Flying with a baby on Mother Popper

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Flying with a baby

Jun
16

Airplane

We're headed out on a 5-day vacation to Colorado soon and I am feeling completely overwhelmed by the prospect of packing.

Here's what I've planned:

I know they have grocery stores in Colorado so I'm only bringing enough diapers and wipes for the 2-hour plane ride.
We have to bring formula because we use the Costco brand and I really don't want to go to Costco in Colorado (we'd just have to lug back all that formula anyway).
I put away some toys and books in a backpack already so she won't see them for at least a week. We'll pull them out on the plane and hopefully they'll be entertaining.
I've actually made a list of everything else I want to pack for her (clothes, toiletries, medicine, etc). I'm sure it's way too much.

Here's what I'm unsure of:

Car seat. I reserved a car seat with our rental car (Hertz). It seems like traveling with a big car seat--we have a Britax Marathon--would be a giant pain in the ass. If we check it, we have to sign something that says the airline is not responsible for its destruction. If we don't check it, we have to carry that monstrosity through the airport. Has anyone rented a car seat before? How was your experience?
Kelty backpack. We are visiting a national park and are planning on doing some very light hiking. Still, strapping Elliot to my sweaty back in the Ergo does not sound fun. We have a Kelty that we've never used but I'm not sure how we're going to transport it. Can we just strap it to the stroller and check it at the gate? Or, should I mail it ahead of time to my brother who lives nearby? (That means having to mail it back, though)

And, I just did a little research and found out that United now charges for every checked bag. I'm not sure how we'll handle this. If I split our stuff into two small suitcases, all the liquids inside have to be less than 3 ounces. I think we're going to have to pay $15 each way to send one big suitcase to Colorado. Grrr. *Update: Just found out that we can check ONE bag and not be charged.*

Sound off! I want to hear your advice on flying with a wee one.

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We have both checked a car seat and used a rental - It was fine either way. With the new charges for checking, I would tend to use the rental car seat. But I would bring a cover or blanket specifically for the seat - I am sure they are cleaned, but you never know how well...

And you might want to call about the Kelty - with the tighter restrictions, it might not be possible to gate check more than just the stroller.

I always gift wrapped a few little toys for trips - it made it all the more exciting to have a "present" to open. You could buy some new little items or just wrap up Eliot's own toys and books. When they were toddlers, my kids never seemed to care that it was a familiar book - the mysertery and unwrapping itself made it exciting! (they are school age and I still do that for car trips - but I don't get away with wrapping their own things anymore...)

Have fun!

Posted by: Christine | June 17, 2008 at 08:59 AM

Thanks for the tips, Christine!

I think we'll have to skip the wrapping of toys, though. Not sure we can take wrapped gifts through security anymore (I can't keep track of all the rules).

Posted by: Mother Popper | June 18, 2008 at 10:28 AM

Traveling with a little one is never easy but it can turn out alright. Kayden has been to Kalispell two times and Utah once. We always brought our own car seat and I am pretty sure they can't charge you for taking it along because little ones need it in the car...by law. Is someone dropping you off at the airport? We always do curb side check in so we don't have to carry any of the large items, like the car seat, very far. Curb side is worth the extra money!!

Other than that you sound like you are ready to go with all of your lists. Lists really help us every time we travel.

I hope you have a good trip and I can't wait to see some pictures.

Posted by: Heidi | June 18, 2008 at 04:23 PM

We took our daughter to Mexico for a week when she was 9 months old. We bought a huge duffel from REI that held her pack N Play, Fisher price booster/high chair, diapers for our whole trip and her clothes. Instead of lugging our Peg Perego stroller and worrying about it getting trashed on the airplane, we bought a $19.99 umbrella stroller from Babies R Us. It was totally light weight and has held up on 2 trips to Mexico. We took our car seat with us and packed it in the large plastic bags available for checking. Do yourself a favor, check the car seat and grab an extra for the trip back. We have a Britax but bought a lighter weight Grayco Comfort Sport that we use in our 2nd car and take on trips.

The other thing for the flight is lots and lots of snacks. We are very big on carrying containers of peaches and pears to eat at the airport and raisens and fishes for snacking on the plane. Also, we packed 2 bottles and 2 sippy cups (one always seemed to be dirty) and formula for "emergency bottles". Even though I was nursing, there were still times a bottle was more convenient in the airport. We packed double the formula we expected to use. You can either pack the formula in plastic baggies (my cans tended to explode open in my diaper bag, what a mess) or easier yet (but a bit more pricey), buy the prepackaged 4 oz servings.

Posted by: Jennie | June 18, 2008 at 08:46 PM

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