Traveling alone with 9month old baby

[trash]

I will be traveling alone with my 9 month old baby. Luckily she still fits in the Graco Snugride. Any advise will be welcome.
Is there a changing table in one of the bathrooms? I would need to carry her with me even when I go to the bathroom. I had to use miles to upgrade myself to business class so I did not purchase a ticket for her and I doubt if there would be an extra seats in the business class. I would be holding her the entire trip on my lap. Hopefully she will sleep. So any suggestions on pressuring her ears, feeding her formula.

[madibug]

Most of the airplanes I have been on do not have a changing table in the bathrooms. I lay one of those diposable changing table cloths over the toilet and change there. Tricky but it works. If you have an empty seat next to you, you could change the baby there if the diaper isn't too stinky. I would bring enough formula to be able to give your infant some to drink on take off and landing, just in case her ears bother her. Definately bring extra clothes and diapers to carry with you. My DD spits up a lot and is teething, so on our last trip I had a couple of burp clothes, bibs and extra clothing. Also, if your child needs the formula warmed up don't forget to bring a bottle warmer. It is really hard to run around an airport looking for a microwave. When we travel I bring a couple new little toys that the kids haven't seen yet and I bring our portable dvd player. Even a nine month old will enjoy watching einstein, but it is an extra thing to carry. The last flight I was on the flight attendant was nice enough to let me stand with my 4month old in the back to get her to sleep. She was over tired and too busy looking around to go to sleep.

You can leave your carseat and stroller at the gate. They will check it under the plane and have it for you waiting by the plane door when you get off. That way you can have it right away.

Good luck and have fun!
Jen

[jgriffin]

Jetblue had a space in the bathroom for changing babies, don't know about other planes. (They have all AirBuses.)

The two times we've flown with E, we didn't have any problems with pressure changes. I think he might have still been using a pacifier the first time, but the last time (just this week) we let him drink formula during the descent. I brought premixed cans of formula and brought more than I thought we would need (which was good, because E drank more than he usually does, and we went through all of it!)

Like the PP said, we brought new toys to play with, but also had a couple of familiar ones. And we brought his security blanket to help him sleep.

It helped to have an airplane blanket to cover the seatbelt buckle. Not only would it be uncomfortable to sleep against, without it E kept accidently unbuckling our seatbelts when he moved around.

And don't be afraid to ask the flight attendants for help! I'm sure they would be happy to hold your baby for a minute or two while you're in the bathroom, or help you refill a bottle with formula. It's in their best interests to have a happy baby on board. :)

HTH!

Jen