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collsbaby
	Age: 31 Country: USA Province/region: So Cal City: Partner: My wonderful husband, Todd Children: Yes, 1 Pregnant: Yes Due date: 08 Oct ,2010 Occupation: Pilates Instructor/Writer/SAHM
	Online: 59 days ago. Last updated: 316 days ago. Member since: 1619 days
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23-7-2008 - Taking a flight with baby? I just updated my flight tips info.

My mood while writing this blog:
Ok

I had this info on my page, and then I just added a bunch of new stuff (at the bottom) since a few people are taking trips and asked the message board for some tips. I hope it's helpful to someone! Add your own tip on here too if you have any. THX!!

May 30, 2008
Our journey from Hi to Ca~Baby Summer 2 months and 1 day old~

First of all if someone told me a few days after she was born that I would be making the journey to Ca in 2 months BY MYSELF, I would have NEVER believed it! But, I did and I’m extremely proud! Princess Buttercup was perfect on the plane! I was so shocked and pleased. She fussed a tiny bit a few hours into it, (I don’t blame her, I was getting fussy too, haha), but she never actually cried or screamed or anything.

I had planned an isle seat because I figured I’d be getting up to change her and walk around a fussy baby, etc. Well, when I got on they told me that another dad and his 3 year old daughter didn’t have seats together so could I switch and take the window seat in another row. At first I was a bit annoyed because I thought I’d be trapped back in there, but it turned out to be better. We could squish into the window side and sort of create our own little private corner. I found it worked out much better, especially since it was just me and the baby sitting next to 2 strangers. And of course I’m not gonna be the one who says a dad and his little girl can’t sit together. Even if it was his poor planning. I mean really…how the heck did that happen anyway?? Regardless, I go to take my seat and the poor people next to me looked like, “Oh great, a baby!!” And I had a lot of crap. I had the diaper bag full to the brim, I had another cloth shopping bag with my breastfeeding pillow in there, I had my backpack purse, and the baby was in the baby bjorn. So we had quite a load of stuff with me, but it was all necessary…so it seemed. The overhead was full because I was literally the LAST person to board! My diaper bag had to be searched. Hello??? For real? You’re gonna search the frazzled new mom with a newborn and a boat load of stuff. OK, whatever. Luckily I had my hubby accompany me to the gate on a “buddy pass”. Not sure exactly what it’s called, but it’s a pass for someone to go to the gate with you. But it’s for someone requiring assistance…and that was me! (You get it from the ticket person when you check in, and they might hassle you. My lady did and so we went through someone else.) So, we sit in the window and get all settled and I ended up never getting up the entire 5+ hour flight to San Fran for our layover. It was just too much hassle. And I upgraded to economy plus (on United) which is more leg room. And it was very helpful. But it was still too much hassle to get out of the seat. They also had NO changing tables in any of the bathrooms on the airplane. I heard that some do, this one didn’t. So I kind of panicked! But What I did was change the fastest diaper in the universe when the two people got up to go to the bathroom. They never suspected a thing! Haha! I breastfed her on the plane about 4 times. The guy sitting next to me probably didn’t have a clue either. I’ll tell you about that in a sec and I even had him hold her for a minute while I got stuff situated. He and his wife were about in their 50’s and he was very happy to hold her and said that he had not held a baby in about 10 years. But I needed the help, and it worked out great. We got off in San Fran, I had time to go pee, which was crucial since I didn’t get up the entire flight! The we got on the next plane for LAX. That was great because it was a red eye and it wasn’t full so I had the entire row to myself. I could even lay her down for a bit, which was nice. But we got in fine and everything worked out great. The second I saw Grammy I took off the baby bjorn and passed off the princess. She still has her in fact. Haha, just kidding.

So here are my must haves to fly. Well, this is what worked for me anyway.

*up-grade if you can to a seat with more room. From Hi to Ca it was only $59. Well worth it to have a bit of extra room since I have an extra person in the space. Tiny baby or not. It's nice to be able to breathe...ya know?

*Baby Bjorn. Makes it easy for hands free travel.

