Flying with a 9 month old?

[mickey&missy]

I'm looking for any advice you have for me!

DS :baby: will be 9 months old when we go to WDW in March.

I'm going back and forth about getting him a seat on the plane. We're flying Southwest, I hoping are dates (March 8th - 15th) will be released sometime soon. So I need to make a decision soon.

If I don't buy him a seat what do I have to do for taxi and takeoff. I know they sell a carrier type thing in One Step Ahead that straps the baby to you for the flight and it is FAA approved, but only for cruising altitude. I don't want to just hold him, I don't see it being safe.

Any input from all of our experienced parents and grandparents would be great!! DD and our other DS where older when they flew for the first time!

TIA!

[SAHDad]

We always just held our son when he was that age.

[mickeysworld]

My vote would be to get him the seat. We always did for our 3 girls, even when it was a bear lugging them and their huge Britax carseats onto the plane! I'm not sure about Southwest but I know a lot of airlines offer half price infant fares, may save you a few bucks at least. We always felt better just having a seat for the baby and we usually got lucky in the sense they would fall asleep for the trip! The kicker for me though is I once had a flight attendant friend who was talking to a new mom's group and she told us in case of an emergency or severe turbulence, a lap-baby, one that was being held and not strapped into a carseat, would have to be placed on the floor between the parent's feet and held down by the parent! This apparently was deemed "safer" than trying to hold onto your baby in your arms during an emergency! Now, I have no idea if this is true or not, but that is what she told us!

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

I say get him a seat and bring a car seat. :thumbsup:

We have always purchased a seat for our kids, even when we could have held them. They sat in a car seat until 4. DD was two weeks shy of 4 last month when we went and she was very comfy in her car seat.

We feel our kids are safer and we are all much more comfortable.

Have a great trip.

[d_m_n_n]

We've experienced it both ways...trust me, get your DS a seat. We flew once with having a lap baby and swore we would NEVER, EVER do it again. The back and forth and keeping away from drinks, etc. made for a very long flight. Sanity is worth every penny of the cost of the seat and the hassles of a car seat...:blush:

[DDBird]

Our DS was 10 months for the first time and we were just as nervous as you are. A brand new experience for us - DD had been 4 on her first trip. We have since been away twice and on both trips I have held him. Our decision was based largely on finances - flying from Bermuda the cost of the average ticket is $800. The first trip was not too bad. Yes - I was unable to us the table and it was a bit more difficult to manage drinks, etc....but he slept for part of the trip and I was able to get a rest.
Good luck:mickey:

[vamaggie]

If there is any way you can afford it please get your little one a seat. I worked with a flight attendant union (back in the 90's) and we really lobbied for car seats on board. We have all seen the safety videos where the child goes flying out the adult's hands but many people think "That won't happen". The thing most folks don't realize is that emergencies are not the only concerns. Especially with infants, whose necks are not as strong (hence the rear facing car seats) what feels like mild turbulance to us adults could be hurtful/harmful to an infant. Not only is it more comfortable for you but it is much (MUCH) safer for the baby to be in a seat. If your child is 9mos, chances are you will have him in a stroller in the airport anyway so taking the car seat should not be too much more. I will take the add'l cost and hassle of dragging a car seat on the plane to make my child as safe as possible.

[teambricker04]

I think it depends on the child. Does your son sit in your lap, generally, and sit still?? Is he not a giagantic baby? Does he like sitting in his carseat for long periods?

We have two DSs... 2 and 5mo. We fly all the time. We leave for Disney on Sunday and it will be our 5mo 8th plane ride there, and 9th on the way back. Both boys generally got their own seat, but sometimes were lap kids. They are both very big and at about 1 year it was IMPOSSIBLE to hold on to DS#1 for an entire flight.

I think 1/2 price fares have gone the way of the dodo, but you'll have to check. Every airline is different and I don't ever fly SW so I don't know their policy.

Another option is not to get him a seat, and ask at the counter if there is any available seats, and if they aren't sold out if your son can have his own seat. They may or may not let you do it. It would be a risk if you ABSOLUTELY wanted him to have his own seat.

I would forego the one step ahead harness. Personally, I think it is a waste of money and you will have more arguments with the flight crew than it is worth.

There is a product that you could use if your DS was a year old, as not to drag a carseat all over the airport. It is called CARES (http://www.kidsflysafe.com). It is approved by the FAA for the entire duration of the flight and totally worth it.

I tend to side with vamaggie. Saftey is most important. If you can afford it, I would do it. It is worth every hassle of lugging your carseat, and irritating people who can't recline their seat back far enough.

[mickey&missy]

Thanks everyone!

I'm going to go ahead and get him a seat! We'll be taking the car seat with us anyway so we can use it for the limo ride and ride to Sea World.

We'll have 1 odd person out, meaning 7 seats instead of 6. But, DD and I can sit together with the baby, DH and MIL can sit with DS and FIL can have his own seat.

Stupid ?, I can take a regular car seat, right?

[teambricker04]

Stupid ?, I can take a regular car seat, right?

