Travel with Baby

wrote and I snipped:
Pologirl wrote:
I wore a small backpack with the absolute minimum stuff: diaper
change kit, spare clothes for MB, water, snacks. I carried the
carseat hands free by buckling the harness and slipping my arm
through it. On some trips, the earlier ones, I carried MB too some
of the time, on my hip. On the later trips, he was happy to walk.
Such a big boy!

I maybe could manage this using M's harness, but considering the
weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth that results from trying to hold
his hand while walking across a parking lot, I can't imagine the
anguish of holding his hand across the airport!! Even with all the
hassle, I *am* looking forward to not having a lap baby at Christmas.
To say it's a PITA is an understatement.

If I was ever traveling alone again with a young walking child, I would
definitely use a harness in a busy airport even though I've never owned a
harness. I had a very tense period of seconds (that seemed like an
eternity) when I was hurrying through the Atlanta airport and lost DD. She
must have been about 3-4 yo, and she walked away from me through a crowd to
see an enormous poster on the wall for the upcoming Spiderman movie. She
told me later that she wanted to hug Spiderman. I had DS (1-2 yo) in the
carseat/luggage wheelie combo and 2 rolling suitcases. There was another
traveler already helping me because I had about 30 minutes to get everyone
from one concourse to another.

I can't remember why I was alone, where I was going, or why I had so much
stuff. I suspect that DH sent us ahead because he couldn't get on the
flight at the last minute (we fly stand-by). But, it was one of the
scariest moments of my life.

-Patty, mom of 1+2

wrote:
Pologirl wrote:
I wore a small backpack with the absolute minimum stuff: diaper
change kit, spare clothes for MB, water, snacks. I carried the
carseat hands free by buckling the harness and slipping my arm
through it. On some trips, the earlier ones, I carried MB too some
of the time, on my hip. On the later trips, he was happy to walk.
Such a big boy!

I maybe could manage this using M's harness, but considering the
weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth that results from trying to
hold his hand while walking across a parking lot, I can't imagine the
anguish of holding his hand across the airport!! Even with all
the hassle, I *am* looking forward to not having a lap baby at
Christmas. To say it's a PITA is an understatement.

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04

Taylor is 3.5 and I'd just now attempt a flight without a stroller, if it
was just her. She's a very good kid, but like most kids wanted to explore
and look around, and didn't always listen if I called her back. Airport
terminals are like busy boulevards, people coming and going through a large
thorough fare, and trying to keep a kid from darting about in that was just
too stressful for me. Especially when travelling with the kids by myself.
So I always brought our normal big stroller and kept her in it, then I could
toss my purse and the diaper bag in the storage compartment. When I had the
two kids, and Taylor was getting older and much more able to walk and stay
close and follow directions, I'd still bring the big double stroller, let
Taylor walk and hold my hand, put Addie in the front seat and balance the
car seat on the back seat, with all our gear underneath. Once Taylor got to
be about 2.5 she preferred to sit in the seat without the carseat, so we'd
check her seat through but still bring Addie's along on the flights.

When Taylor was still an only child, I borrowed one of those convertable
stroller car seat combos for several trips, and it worked well. It had no
storage, so I had to carry my purse and diaperbag/carry-on, but it was
doable.

Overall, I just prefer to keep my kids in the stroller as much as possible
in crowded situations. It's much easier than trying to keep them nearby and
holding your hand. Especially if there are two of them, plus lots of things
to carry.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

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wrote:
.oO rach Oo. wrote:
My husband and I are flying from Toronto to London UK in a month with our
daughter who will be 9 1/2 months old by then. I have read a few things
about travelling with a baby but wondered if anyone had any first hand
advice. We will be taking along her carseat and stroller and have a 5 hour
stop over in Heathrow until we get a flight to Manchester where the
destination is. I think at this time the carseat and stroller will be
checked but maybe I am wrong.

I've flown a *ton* with Micah, and when he was that age (not walking
yet), I thought it was easiest to just use a sling in the airport,
checking the stroller and carseat. In the US, anyway, you have to
de-sling the baby to go through security, which is a bit of a PITA, but
oh well.


on 9/7, in San Antonio Airport, I didn't have to de-sling the baby in
security, just walked thru with her. But I am sure this varies by
airport. We carried the car seat onto the plane with us, since we had a
spare seat for her. We didn't bring a stroller, but I'd have gate
checked it.

DD is only 10 weeks old, so a bit different in terms of travelling so
I'm not sure I can offer much other advice. Bring clothes, diapers,
etc...... We got lucky and she slept most of the 15 hr trip to Geneva.
we'll see how she does on the return...

Jamie Clark wrote:
Anne Rogers wrote:

it's fairly usual for there to be a 10% charge for an infant, so it
seems unusual to me that there was an option of her flying free, she
should get a small baggage allowance and they will warm bottles and
baby food, so it's doesn't seem unreasonable to pay a nominal charge,
which is what 10% usually is, though once the 10% for our DS was over
500 pounds, glad we weren't paying for that one!

Anne

Maybe it's different in the UK, but here, a "babe in arms" doesn't cost
extra. They do not get a baggage allowance, nor do the flight attendants
routinely heat up bottles or baby food. I've never thought to ask, but I'm
not sure how they would. On most flights I've been on in the past few years
they wouldn't have a microwave or way to heat something up. I've flown on
Delta and United, which are two of the major carriers, but perhaps some
smaller airlines do offer more services.


We just paid $250 for the privelege of carrying DD on our laps! The fee
is due to the arriving airport's taxes. I haven't flown wihtin the US
with her yet, this was from the US to Europe, and Geneva has
particularly high fees. They didn't even have bassinets for the
bulkhead area anymore! We got lucky tho as both flights had loads of
space so we had a spare seat for her.

