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Flying Solo Part 2

3/28/2014

Well, I am back! Thankfully in one piece. The first thing I have to say- traveling alone with a toddler is something that should only be done by the brave!!

Refresher- I flew direct to Dallas (DFW) from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) on a 6am flight on American Airlines on March 22rd. I flew home on March 26th in the afternoon/evening. We went to visit my dad who now lives in Arlington, Texas. A separate blog will be written about the places we visited while there is coming soon. I checked a mid-sized suit case and his Chicco Liteway Stroller at the desk. The stroller was free to check. So here is the run-down on traveling with a toddler.

*** Remember that you can click on any of the photos below to enlarge them.

American Airlines- Not friendly for a woman traveling with a toddler on her own. They do not allow for family pre-boarding. When I asked I was told "Do you see everyone here? They are all part of someone's family, so no- we don't let families pre-board." They do not help you with the items you need to carry. Thankfully I encountered 4 tremendously helpful men who offered to help me with the car seat on the plane. I'll explain more below when I talk about the Gogo Baby Travelmate. They give you an attitude when you ask for a seat belt extender. I had to wait until the pilot said "Cross check, flight attendants prepare for departure" on the second flight before she decided to bring it to me. They give you an attitude when you ask for water to put in a baby bottle. I was told that they are only supposed to provide drinks to paying customers. I then informed her that I paid for my son's seat on the plane.

Gogo Baby Travelmate- This device worked great for the purpose it is supposed to serve. With a couple practice rounds at home I perfected the install and breakdown of it to a matter of seconds. I did use the Britax seat because of it's ease of putting my son in and out of the seat. My son was very comfortable rolling around the airport in it. It made transporting him, the carseat, and personal belongings a cinch. I had to take my son out of the seat when going through security, but they allowed me to keep the Travelmate attached to the carseat and did a swipe and pat down of the seat rather than putting them through xray. I was able to use it all the way up until the cabin door of the plane where I quickly un-did the clip and removed it from the car seat. Here is where is gets tricky. I had to then carry the Travelmate, carseat, and my son down the aisle of a plane. I quickly found out that the aisle in airplanes are not wide enough for me to drag the seat. So the man behind me saw this and picked it up, hoisted it over his head and above the airplane seats. He brought it back to my row for me. Without his help I would not have made it to my seat. Car seats are very heavy, my son is 20 pounds, and well I only have two arms! When getting off the plane I also had help from another passenger. I was able to pop my son in the seat as soon we we got off the plane and on to the jetway. I quickly attached his seat to the Travelmate and we were off!

Fort Lauderdale to Dallas- Because this was a 6am flight my son was great. I had downloaded a couple of Fisher Price apps for the iPad incase he needed a distraction. He had no interest in them, but we didn't really need them after all. He fell asleep a couple minutes before we went down the runway. He woke up just as we were approaching DFW airport. He watched the landing out the window and was smiling as he saw what was going on. There was no turbulence. He was excellent on this flight! Connor was not thrilled that I attempted a selfie!

Dallas to Fort Lauderdale- My flight was originally supposed to leave at 1:45pm. It was delayed because the previous flight landed late. Then once we were loaded on the plane and the cabin door was closed, we were notified that the plane needed mechanical work. Oh Joy. The cargo door would not close. So a crew came out to fix it. We left and hour and a half late. The pilot made up some time and we laded only an hour late! This, however, was a recipe for disaster! My son screamed a majority of the time. He slept for about an hour, and that was it. Nothing would calm him down. No bottle, no iPad, nothing except for a napkin. So what did I do? I let him have it. He tore it to shreds and laughed the whole time. Notice in the photo below on the right, the pieces of napkin in his lap. It didn't help that the meany in front of my son reclined his seat and pushed the carseat in a very upright position, waking Connor up and causing his head to flop forward. I actually held my son's head so it wouldn't fall forward while a slept. The guy then continued to slam in to the seat, turn around to look at me and laugh. I finally said "If you stop purposely slamming in to the seat, my son just MIGHT stop crying."

Chicco Liteway Stroller- Last time we traveled we had brought along The First Years Ignite umbrella-style stroller. We have since upgraded to the Chicco Liteway. I wanted something that would recline being that we do travel more often than most families. It is a bit heavier than the Ignite. it does not have cup storage that is convenient, so I did buy a Diono caddy for it. The Chicco stroller feels more substantial and more luxurious than the Ignite. My son sat in the Liteway just fine when we were going around town. Below is a side by side of the Ignite and Liteway. Dimension wise, they are nearly the same. Liteway is heavier, but has a MUCH smoother ride and reclines. That was a major point for me to switch over.

