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@ logistics of flying alone with LO
In Dec I'll be flying alone with DD from Frankfurt to Chicago and have a couple of logistical questions for those of you who have done this before:
1) Our formula is powder that you mix. I'll be bringing a thermos with hot water, but not enough to last the whole trip. Can I expect to get hot water on the plane/in the airport? I actually had a nightmare last night that they wouldn't give me hot water.
2) In your experience are there changing tables in the airplane bathrooms? If not, where do you change LO?
3) What do you do when YOU have to go to the bathroom? I have a bassinet for LO, but I'm not just going to leave her in that for safety reasons. I obviously can't leave her in the seat, and I would feel strange asking a flight attendant to hold her. Do you just take LO in with you and then figure out the logistics of that? I'm probably way overthinking this, but the thought occurred to me and now won't go away...
I'd appreciate your thoughts!
Re: @ logistics of flying alone with LO
1) I don't have any experience with formula, but in my experience it shoudln't be a problem to get hot water on a long haul flight like that.
2) There are change tables, it is above/behind the toilet on most long flights I've flown. Somone on this board (maybe AmericaninOz?) told me to bring a soft blanket/towel for that table, and they were right because the first time I changed V on one it was so loud/rattling because it's metal and she cried. I brought the fleece blanket in next time and she tolerated it a little better.
3) I take her in with me. I don't even know if you could leave her in the bassinet in terms of rules, esp. because when they turn the seatbelt sign on (on Delta and American at least when I flew) she had to be taken out of there. Anyway, I would not count on the kindness of flight attendants either, although that could happen. I take her in with me. Sometimes I set her on my lap, then kind of have her slung over my shoulder when I have to pull up pants/etc. Other times she has tolerated being in a wrap/carrier and I just struggle a bit to get my pants up but it works out. If she is super antsy I skip handwashing because that can get messy with a super squirmy baby, and I use hand sanitizer at my seat.
I know planning all this can be super stressful, but try not to work yoruself up (says me who starts sweating just thinking of these things haha!) because it really won't help anyway! Be prepared to be super sweaty all day long, but things will go fine!
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1) If I were you I'd bring my own water (bottled water bought at the airport is what I used) & ask the flight crew to heat it up for you. This was a few years ago for me so maybe things have changed, but when I flew I asked the FA to rinse out one of LO's bottles with hot water & they hesitated because she said the quality of their hot water wasn't good for drinking. Thinking back I question that statement since people were drinking coffee & tea on the flight. Hmmm.
2) Yes, there are changing tables that drop down over the toilet.
3) When I had to use the bathroom I put LO in a baby bjorn & wore her. It's a good idea to have one of those anyway because you'll want your hands are free as possible when traveling alone. That was the easiest way to manage all the stuff through security too. Some screeners will let you wear the baby through the metal detector, some won't. I always just asked when I got up there.
Thanks! I'll be using my cloth wrap to carry her around the airport, so I'll just keep it on during the flight and put her in it if I need to go to the bathroom. As for the other points, I guess it helps to be able to read ;-) I just found this on Lufthansa's website:
- Lufthansa carries baby food on all its flights. But you shouldn't
forget your baby's bottle and its favourite food! Water for the bottle
is available on board. Our flight attendants will also warm the baby's
bottle, and glasses, too. Just ask one of them - they?ll be glad to help
you!
- There are changing tables in the washrooms on board
I guess we'll see whether the "they'll be glad to help you" part is correct, but at least they should have water to heat on board :-)My DS has flown over 12 times and only once has DH joined us, so we are pros at solo traveling. That said, I find on int'l flights I get a lot of support from the crew and passengers. Request the wall mounted crib, my DS never would sleep in it, but liked to sit in it and play. My son started loving our Ipad at about 7 months, so I always take the Ipad with me.
1) I just brought the powder. They have bottles of water and the flight attendants would warm it for me. I always boarded with first class or right after, and I ask them to warm it so I could prepare the bottle so he could drink it during take off. He typically fell asleep w/his bottle during take off. He would cry for about 10 mins trying to fight sleep, but in the end, the hum and vibrations of the engines won him over
2)There are changing tables in a few of them. Bring a cloth, they are very small too.
