Flying with a 1 Year Old

I would just check it if I were you. If he is as busy as you say he is then it will only be in the way of you having to get up and down to chase him. When we traveled with my daughter at that age I was very glad we did not take it beacuse we were able to let her sleep on the seat and change her on the seat as with the carseat it would have been a hassle. Good luck
H.

A.,
We have a 22 month old and have flown with her twice now. The first time she was 10 months old and wasn't too mobile but the second time she was 18 months old and very mobile. My recommendation is not to bring the carseat on the plane. We didn't and even though my daughter was very used to hers she had no problem sitting in the seat herself. It was actually entertaining because it was something new. I bought a couple of new toys and books (none that made loud noises though) and gave them to her one at a time. If your son is into coloring that should hold his attention too. I also saved getting our daughter out of her seat and letting her run as a last resort, and never had to get her out. I knew once I let her down and let her run she would not want to sit still in her seat.
I also have read in other e-mails that people give there kids benedryl and not that I'm opposed to it (I wasn't sure how our daughter would react to it) but we gave our daughter teething tablets right at take-off. They are homeopathic and are supposed to soothe them. Definitely take a pacifier and/or something for him to drink for take-off and landing.
I wish you the best...and I'm jealous...Maui!!! Have fun!

My youngest daughter (now 5) was 18 months old when we first flew with her. Though we didn't know it then, she has ADHD and has never sat still for more than 20 minutes at a time. You're right that your car seat is too big for airplane seats. We had smaller carseats made by Century in my husband'
s car and took one of those. Make sure the seat is rated by the FAA for airplanes. We found a padded backpack system in a children's store that made the car seat easier to transport. Most airlines no longer pre-board families with small children, so you'll need to find a sympathetic soul to try to get the car seat on the plane before you board.

We also took a 6 pack cooler filled with little toys to amuse her and coloring books with wipe-off pagesso we could re-use it for the flight back. A portable DVD plyer with her favorite programs was a godsend, but the battery only lasted 2 hours. (They should be pretty inexpensive right now). On our trip to Maui this year, we took an Ipod with kids' songs.

Honestly, since she was used to long car rides to my parents' house, the plane ride itself wasn't too difficult. The airports were a different story. Keep him between two adults during the security checkpoints as the workers won't stop him if he runs (which she did). We gate-checked the stroller and held onto it until the very last second as she was happier in it than she was sitting in our laps.

That's all I can think of for now. Hope it helps!

S.

We have flown with our 3 year old about 4 times now. We purchased the sit and stroll 2 years ago. the best purchase we ever made. It is so easy to use it's a stroller and a car seat. Works great.

best advise is don't make it a big deal! the car seat is key, it will fit no problem, we have taken our son to seattle @ 3 weeks, Phoenix @ 4 months and 15 months, chicago 2 6months and 1 year, ____@____.com has frequent flyer miles, he loves to fly. As he gets older and mobile we bring books, trains, food, and once we can walk around we get up and do that, its ok people understand. the reason we bring the car seat is because he will sleep in it and he does, it is a pain in the butt but for long flights it works for him. good luck

We took our little girl from SFO to Maui at 14 months & we bought her a ticket and used our Britax Marathon. (I am not familiar with the Blvd but check the size differences between the 2). I can tell you this: he won't sit still, even strapped in. And he will kick the seat in front of him because the car seat will enable his poor little feet to be right up against the seat in front. Some airlines have a coach upgrade section which allows for a couple extra inches of leg room in coach. We missed out on this because I didn't find out about it until the week we were flying. Check to see if your airline has this section on their planes & UPGRADE. It will save your sanity. Then just be prepared that when that seatbelt sign turns off that either you or his father will be walking him up & down the aisles. The flight attendants have seen this a million times; we found that ours were very accommodating and would rather have us walking around then have angry guests sitting all around us. And lastly, regardless of your stance on it, I would bring a portable DVD player. That was the only was I could get my little girl to calm down long enough to fall asleep!

Good luck & enjoy the island!!!

At 1 year old, it could be a good thing to have that carseat, especially if your son falls asleep in it normally.

I had an awful experience bringing a 2 year old on a plane with a carseat. He always fell asleep in his seat, and we scheduled our flight (to Chicago) during his nap time. The first bad thing that happened was that our flight was delayed 2 hours. Then we get on he plane only to realize that his carseat only made his legs that much closer to the seat in front of him, allowing him to kick it constantly. The flight attendants would not take the seat (we were using a Britax Marathon). I was able to turn the seat sideways, but the flight attendants wouldn't allow that for take off or landing. He threw an absolute fit. The girl in front of him was not happy either.

On the way back, we gave him benadryl and he slept most of the flight (that was a plan that was OK'd by our pediatrician). We checked the carseat.