The First Years Ignite

Chicco Liteway

I don't have future plans to fly with just my son again. Next time we're scheduled to fly is in October when we go to Boston. My husband will be with me and that will make it a hundred times easier! Having a second set of hands will lower my stress levels. Don't let my experience discourage you from flying with a little one though. Every baby is different and it IS doable. I survived and nothing was broken in the process!

Feel free to ask me any questions about the experience. I'm here to help.

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Flying with a 5 month old!

8/11/2013

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Well, our experience flying was slightly different this time around. Our son was a little older, we took a different airline, and we had vastly different experiences! As you can see from the image to the left, our son wasn't pleased about being strapped in at first!

This time we had a direct flight from Fort Lauderdale to Chicago on Continental first thing in the morning.

We did not purchase a seat for my son. We took the gamble on being able to take an empty seat to place his carseat in. When we checked in we had asked if there were any open seats. They did have some available, but in the last row. So she switched the seats around, putting us in the row with the empty seat. I'm sure the people in the last row didn't mind being moved to seat closer to the front of the cabin!

Being that he was a couple months older at this point, he was slightly more aware of his surroundings. When I first strapped him in to the seat he was upset. I gave him a bottle on take-off and he fell asleep from then on. The flight out to Chicago was without event.

We brought along the 8-ounce Ready to Feed bottles for the flights this time because he was drinking about 6-ounce servings around this time.

The Flight Home
This flight was very-eventful! When we checked in at the airport we were informed that the flight was full and that he would have to ride as a lap baby. I was okay with this because it was the risk we took by not purchasing a seat for him.

Now, the first problem we had was our bags. We had the car seat, stroller, diaper bag, plus some things that my husband had to bring back form the convention that were very heavy. Because we were informed that the flight was full once we passed security we did not have the opportunity to check the car seat. We had asked if we could bring the car seat and stroller down to the end of the jet-way in order to free up some arm space to carry the belongings on to the plane. The Continental employee was not very helpful. She said we could not bring them down ahead of time and that their employees would not help us because they were busy doing other things.

Now, my first thought was for a parent traveling alone with their child. How in the world could one person manage to handle all those things going down to the plane on their own? There was really no one to assist? That I cannot believe!

Another passenger overheard us asking the Continental employee and the conversation that ensued. The other passenger had no carry-ons and offered to help us get down the jetway. In the end we managed to struggle down on our own. The lesson learned from that experience was that you cannot rely on airline employees helping out when you have a little one.

The rest of the flight was horrendous. Not anyone's fault but our own. My son screamed all 3-hours home. He cried and wailed the entire flight. We were THOSE parents! I was mortified. My husband, his mom, and I took turns walking him up and down the aisle when we could. However, based on this experience we plan to purchase a seat for him next year when we fly again. We will bring the carseat and strap him in, that way he can rest in his own space comfortably. We plan on going to California next year, which is a long flight.

Chicago O'Hare Airport
I was impressed with the set-up and facilities for this airport. The restrooms in particular were very baby friendly. The photo to the left shows my son on the changing station. Everything in one place! I loved the contoured shape to help prevent rolling, although you still need to keep an eye on your little one.
I also greatly appreciated that there was a sink and soap at the station. I was able to wash up without having to handle things in between steps!

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Traveling With a Baby- Airplanes

6/12/2013

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Before I became a mom I always wondered how difficult it was to travel with young children in tow. My husband and I learned that it isn't that bad if you plan ahead and make the right choices!

I do all the planning for our trips because I am a travel agent, that's just what I do! I chose Southwest for our flights for multiple reasons. I had heard they are very family friendly, they allow two bags per passenger before fees kick in, the open seating concept works great for families, and they had a good selection of flights for our destination.

On the way to Dallas (Love Field) we had a layover in Houston (Hobby). Why did I put those two words in parenthesis? Because Southwest uses smaller, alternate, airports in those two cities. I wanted people to understand that we did not fly in to IAH- Geogre Bush International or DFW- Dallas-Fort Worth. Was this a problem? No, in fact it was a lot nicer because it wasn't over crowded, security lines were a breeze, and we did not have to race across terminals to get on the connecting flight.

We had an hour delay on our flight out of Fort Lauderdale because they are currently operating on one runway during construction, so we sat in a long line for takeoff. We still managed to get to Houston with an hour between connections.

Gate Check vs. Curb Check for baby items.
Before the trip I purchased "Gate Check" bags for our stroller and potentially the car seat. They can be purchased at any major baby store like Buy Buy Baby or Babies R Us. They came in handy to identify our belongings, but also protect the items. The bags came back with black marks and a few pulls, glad it happened to the bags and not the stroller or car seat. :)

Stroller Gate Check bag.