3) I put him on my lap and on a few occasions he has sat in my seat with the people in our row if they were kid friendly. Flight attendants in the gallies were always offering to help as well.
I also did not take a stroller through the airport. I couldn't stand breaking it down (mostly on the US side) to put through the scanning machines. The first time I flew w/LO I brought it thinking they would use the wand and do a manual search on us. Nope, I had to unload LO, break down the stroller, and get everything through security ON MY OWN. The TSA in the States were Azzes! So if I have to take a stroller, I check it (typically one baby item is free) and I wore LO through the airport. Much easier for me. Since he was 1.5 yrs I use a monkey tether and I love it!
1. I would bring my own water and ask for some from the flight attendants if ever I ran out.
2. As others have said, change tables above the toilet. In my experience they are usually in the toilets at the back of the plane. On one flight the toilet with the change table was out of service and the flight attendants put down a blanket on the floor near the back exit for me to change him.
3. I usually had him sit on my lap or in the baby bjorn. A few times a flight attendant offered to hold M while I used the washroom.
I have also had a flight attendant and some seat mates hold M while I ate. So nice of them to offer. He hated sitting/sleeping in the bassinets.
I've flown over 30 times alone with M and have never had a bad experience, I find the flight crew, security, check-in and the shuttle drivers have been more than helpful and understanding.
Good luck!
Ditto this. Until DS was about 8 mos. and exceeded the weight limit, the basinettes in the bulkhead were wonderful. Surprisingly, he did actually sleep in them relatively well, but even if they don't sleep, it's nice to have the extra space.
Ditto re: the changing tables in the lavatories: really easy, plenty of space in my experience. I usually just grab our changing pad that came with our diaper bag to lay him/her on and a small wet bag that I could loop over my wrist stocked w/diapers, etc., and schlep that to the lavatory for changes.
ETA: In a pinch, I've generally had another mom or a friendly grandma-type offer to hold LO...esp. if you're in the basinette row, you're likely to be seated next to others with babies who may or may not have a free hand. I usually just put baby in a carrier (Beco or Ergo work for us) and it works fine.
Also, since you have a baby, it's our experience that Lufthansa will allow you to go straight to the business class check-in line at FRA. We were at the back of a verrrrrry check in long line there a couple of years back when a Lufthansa agent, seeing DS in the carrier, caught our eye and escorted us to the (much shorter) business class line. If you're shy, just catch their eye and ask where to go w/the baby and they'll likely direct you that way even if you're not flying business. They're very accomodating, IMO.
Definitely bring your own water. We don't heat our bottles (she drinks them at room temp) but I bet they would heat them.
I wear them to the bathroom.
Do they do security at the gate in frankfurt? It was always a pain in the butt for us flying out of amsterdam because unless flying to another scheming county security was at the gate so I had to completely rely on flight attendants for water. I would ask them for a bottle immediatley. I also tried to choose our seats at the very back of the plane so I could just pop in and ask without having to walk the length of the plane. You probably won't be able to do that though because you are sitting in bulkhead with bassinet! Good luck!
Yeah, this one is tough. I like the back as well (if there is an empty seat next to you its great), but when we flew LH they put all the babies together and they were right behind the kitchen area. The lights and the little babies crying kept DS up the entire flight. So we drove from Dallas to Houston, got on a plane and few from Houston to Frankfurt, 3 hour lay over there, then onto Amsterdam, then 2 trains to Haarlem. DS slept maybe 1.5 hrs... BEST TRIP EVER I SAY (sarcastically!).
1. I just got her used to having her formula not hot and then bought a big bottle of water at the airport, so I don't know about heating it up sorry
2. international - yes always had a change table, domestic - never. So for domestic I changed her before we got on the plane, or at my seat - I didn't have a choice! I did bring disposable change pads though for cleanliness. And I found that she hated the hard table in the bathroom on the int'l flight, so I brought one of those gross airport blankets to cushion her when I laid her down they we were all good
3) when I changed her diaper I then just held her on my lap while going, my tip is wear trousers with no buttons or zips so you can pull them up & down with one hand
(I wore workout pants with an elastic waist)