Not... it's not stupid! You don't want to by a seat, just to get there and not beable to use it because your carseat isn't FAA approved!

Check the labels on the side of it. Look for something that says it is FAA approved to be used on air travel. Make sure you know where it is because some flight crew ask to see it to make sure.

What brand and model do you have?

[wire0monkey]

When I was in Orlando in September, the Southwest attendant told us that if you ever get to a city without a car seat, go down to lost and found luggage and ask if they have any extras that you can borrow. If they've been sitting around for months, you can borrow it.

[BigRedDad]

Not a stupid question. To use a carseat, it has to be FAA approved. This should be stamped on the seat somewhere. If not, you can look on the web for your carseat to verify. I think the FAA website has a list of approved carseats as well.

[Dyanna]

We just came back from WDW 2 1/2 weeks ago w/DD 10 months. We held her in our lap both ways on the plane. Had no problems at all. She watched out the plane during takeoff then we gave her a bottle & she slept for most of the trip. Would not hesitate to do it again.

[heidi614]

They are comfortable in their seat, they know the routine in their seat. Take an emergency kit; new toys,snacks, extra bottles with juice, etc.. You never know if you get delayed on the runway! Most car seats are FAA approved but it does have to be marked with that sticker. Are you taking your own stroller? I would!:mickey:

[mickey&missy]

Thanks everyone!!!

We have an infant car seat now but by March he'll be in a bigger seat. He was 5 months old on Tuesday and weighs 18 lbs 3 oz already!

I'll make sure that the new seat is FAA approved. I'm sure that we'll be using on flights in the future too.

I'm not comfortable holding him the entire flight. My biggest fear is if we hit turbulence! We had a rough take off last trip! Southwest has "infant fares" according to their website so it should be some sort of discount, at least you get a break somewhere!!

We are taking our stroller, or as DH calls it "the cadillac" He'll be very comfortable once we get to WDW!!

Thanks again!

[teambricker04]

Thanks everyone!!!

We have an infant car seat now but by March he'll be in a bigger seat. He was 5 months old on Tuesday and weighs 18 lbs 3 oz already!

I'll make sure that the new seat is FAA approved. I'm sure that we'll be using on flights in the future too.

I'm not comfortable holding him the entire flight. My biggest fear is if we hit turbulence! We had a rough take off last trip! Southwest has "infant fares" according to their website so it should be some sort of discount, at least you get a break somewhere!!

We are taking our stroller, or as DH calls it "the cadillac" He'll be very comfortable once we get to WDW!!

Thanks again!

Big boy!!! We have big boys too, and let me tell you by a year it is impossible to hold on to a big baby that just wants to walk!!!

Good deal on the infant fares!!

If you have a cadillac, I think mine must be a station wagon. It is really long. Really.

If you want any recommendations on carseat, we like britax (they also make airplane seats!). Fisher Price has carseats that are also made by Britax but are a little less expensive but really the same thing. They are FAA approved.

Good luck!

[septembergirl]

I'm looking for any advice you have for me!

DS :baby: will be 9 months old when we go to WDW in March.
If I don't buy him a seat what do I have to do for taxi and takeoff. I know they sell a carrier type thing in One Step Ahead that straps the baby to you for the flight and it is FAA approved, but only for cruising altitude. I don't want to just hold him, I don't see it being safe.

We went when DD was 9 months old. We did not use a seat. I held and nursed at the start of both flights and she slept through each one.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

Thanks everyone!

I'm going to go ahead and get him a seat! We'll be taking the car seat with us anyway so we can use it for the limo ride and ride to Sea World.




So glad you decided to get him a seat. You will all be more comfortable and he will be safer. :thumbsup:

DD has had a Britax seat since birth. Since they have always installed in the car and I did not want to deal with taking it out of the car at the airport and latching it back in to leave(I am neurotic about car seats being secured correctly in cars so, I would be fighting with it for 45 minutes making sure it was in correctly before we ever left the airport ;)), we bought a cheaper FAA approved seat for the plane. We use it each year. It is a Graco convertible and works great for airplane travel.

Have a great trip!!

[mickey&missy]

So glad you decided to get him a seat. You will all be more comfortable and he will be safer. :thumbsup:

DD has had a Britax seat since birth. Since they have always installed in the car and I did not want to deal with taking it out of the car at the airport and latching it back in to leave(I am neurotic about car seats being secured correctly in cars so, I would be fighting with it for 45 minutes making sure it was in correctly before we ever left the airport ;)), we bought a cheaper FAA approved seat for the plane. We use it each year. It is a Graco convertible and works great for airplane travel.

Have a great trip!!


I'm completely neurotic about the car seat being installed correctly too! We've always purchased 2 seats when it was time for a new seat. That way I always had one in my car and we had another for DH's car or my MIL's car.

I really wasn't comfortable with the thought of him just sitting on someone's lap. God forbid we hit turbulence!! Plus, at 5 months he very active. He can roll both ways and is just ablout able to sit up unassisted. He reallllllly wants to go places! It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he's close to walking in March. His sister walked at 10 months. I don't think he'll just sit on someone's lap comfortable and without protest for 2.5 hours!