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Any advice for lapping an 11 month old?


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In the spirit of being frugal (and possibly stupid) I am lapping the baby on the plane. Any advice (besides don't do it lol) ? I am really hoping the plane won't be full so I can use the extra seat.

Has anyone used a flight vest before? I can't use it until we are up in the air but it does seem like a good idea.

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Just duct tape the kid to you and you should be fine.

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We didn't spend the money on a flight vest, but we did have a Bjorn carrier that we were able to fashion to work in a similar way.  Outside of that, we chose to fly around nap time...which helped (maybe not a good idea however, if you don't think your baby will sleep ;) ).  Snacks and small books/toys are good.  And if your lucky to have a tv with cartoons in the seat in front of you (or an ipad) that's a great back-up emergency tool.  Oh...and a pacifier (if the baby will take one) for taking off/landing.

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Benadryl

The trouble with Benadryl is it can actually act as a stimulant in some kids. Man, that would be bad news.

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The first time I flew with my eldest he was about that age.  I too didn't spring for an extra seat.  It was a full plane, so no empty seats for us.

He actually did really well.  He loved to be read to, so that helped a whole lot.  The hardest part was the connection.  Carrying the baby and the bag through two terminals with a bus trip between, not fun.  I used a sling instead of a front or back carrier.  Much easier to get on and get eldest in and out of.

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The biggest thing is to take something along that they can chew or suck on while the plane is climbing so they can equalize the pressure in their ears.  Would be a good time to give them a bottle or if they can handle it gummy bears.

 

Most people will tolerate a young child if they are a little fussy and the parents are attempting to calm them down, since the majority have probably flown with their own kids at one time or another.

 

What they don't like are the parents that are oblivious to the kid being rotten, younger ones just wailing away, older ones kicking seats, yelling, running up and down aisles, etc. while they are too busy reading, watching movies on tablets, or blocking out everything listening to music.

 

Of course there are always the child haters that will loudly complain if the child makes a single sound even though they are 20 seats away.

 

Just do your best, and if they are on the fussy side give a sincere apology to your surronding seatmates.

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Annoying children should be checked like baggage.

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If you gate check them at the end of the ramp (pink tag) they will put them in the baggage hold for you during the flight and have them waiting for you when you deplane!

 

If you are flying with me, maybe they could strap them into my wheelchair (or handcycle) to make travel in the baggage hold a little more comfortable for them.

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If you could squeeze them into a Priority Flat Rate Box with the Post Office it would be fairly inexpensive.

 

This is from the Postal History blog.

 

On February 19, 1914, May Pierstorff, just short of her 6th birthday, was “mailed” from her parents’ home in Grangeville, Idaho to her grandparents’ house about 73 miles away for just 53-cents worth of stamps. May’s parents were taking advantage of parcel post service, which began just the year before. In the early years of this service, customers and postal officials were still getting used to how the service could be used. But mailing children?

 

In spite of that busy start, the rest of the year passed without postal officials having to face other children traveling by mail. May’s travels in early 1914, along with an inquiry about mailing children that month inspired Postmaster General Burleson to issue directions to the nation’s postmasters that all human beings were barred from the mails.

Of course for some, laws are meant to be broken. And merely a month after the “no-humans” announcement, rural carrier B.H. Knepper in Maryland carried a 14-pound baby from its grandmother’s home in Clear Spring to the mother’s house in Indian Springs, twelve miles away. A local newspaper reported that the baby slept through the entire trip.

A year later, the longest trip by a child “mailed” through parcel post was made by six-year-old Edna Neff. She traveled from her mother’s home in Pensacola, Florida, to her father’s home in Christainburg, Virginia. There is little information on the specifics of Edna’s trip, which was made by railway mail train other than her weight, recorded as just under the 50-pound limit resulting in a trip cost 15 cents in parcel post stamps.

 

So if he/she stays quiet in the box they might get thru!

 

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We've flown twice now to see my inlaws in Florida with our son, the first time he was 5 months old and the last time he was 9 months old.  We flew with him on our lap both times and we always have connections.  So really he's been on eight planes already.  Just a warning there seems to always be someone that will give an eyeroll or make a comment to their friends about being next to a baby.  Ignore them, you paid just as much as they did, and its always great after the flight when everyone comments about how good he did or how well you handled the upset child.

 

Overall our experience went great.  One thing that helped was there were two of us, are you going to be alone?  Both times we tried to keep him awake before the flight so he would nap during the flight.  We also made sure he was either breast feeding (make sure we had the window seat), sucking on a bottle or pacifier during take off and landing to help with his ears.

 

We actually had a couple of the flights where he was wide awake and wanted to play the whole time, it turned out fine because we brought lots of stuff to keep him entertained, other flights he slept the entire time.

 

We have never brought a stroller but I recommend you do!  Just bring it along and gate check it, we regretted it our first trip, the second trip we didn't learn our lesson but because we didn't carry any bags with us besides a diaper bag it wasn't bad.

 

What are you doing for a car seat?  We gate checked ours the first time so I had to carry that through the airport, that sucked.  The second trip we didn't have to bring one since my inlaws bought one for their house.

 

Summary:

Bring a stroller

Bring lots of entertainment

Ignore rude people

eat or pacifier during take off and landing

Bring some help if you can!

 

WBI

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Actually, I have 1 more tip. I'm not sure what airline you are flying, but when I was taking Airtran from ATL to PHL, I was able to upgrade to business class 24 hours in advance for $49. With business class, I got my bag(s) free, so really I only paid $29 more than I would have otherwise. Let's just say Z rode in business class more than coach until he turned 3. 

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