Airplane infant not using seat lap child any advice for comfort?

Question

NOT BRINGING A SEAT I WONT HAVE THE HANDS ALL ALONE FOR 6 HOUR FLIGHT WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS ADVICE FOR KEEPING A 6 MONTH OLD COMFORTABLE DURING THE FLIGHT ON MY LAP?

Answer 1

First call your airline prior to leaving for the airport. Ask them to check your flight to see if it is oversold or not. If the flight is not oversold you can take a carseat on-board to put your infant in without being charged for the seat. if for some reason there are no extra seats when you get to the airport they will check your carseat at the gate. United allows it, but check your airline just to make sure they do too.  It hard traveling with an infant...at least as adults we know what to do if our ears pop when we hit the higher altitudes but Little ones don't understand. You might want to check with your doctor and see if he/she has any suggestions.  Make sure you take some snacks and juice for the baby. The TSA allows juice if you are traveling with an infant, so no worries there.

Best of luck, hope you have a great trip!

Answer 2

I'm a former Flight Attendant and I fly alone on transatlantics with my three children.

Are you not bringing a seat for your entire trip? That means, you wont need it to get to the airport and you wont need it at all during your trip. If you will be *bringing* a car seat, it is strongly recommended to NOT check it in as baggage. It could easily get lost and/or damaged and since the airlines consider car seats to be "delicate" items, they wont take responsibility if anything happens to them.

This is actually the only way to safely fly with a baby. Lap-held children are allowed because simply air travel is so much safer than when you're in a car. But if anything does happen, which is unlikely, the baby is not protected. It's also much more comfortable for both you and the baby to have the seat.

Make sure your car seat is approved for use on aircraft. If you're flying on a U.S. company, see the below link for information on if it's approved. Most car seats, including infant buckets, sold in the U.S. are.

http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_childr...

If you are flying a non-U.S. company, see the information for your airline. If you search with the name of the airline, followed by "children", that will usually give you the right page.

Since you don't have a seat for him, request it nicely at check-in. Ask if the flight is full, and if not, they can "block" the seat next to you, only using it if they really need it. They often do this for families.

Bring the seat to the gate, even if they are unsure that you'll get a seat. This way, if you don't manage it, they will "gate check" your seat, sending it down with the strollers and wheelchairs. This is gentlier than checking it in at the desk. It also gives you until the last minute to see if you can get a free seat.

On my last transatlantic with my kids, three of our four bags didn't make it but since we had the car seat with us, my daughter was safe for the 2 hour drive home (the bags arrived 2 days later). I saw at least two other seats while looking for our luggage. Wonder how they left the airport with their baby?

I also recommend trying to sit at the bulkhead. These are the seats with the wall in front, located in different places depending on the aircraft. Bulkheads are easier with children since no one is leaning in front of you and there's probably room to crawl and wiggle on the floor.

Ask if they have "wall mounted" bassinets. These usually have to be at bulkheads and if you don't manage to use your seat on the flight, you'll at least have somewhere for the baby to sleep. The bassinet attaches to the wall and has to be removed for take-off and landing. It is no replacement for a car seat as far as safety is concerned and never leave the child alone in it, even asleep.

If the baby has to be in your lap for take-off and landing, make sure he's LOOSE and not attached to you in any way. Some foreign airlines still use those dangerous "belly belts" which attach the child to the adults' seatbelt. You will have to cooperate with the crew if instructed to use one of these unsafe devices.

If you have a travel system, you can use the stroller until you get to the door of the aircraft and then it'll be "gate checked". If not, use a stroller frame for a infant seat. You'll have it again, by the door of the aircraft when you arrive. If you have a convertible car seat (going to 40lbs), there are a number of contraptions you can use to wheel it around. I simply strap mine to a small metal luggage cart and that works great.

If you do have a stroller, bring a bungee cord and double secure it before leaving it at the door of the plane. They can get damaged if they pop open en route. Make sure the claim ticket can be seen and isn't squished or hidden. Be sure to ask when disembarking where the stroller is.

Hopefully you have a good baby carrier. They're so useful for flying, especially at this age and especially when you're alone with the baby. I had a sling but other parents swear by their wraps and pouches. The Ergo and Beccos are other popular carriers for travel that go on the back.

I liked the sling because I could slide my babies from into and out of a stroller, bassinet or car seat without waking them. It also doubled as a blanket, baby changer, breastfeeding cover-up and sunshade! My sling was magic for calming my babies during the flight. Other parents wanted one when they saw how easy it made my travels. Avoid front packs like the Bjorn since they're so bad for both the parents' and child's back. A good carrier should go to at least age 2.

Many flying tips say to make the child suck on something or drink during take-off and landing. This is actually a bit of a myth. If you are using a car seat, there is no reason to remove him from it for take-off and landing and please don't wake a sleeping child. ENT specialists say to have the child awake about an hour before landing (top of descent, landing or "touch-down" is too late).

http://www.entcda.com/AAOHNSF/earsandalt...

as does the AAP;

http://www.aap.org/patiented/flyingbaby....

I can confirm that is when I saw problems at work. Take your child to the doctor in the last few days before you fly to make sure his ears are clear and infection-free. Heathy ears can handle pressurization changes.

About 8 years ago, I wrote an article on flying with children for an expat newsletter. Over the years many parents have contributed. I later put it on a blog so that parents had access to non-commercial information from someone with both practical and professional experience on the web.

Feel free to visit;

http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com

Have a good flight and good luck getting your seat on board.

Answer 3

Oh wow you've got a real sitch on your hands there. But try to keep the baby calm he/she might fall asleep for six hours then your all set. But if he/she doesn't, then you might want to bring their favorite toy along or some coloring books or something to keep them busy.

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