6 months & above), purchasing a seat for her & using her car seat would have been the best thing to do. The planes on the flights to DFW weren't crowded, so I could lay my daughter down on the seat next to me. But coming back, all flights were booked solid - fortunately I sat next to very understanding passengers.

Well, thank you again for all the info. & hope this helps others attempting air travel with their infants!

Jules

[rebwal]

My daughter flew for the first time when she was 9 weeks old. As other mother's have advised, just make sure he/she is sucking on a pacifier during takeoff/landing. The hum of the engines lulled my daughter to sleep. I actually had to wake her up to get off the plane. Since I was visiting family who didn't have an extra car seat or stroller. I had to bring both with me. So, when I got to the gate to check in I asked if the plane was full and mentioned that I was traveling with an infant. Because the plane wasn't full, they gave me a seat for my daughter (free of charge), and I was able to keep her in her car seat for the plane ride. I would recommend this to all mother's who fly with an infant...you have nothing to loose by asking if they have an available seat and I felt a lot better knowing my daughter was safely in her car seat.