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Old July 10th 06, 04:21 PM posted to misc.kids.breastfeeding
JJ
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Anne Rogers wrote:
Actually, I posted about it at the time. It was Xmas and DD was just
under three months, and we were about to take off for a 4 hr flight. I
was planning on feeding DD during take-off, then she'd typically fall
asleep and I'd strap her into her seat. ((we'd purchased her own seat)
The flight attendant came up unasked and told us the flight would
probably be turbulent and that we'd need to leave her strapped in the
entire time rather than on our laps. I thanked her, thinking at first
she was just talking about safety, and explained that I'd strap her in
once we'd taken off and I'd nursed her. She told me I needed to go to
the restroom quickly and feed her now, since I would not be allowed to
feed her during the flight. Freaked, I tried to comply, and DD was
having none of it. So once we hit the runway, I took her out of her
seat and fed her, since I'll be d#@#d if I'm going to let my baby cry.
I don't know if she noticed. Later she came by and whispered that the
real reason was because it was the holidays and there were a lot of
families aboard who weren't ready for "their kids to see that" FWIW,
the only person who could possibly have seen anything was an L and D
nurse who overheard and was emphatically on my side.

Next time I'll just look her in the eye and give her a good squirt,
since I can get some serious distance!

USAir corporate just sent me a form letter apologizing for a "bad
experience with a flight attendant."

FYI, if you do ever fly USAir, don't buy your baby their own seat. I
had another flight attendent insist that I strap my hysterical one year
old into her own seat for a landing, despite the fact that she was
young enough to qualify as a lap baby, and there was a lap baby right
in front of me. She said if I did not, that the pilot would circle
the airport til I did since all ticketed passengers must be seated. DD
got so mad she threw up, and I was furious.

Argh, I'm getting myself mad all over again.


sorry, I didn't mean for you to get mad all over again, but I think there is
a point to be aware of here, that if you do buy a seat and the carrier is
approved for having baby seats strapped into their seats and those to be
used, then they will insist you use them for takeoff and landing, in the UK
we get the opposite way round as most (if not all) carriers are not
licensed, approved, whatever, so if you have a seat either by chance or by
purchase you still have to hold your baby, with a strap that fastens round
them and loops round your belt. I'm not sure if I'm correct in recalling
that in the US if you don't have a seat for them, the baby is not allowed to
be attached to you? To be fair to the airline, they are bound by rules and
regulations, licenses, approvals, and whole million and one other things so
it probably was the case that she had to go in the seat (in the same way
that if as passenger was in the toilet and refused to come out they would
have to circle), similarly I had to take my baby out of the car seat safely
strapped into another seat because that was what their rules covered and I
don't mean the airlines rules, it's federal rules, but they don't advertise
them to you clearly in advance. We are flying from London Heathrow to
Seattle in a few weeks time, we were quite surprised to find that a ticket
has been bought for our daughter, who will be 14 months, we cannot actually
find out any information about whether we can take a car seat on board
(trust me, sometimes you are not allowed), whether she will have to be
strapped in and at what times etc. Not at all helpful! You may actually
consider directing a letter if you have problems in future at the FAA and
see what happens, it won't make any rules change, but they make airlines be
clearer about the rules.


Actually, I don't think it is a rule, either the airlines, or federal.
We inquired later, and were told it must have been the flight
attendant's decision. Actually, one of the other flight attendants
told me it was OK for her to be in my lap. I do agree that in the car
seat is the safest place, especially for takeoff and landing, which is
one of the reasons I forked out an extra 600$ for her seat. The
problem was that DD was absolutely hysterical, and I would have
appreciated a chance to calm her down prior to forcing her back into
the seat, and it just seemed unfair that a mom was holding a baby on
her lap right in front of me while I, who had paid all this extra $,
was not allowed to.

Still, this didn't make me nearly as mad as the nursing thing.


FYI, in the US, pretty much any carrier approved for a car is approved
for a plane, and if you purchase a seat, you are allowed to bring the
carrier on. The carrier has to be in a window seat and not an
emergency exit aisle. You will get stopped by every single gate agent
who will tell you to check the seat since they assume you have not
bought a ticket for it, but just be patient and explain that your
daughter has a ticket. Actually, we have flown with DD 15 times since
she was born and with the exception of the 2 USAir flights, have had
very positive experiences.

I've never heard that you aren't allowed to have them strapped to you
here though. I know I've seen people with infants in a baby bjorn in
the plane. I think if there are regulations they are pretty
haphazardly enforced.
JJ