*My Brest Friend breastfeeding pillow. Absolutely could not live without that and it was a complete life savor. No other substitution breastfeeding pillow will do. (i.e., the Boppy) the Brest Friend stays firm and it goes around your body completely, so it stays in place while baby is sleeping and standing and trying to crawl all over you. You don’t have to hold the baby the entire time making the both of you worn out. Summer could totally sprawl out and I could read a magazine. It worked wonders for us both. I can’t say enough about this thing. Yes it’s very big and bulky, yes you feel a tad bit silly putting it on in the plane because everyone is looking at you like…wha….? But YES it is totally worth it! Especially if you are alone and don’t have anyone to take over baby holding duties for an hour here and there. OK, you get the point…get this pillow! It's like 40 bucks-ish and worth a million on a long flight.

*Hooter Hider. (Nursing cover-up.) Another must have for travel. I had planned to breastfeed her on the plane and I didn’t want to flash anyone the cheech. This was awesome because I swear the guy next to me had no idea I had my boob hanging out in public a mere inches away from him several times throughout our flight.

*I wore all black. I should’ve been a New Yorker, I swear. I usually wear all black to travel. I wore a black nursing bra and black v-neck top that I would just pull down and to the side to nurse. So I didn’t have my back or side exposed ever. The black on black made it easy to hide my bra when my shirt got all gapped out. Also hid any leakage and stuff.

*Bathing suit cover-up/sarong (full size one). Living in Hawaii, I have a million of these things and I use them al the time for the baby. They can double as a light blanket and are long enough to even cover you, baby and up around baby’s face. She looked like a little baby burrito. Plus it can be tucked away and smashed into the smallest space. Something a blanket usually can’t do. But it’s just not very warm. So I suggest you also have a blanket.

*I dressed baby in a sleeper with the feet. I thought about putting her in a cute little outfit. However, I didn’t want to have to deal with socks falling off into the airplane abyss. I always seem to get stuff lost under the seat. And I didn’t want her pant legs hiking up her leg in the bjorn making her cold. So a sleeper worked wonders. She was comfortable and warm and it was easy to deal with.

…that’s all I can think of for now. If I think of anything else, I’ll be sure to post it.

More to add to flight info...some of it may be repeat from above...
*I actually didn't take a carseat, stroller or anything big like that. I was going home to my parents house, so I emailed all of my old friends from home who just had babies and sent them a "wish list" of stuff to borrow for the 2 weeks I was to be there. It worked out great! Most of my friends had extra stuff, stuff their baby no longer needed or they knew someone who had something I could use. I ended up getting a portable swing, a bouncer, a boppy (for sitting), a bassinett, a play gym, a fancy umbrella stroller with a kidopotumus thing to keep her secure because she was still a little wobbly, my friend even let me borrow her infant car seat and 2 bases. One for my parents car and the other for "my" car while they were at work. My friend Michele even went so far as lending me about 5 blankets (one was super warm and thick which was great since it was chilly there), a bath time set with wash cloths and towel and stuff, a few lap/changing pads, even brought over some rattles and stuff. So thoughtful! my mom and I bought a tub (the white one with the Pooh hammock) and we'll just keep it there. But that helped out tremendously!!

(I think if you take a stroller/carseat, they don't count that as luggage and you can check it at the gate. They don't make any promises that it will not get knocked around though.)

*I took a cooler and an ice pack with me with two bottles of breastmilk, one bottle filled with water and a baggie of formula. I ended up not using any of it since i just breastfed her on the plane, but I didn't know what to expect. I was so worried that I was gonna get crap for having liquid and stuff. However no one said anything about it. I figured it was because i was in my po-dunk town airport, but even at LAX, I didn't get any hassle! They saw it was obviously for baby and didn't say a word. I think they opened the cooler, but that was about it. I even took on a sandwich for me and wrapped it in foil to "disguise it", haha. but they said nothing about the cooler and all the liquid. i even had liquid medicine for her too, and it was all good.

*I bought a nasal spray (saline only-Target brand 'nasal spray" 1.5 fl oz---ok size for flights) which was recommend by the pharmacist since she had a bit of a stuffy nose. The saline spray kept her nose cool, moist and clogged free. I used it too and it was really nice in the dry atmosphere of the plane. What i did was I took cotton swabs/ q-tips with me and got a water cup. After i drank the water I sprayed a bit of the saline spray into the cup, dipped the q-tip in the solution and swabbed barely the tip of her little nose. I hardly stuck it in there at all, but just enough to moisten the area. You could tell it cleared up her nose too. I did that several times throughout the flight. Whenever i felt dry, i did both. I did it that way for me too. I'm not good at spraying things up my nose, so this worked out great. It just felt so fresh with all the dry air.