She didn't get any official baggage allowance for that $250, altho we
could have checked a stroller and carseat so I guess that'd be
considered baggage.

On flights were aheated meal service is offered, they have microwaves.

PattyMomVA wrote:

If you do this again, you should consider checking the stroller (only take
one if you need it at your destination) and wheeling your daughter in the
carseat attached to the luggage carrier. It's one less thing to take
through the airport. We always did this with our two and got lots of
compliments everywhere we went.

-Patty, mom of 1+2

That's a good idea, except that the carseat and luggage carrier weren't
as well behaved as they would have needed to be--the angle of the back
of the carseat made it sit funny on the wheels. With the right combo,
though, that's a good idea.

I have actually seen in a baby catalog somewhere a carseat/stroller
combination that has the pull-out handle like on suitcases (I've seen
one or two in the airport as well). It's basically the same thing you
talked about, except that the wheels and handle are built right in. I
think it cost upwards of $100 (maybe twice that) though. If we plan
to do much air travel with our second, it might be worth considering.

--Elit.
#1 8/24/04
#2 late march '07

PattyMomVA wrote:

Several posters have mentioned that you should gate-check your stroller. Be
careful of what you ask for. My understanding is that a gate-checked item
will be delivered to the baggage claim area upon arrival. I believe there's
something that's called gate-delivery, and that's what you want to use for a
stroller when you'll be using it at your destination to get to the baggage
claim. I just caution you to look into it.

Ericka Kammerer wrote:
One should certainly check, but every time I've asked
to "gate check" a stroller, it's been waiting for me just
outside the door of the aircraft when we got off.

The only time I had trouble gate-checking my stroller was arriving at
Schipol airport in Amsterdam. Their policy is that the gate-checked
items are delivered to the "special items" baggage claim area, which of
course was miles away from our arrival gate. Since we were taking a
connecting flight we had to collect the stroller, leave the airport
(clearing customs) and then go back in to get to our next flight. What
a hassle.

Elle

Elle wrote:
PattyMomVA wrote:

Several posters have mentioned that you should gate-check your stroller. Be
careful of what you ask for. My understanding is that a gate-checked item
will be delivered to the baggage claim area upon arrival. I believe there's
something that's called gate-delivery, and that's what you want to use for a
stroller when you'll be using it at your destination to get to the baggage
claim. I just caution you to look into it.

Ericka Kammerer wrote:
One should certainly check, but every time I've asked
to "gate check" a stroller, it's been waiting for me just
outside the door of the aircraft when we got off.

The only time I had trouble gate-checking my stroller was arriving at
Schipol airport in Amsterdam. Their policy is that the gate-checked
items are delivered to the "special items" baggage claim area, which of
course was miles away from our arrival gate. Since we were taking a
connecting flight we had to collect the stroller, leave the airport
(clearing customs) and then go back in to get to our next flight. What
a hassle.


I haven't gate checked a stroller, but have frequently had to gate
check items due to a small plane w/no overhead bins. Every gate checked
item is at the gate upon arrival. I've seen loads of strollers at the
gates so I assume this is common (both in the US and abroad)

The only time I had trouble gate-checking my stroller was arriving at
Schipol airport in Amsterdam. Their policy is that the gate-checked
items are delivered to the "special items" baggage claim area, which of
course was miles away from our arrival gate. Since we were taking a
connecting flight we had to collect the stroller, leave the airport
(clearing customs) and then go back in to get to our next flight. What
a hassle.

ok, so how to we avoid this? we're flying via Amsterdam next week, we'll
gate check the stroller in Manchester, we're not desperately bothered about
having it at Amsterdam, but we certainly don't want to make a special trip
just to get it, as we understand it, the rest of our baggage will be checked
through to our destination, so the stroller either needs to do that, or be
returned at the gate, not somewhere in the middle that hinders. Not sure how
I can find out what will actually happen, the departure airport is rarely
reliable about any information at the other end, so how will we get round
this and how on earth do I find more info.

Anne

Anne Rogers wrote:

ok, so how to we avoid this? we're flying via Amsterdam next week, we'll
gate check the stroller in Manchester, we're not desperately bothered about
having it at Amsterdam, but we certainly don't want to make a special trip
just to get it, as we understand it, the rest of our baggage will be checked
through to our destination, so the stroller either needs to do that, or be
returned at the gate, not somewhere in the middle that hinders. Not sure how
I can find out what will actually happen, the departure airport is rarely
reliable about any information at the other end, so how will we get round
this and how on earth do I find more info.

Anne

Honestly I don't know. We were on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to
Amsterdam, and all the stollers went to special baggage so we had to
walk waaaay over to that area and pick it up, which kind of defies the
purpose. Air Canada has always otherwise given the stroller back at the
door of the aircraft. Maybe you could call the airport or the airline
and inquire.

Elle

Honestly I don't know. We were on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to
Amsterdam, and all the stollers went to special baggage so we had to
walk waaaay over to that area and pick it up, which kind of defies the
purpose. Air Canada has always otherwise given the stroller back at the
door of the aircraft. Maybe you could call the airport or the airline
and inquire.

we've had to call the airline for other things and they have been most
unhelpful, insisting that we go via the booking agent, so I'm not inclined
to call again. Also general experience is that they rarely know what
actually goes on at specific airports. I think we're going to have to take
the chance of checking and double checking at both check in and the gate
when we depart, at least it's a KLM flight, so there is a chance that the
KLM workers will know what is going on at Amsterdam, rather than if it was a
non dutch airline with just one flight going in.

Anne