Gate Check bag on the conveyor belt.

I recommend Gate Checking baby items like car seats and strollers. The baggage handlers are FAR kinder to these items when they are checked right at the end of the jetway vs when you check them in with your regular baggage. I watched the baggage handlers when they loaded and unloaded the strollers and car seats and they did not toss, throw, chuck, or mishandle any of the items. I cannot say that this happens 100% of the time, there are video on the internet showing baggage handlers tossing these items. The nice thing about gate check is that the stroller is waiting for you the moment you step off the plane on to the jetway at your destination. On the way to Dallas we had them bring it up for our connection in Houston, then we re-checked it from Houston to Dallas. All major airlines allow you to check one stroller and car seat per child or lap infant at no charge. So do not feel as though this will cost you additional money.

*Please note that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the IIHS both recommend that all infants and young children travel in a car seat on an airplane and that you should never check a car seat because it could be mishandled and damaged.

Lap Infant vs Purchasing a Seat
We elected to have our son ride as a lap infant. When I called for the child's fare, it was nearly $200 more than the adult fare for our trip. We made the decision based on finances and reasonable risk. We felt that in the event of a plane crash, most people do not survive anyway. I know that is a very blunt thing to say, but that's what it came down to for us. The beauty of Southwest is that they have open seating, there are no assigned seats. We figured that if any of the flights were not full we would be able to carry the car seat on, instead of gate checking it, and strap him in next to us.

Our first flight was only about 1/2 full, so we were able to bring the car seat on the plane. It was a tight fit. We have a Peg Perego Primo Viaggio infant carrier. In order to install it I did have to shove the seat in front of his forward a bit. I had to use a seat belt extender to properly strap the seat in for my son. It took a lot of finagling. I actually worked up a sweat by the time the seat was properly installed. If you plan to purchase a seat for your child's car seat or cross your fingers that your flight is not full, please remember that a car seat must be installed next to the window. Simple reason: if you install it in the middle or aisle seat, no one from your row is getting out!

Our connecting flight, from Houston to Dallas was overbooked and so we had to gate check the car seat. I kept an eye on it and not once did they mishandle it.

On our flight(s) back to Florida we had to gate check the car seat as well, but again they were kind as can be to our belongings.

Please review American Academy of Pediatrics statement on lap infants here.

Strapped in with his car seat. Fort Lauderdale to Houston.

As a "lap infant" from Houston to Dallas.

As a "lap infant" from Dallas to Fort Lauderdale with a quick touchdown in New Orleans.

It is recommended that you either nurse, feed, or provide a pacifier to infants on flights. They are not as savvy at equalizing the pressure in their ears when changing altitudes. The sucking action helps keep those ears nice and clear :)

Formula and Breast milk going through security.

We had no trouble bringing ample formula for our son. Parents traveling with young children are allowed an exemption to the 3oz rule when it comes to milk, formula, or other vital liquids for babies.

If you are breastfeeding, you have it easy. You are a portable bottle!

If you are bringing breast milk or formula in bottles, just declare it when you go through the security line, they will do a simple test on it to ensure it isn't explosive. Most airports have a designated family and disabled line to make it easier to get all your belongings through. The TSA recommends that you only bring enough for the trip. I, on the other hand, know all to well about delays with the airlines these days, please evaluate how much your child may need and bring extra. The last thing you want is to be stuck in an airport with no access to formula or pumped milk.

My son has acid reflux and a nice list of allergies, so he is on a very expensive hypoallergenic formula called Alimentum. He has to take the liquid form because there is corn in the powder version. With that being said we wanted to find something convenient and manageable for our trip. I generally buy large 32 oz jugs of his formula when at home, but once it is opened it must be refrigerated. That doesn't exactly work on airplanes! I purchased the small 2oz nursers that hospitals give and can be purchased in many stores or online. This was convenient. As they are individually sealed and do not need refrigeration! My son drinks about 4 oz at a time, so during the one flight segment that he was awake we simply fed him two of these small bottles (see photo above). I highly recommend this method if you happen to fall in to the same predicament as us.

You can bring cooler packs through security as well. We felt that it would be one more bag, extra weight, and unnecessary worry for us during our trip. The small bottles with the screw on nipples worked best in our case.

If your child takes powder formula, I would recommend the Munchkin formula dispenser. You can pre-measure the powder amount and store it in this nifty container with 3 sections. You can find them on Amazon for about $3 as an add on item! Then just purchase some bottled water once you're through the gate and you're set!

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Flying Solo Part 2

Flying with a 5 month old!

Traveling With a Baby- Airplanes

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