My sister in law just flew cross country with their 3 year old and thought they'd bring their carseat for the same reasons. They flew Continental only to realize that there is less legroom on those planes - the carseat barely fit.

It may depend on the airline, but I would check with them and their regulations.

Good luck!

I got this tip from a seasoned mom who flies with her kids to Russia several time a year and it helped us. I bought a bag of toys at the dollar store and hid them in my carry-on. When my son got bored I pulled them out one at a time. The great thing is that they are cheap, so you can buy a lot and it doesn't matter if they get lost. I've heard the airlines sometimes take away toys with batteries (even small batteries that you can't replace), so I'd avoid those. Plus, those types of toys will probably make sounds that may annoy other people.

If your kid is an energetic squirmer (aren't they all?), I'd recommend taking his car seat. Some people prefer to have their kid on their lap or in the extra seat. It depends on the kid and the parent(s), but for my kid it's the best scenario. It's familiar to him and we put snacks/sippy cup in the attached snack/cup holder. He'll sleep and play when he's in his car seat. We take him walking up and down the aisles when he gets really stir crazy. If your lucky, you'll encounter some nice passengers who will talk to him and help entertain him during your aisle-cruzing. Oh, and we also let him use his binky, which he normally only gets to have in bed -- that helps too.

Good luck!

I traveled this year (5.5 hours - changed planes - another 6.5 hours) with my youngest boys (8 months & 32 months at the time).
We had a Britax Marathon and Roundabout for both of them and we took both of the car seats on all of the flights! I also used the "gogo Kidz travelmate" (www.gogobabyz.com) and would recommend that to anyone flying with kids!
The seats both fit fine in the planes, we just had to put up the armrests up next to each seat. When boarding the plane, The Marathon was too big to fit down the isle of the planes (w/ the gogo travelmate on - we could't wheel him in), so my Son walked and my husband carried his car seat.
I think it was more comfortable for the kids to be in their own seats and made sleeping so much more comfortable for them. I think for my older boy, having him in his car seat for most of the flights made it easier on him because he knew what to expect and we didn't have him wriggling around and onto the floor, trying to escape, and so on. The only drawback was that we couldn't lower his tray at mealtimes but we worked that out.
We took an extra backpack, filled with toys and books. Some were favorites and some were new.. we also took snacks we knew he really liked.

Enjoy Maui!! Good luck to you!

I have had the same experience. We took our son on 2 short flights where he was on our lap before he was a year old. Shortly after he turned 1 we took a trip to Hawaii. We also have the Britax seat, and purchased our son his own seat and he sat in his Britax. However, I extended my stay and was planning to fly back with my son without my husband so we decided just to check in the car seat so I wouldn't be carrying a million things off the plane. I think it depends on your child, but for me I personally think it there was so much more room without that huge carseat. He was just fine sitting in the seat and there was enough space to have toys spread out on the seat with him. And when he was tired he could lay down across 2 seats because the 3rd seat in our row was not occupied. Even with your hubby with you your son could sit in the middle and put his head down on one of your laps when he got tired...I remember another thing, when I had to go to the bathroom (I had the window seat) the guy in front of my son was reclined and I could barely squeeze through to get out when we had the car seat. Just a thought! Having our own car seat was great for the rental car for sure.

Hi. See if you can buy (or borrow) a Sit-n-stroll combination carseat/stroller. We purchased 2 for our twins when they were 14 mos & went to Hawaii. It was the greatest most convenient thing we ever did. They fit in the plane seats converted to a stroller everywhere else and we had the seat for car travel. They're not the cheapest (approx $200) but with 2 trips to Hawaii we felt they were worth it. I loaned them to other people and sold them after the boys got older. Have fun!!!!!

Hi! Check with the airline if it is going to be too large. We have a Britax Marathon and I've used it on 3-4 trips. I highly suggest getting a GOGO kidz cart so you're not lugging around your stroller and carseat. We've used it 2x and it is wonderful! When he is not in it he pulls it like luggage and oh, the proud look on his face!
I'm still trying to figure out how to occupy him for plane trips. Good luck!

I am a mom of a fifteen year old boy. Wow does time fly. We labeled our son "the little time traveller," when he was 6 weeks old. I flew ALOT with him as a baby as we had family in the midwest and we lived in California. What I found was -- ALWAYS BUY A SEAT!!! We instilled the notion that whenever we were traveling he was in his car seat. I don't know if it was the altitude or what but he ALWAYS fell asleep (no matter what age, or what time of day). He would have some difficulty --his ears -- with the ascent and descent -- but I always had a bottle for him and that helped. If your child has their own seat it will make your life SO MUCH EASIER!!! I hope this helps! Congrats and good luck! :) Old mom :)