*I told the airline I was bringing a baby with me so she would already be in the system. I brought her birth certificate even though no one asked for it. They told me to bring it. I had a recent photo (from that morning and printed it up on the computer) with what she was wearing that day, and all her stats, and plenty of contact info back home as well as #'s for my destination, if God forbid something should happen. I did the same for the flight home, different pic.

*I was told that they don't count your diaper bag as a piece of carry-on luggage. So you can have that, a purse and a carry-on luggage. But i felt soooo bogged down with stuff and I tried to travel light. So pack stuff away if you can. you may think you'll need that book, and magazine and ipod and (fill in the blank), but all I used was my ipod. Everything else was just something to lug on.

*MAKE SURE YOU BOARD WITH FIRST CLASS!! Usually they call first class first, then priority seating incl people with small children. Forget that, I boarded with first class. I got a few looks from the ticket lady, but really, what is she gonna say when i have a baby and two hands full of stuff? Make me wait 2 seconds until after first class boards? Sorry. You need the extra time, so take it. Especially if you are a window seat and you need to get all settled in without people blocking your way, or you blocking the way.

*MAKE SURE YOU CHANGE THE DIAPER AND YOU GO TO THE BATHROOM YOURSELF BEFORE YOU BOARD!! it's soooooo hard after you are on the plane. This was why it was good for me to have the front carrier. Since I was by myself I could go to the bathroom and not have to set her down. It's not easy to pee and have a baby in the front carrier, but you can manage.

*Also, they have new luggage restrictions now. If you have not kept up with what the airlines are doing, and a lot of people don't (I didn't), just know that most airlines you can now only have ONE piece of luggage per person and you have to pay for hte second bag! It can be up to $100 depending on the airline you fly. And it can't go over weight either (50 lbs usually), if it does some will charge you $100! Totaly sucks. Oh and no, the baby does not count as an extra person-for an extra bag. If you don't pay for them, they are just a "lap child" and are considered one person. (I didn't take many clothes for her. I bought a lot there and shipped them home. A lot cheaper than $100.) I did end up having a second bag though and since it was so close to when they switched that new rule, like just days before the lady wa ssoooo awesome and didn't charge me. I wanted to kiss her!! But I'm sure now, since it's been a few months, that would never fly. (No pun intended...) sorry, haha. But be sure to call your airline and look into it.

*I'd also tell your airline when you call them for all of this stuff before hand that you'll need a "buddy pass" for someone to help you to the gate if you are flying solo. Do all this stuff ahead of time so it's already in the computer when you get there. That way you are still at home and not all stressed out and running late for your flight trying to get all this done at the ticket counter. I was pretty stressed out. I'm not going to lie, i was totally overwhelmed and was crying once I finally sat on the plane. I probably won't fly solo again without my husband, but it's doable and I did it!

Since she is 4 months now, things are different. She probably wouldn't just sit all content with me on the breastfeeding pillow. I'd still take it since it was sooooooo nice to have hands free and she could sprawl out and sleep, but I'd be prepared to be getting up and walking the isles now I bet. I'd also take some sanatizer and paper towels and wipe EVERYTHING she might touch now. Especially since she's putting her hands in her mouth all the time. But at 9-10 weeks, it was pretty easy-breezy since she was content to just lay there and sleep. Now I would try to tire her out for sure beforehand by taking her to "baby gym", having her stand and stuff to wear her out.

I hope this was helpful! I'm gonna probably leave this here for a while (and make it a blog) so if you have anything to add that would be great. Just leave it as a comment on the blog! THX!! And good luck!

Power To The People, Yo!!

2 Comments on Taking a flight with baby? I just updated my flight tips info.

Cherryb0m - Saturday, 26 Jul
thanks for the exta info!!!! i need to call for the buddy pass. i almost forgot about it till i read your blog. yikes, thanks!!! we leave in 2 weeks and i'm already stressing, but i figure we will both make it there alive and hopefully somewhat sane! thanks again!

mom2boy - Thursday, 24 Jul
Wow you are brave to do all that. I am not much of an adventurous person, I don't think I would ever do it without my husband. I have a hooter hider too and I think they are so great!! The only one I could get was this poka dot one that is all different colors. I wish it wasn't so bright and eye catching but it still hides my hooters even if it is colorful.

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