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@: flying with a 4 month old
We are taking a 1.5 hour flight next month with the baby. She will be about 4 months old at that point. The logistics of this kinda freaks me out. Does anyone have any tips? Do we buy her a seat? Do we take the car seat and base? Do we take the stroller? How do I keep her calm during the flight? (She's a chill baby normally but flying for the first time can be scary, right?).
What can you tell me? Thanks.
Re: @: flying with a 4 month old
I'm one of those that says buy a seat if it's not a big deal $$ wise. If nothing else, it's nice to have the room. Bonus if she sleeps well in it. That said, it's pretty cake at that point to hold them for the flight, especially for such a short flight.
If you don't buy a seat, you can check the carseat and base at no additional charge. If your seat works without a base, I'd leave the base at home. If you use it on the plane (assuming you buy the seat), baby must go in the window seat.
Feed her or use a paci during takeoff and landing, for her ears.
If you take a stroller, it can be gate checked. I always take one.
Don't worry about trying to schedule your flight around when you think she's most likely to sleep. Do that, and you're guaranteeing she'll be awake for the entire flight.
- Just schedule it by the times that work best for you.
It's really pretty easy, especially at that age. Worst case scenario, she cries. Trust me when I say that the majority of people get that you can't control it. The ones that don't, deserve to listen to her cry, and you'll never see them again anyway.
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Honestly for a 1.5 hour flight I would not buy her a seat. We have flown so much with both kids, and a lot internationally, and don't buy seats until about a year. I would get a car seat bag and check the car seat and base. Everyone thinks it is better for the car seat to be gate checked but they don't really handle the seat better, it is just less time for them to have it. The only time we have had one broken is when we gate checked it. Check it with luggage so you aren't dragging it around. Do you need a stroller when you get where you are going? If yes then gate check it. If no then wear her through the airport. I would feed her on take off and landing. Change her diaper before you get on the plane. Bring extra diapers and clothes. Bring a pacifier if she takes one.
And don't stress, 1.5 hours is nothing
I agree that you don't need to buy a extra ticket; she might want to be held anyway. We took the snap n go (instead of her stroller) and her car seat and gate-checked both; you shouldn't be charged a bag fee this way. my friend who is a car seat technician said you don't need the base for a rental car and that it's equally safe to just strap the seat in.
One thing that saved our asses in-flight from a screaming baby (not that I'd lose sleep if other passengers got annoyed but I'd prefer they didn't and mostly, I didn't want her to be stressed) was a vibrating toy. I got a little Bizzy Bee that fits in the diaper bag, plays soft music (that no one else can hear over the engine) and vibrates. It's still in the diaper bag and it comes in handy when we're not home.
I agree with much of what KA said. Much as it pains my cheapskate heart, I have to agree that having an extra seat for the baby and/or baby stuff is helpful. I flew with DD several times when she was super little (and before DS was born), and having someone right next to me with her in my lap was a colossal pain because the seats are so small. She kept inadvertently hitting the people next to us.
We also had multiple occasions where I had to change her diaper on planes. I never once encountered a bathroom that had a changing table, and changing a baby while sitting on a toilet in a tiny cabin while the plane is bumping about is HELL. Her head kept hitting the wall and there was nothing I could do. It's bad enough with a pee diaper, but with poop, it was a freaking nightmare. ETA: ...my point being that if you have an empty seat (and presumably no third seat in the row), a quick diaper check or change, or clothing change, on a changing cloth on the seat is easy. At that age, poopy diapers have no smell.
For several of our flights, no one sat next to us and the difference was huge. So yes, if finances permit, I recommend buying a seat for her.
One final suggestion: I always choose seats as close to the back of the plane as possible. It keeps us aware from many of the ugly stares, I have less anxiety if one of my kids starts fussing, we are close to the bathroom, and flight attendants often are extra helpful because they are standing nearby with time to spare.
We flew right when DD was 4 months. I didn't read the other replies but here is what we did and it worked fine.
I wore her, BUT I say put her in the stroller until you are at the gate. taking her off and putting her back on for security is a major pita!!
Pack a big diaper pack to bring with you on the flight as your carry-on. bring multiple changes of clothes. I brought just her pjs onesies (with the feet) so I wasn't worrying about cold feet or socks falling off. Also, she shat herself a lot during the flight so bring lots of backup diapers.
Don't worry about the clock (if you are switching timezones) as much as schedule. So, "ok, she slept, so now its play time for an hour or two until feeding time and then nap again."
There IS a changing table in the airplane bathroom, but ask the attendant if the one closest to you has one.
All seating rows have 1 extra oxygen mask.
We checked the stroller and carseat and it was NBD and i didn't use a cover or anything,
Strollers are AWESOME for airports. i wont be caught dead in one w/o one until DD is 15.
Use all handicapped bathroom stalls to bring in the stroller with you.
i used the seatbelt across the top/front of the infant carrier and it worked fine.
Ask any more questions you have!! For some reason this one flight/trip is burned into my memory well.
us in the airplane bathroom changing her dipe:
oh, more things:
i wore my pg jacket and could zip it up over DD when i was wearing her. Yes, it looked hilarious, but it worked.
re: playing on the plane. Really, she found the flight pretty boring, which for us was worse than "scary". She was at the "cry at all red lights" phase then. We had a paci, and "toys," but she still cried a lot
. i bounced with her a lot and tried my best, but sometimes you just gotta suffer through it. She was NOT a chill baby, though.