Advice on Airplane Travel with a 7 Month Old

Updated on March 12, 2008
C.K. asks from Langhorne, PA
4 answers

Hi everyone! My husband travels for work a few times a year and he will be going to Florida in May. We have the opportunity (myself and son) to travel also to Florida. My question is this...has anyone every traveled with a 7 month old baby on a plane? What are some regulations with the airlines as far as bringing baby food/formula/toys on board? I know that we have to bring a car seat on the plane with us also. Any tips on traveling with a baby would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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P.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

I traveleled in December to Gemrany with my then 8 month old daughter. Since it was international, so there might be a difference in regulation but anyway:
I had a choice of paying full price ticket and receive a seat or pay 10 % of the ticket price and receive a lap ticket meaning she has no seat. I opted for the 10 %. It went really well. MY suggestions. Tell them at check in you want a bulk head seat (these are reserved for adults with infants and disabled people) and have a bottle ready for takeoff or landing, unless he falls asleep then you dont have to worry about that.
You are allowed water and formula for food preparation (exempt from the liquid rule)I brought alot of water for her since I was worried we would run out and nobody said anything.
Also you are allowed to board first.
Your stroller will be taken at boarding and brought back to you after landing right when you step out of the plane (with exemption of JFk airport, there you get it at baggage claim)
Have a new toy with you and everything should be fine. We travelled about 9 hours each way and it went surprisingly well. Good Luck and Enjoy!

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T.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

Our kids have been traveling for years, starting at 7 months old! They have been great travelers! They are now 9 and 12, so when we started all this there was no option for the discounted tickets.

We would try to travel when the flights were less crowded, like at 8 AM. We would book an aisle and a window where there are 3 seats across and cross our fingers that no one would be in the middle. That worked all but 1 time. We ALWAYS brought our car seat, and we had to check it at the gate just that one time.

Soon after, the option of buying an infant seat at 50% off started, and we always took that option. Yes, we hated spending the extra money, but we looked at it as a major safety issue, and being in a car seat on a plane is the safest way for a baby to fly. (You can research this, as I did.) Also, your baby no doubt is used to spending time in a car seat. We found that our kids were not restless during the flights and were quite content to stay in their car seats, someplace very familiar and comfortable for them. Sometimes they slept on flights, sometimes they didn't, but they always were easy travelers, and I think their familiar car seats was a big reason for this.

Keep your child drinking on take off and, even more importantly, on landing, to avoid any ear discomfort (which would lead to a screaming child). I would hold off on the liquids right before a flight so that my babies would be thirsty on take off. Then I would hold off as much as possible during the flight, so they will want to drink a lot during the longer, sometimes more painful (to the ears) landing process.

I nursed my kids, but not on the flights, although I know a lot of people do do that. I brought pumped milk with us for them for the flights; as much as I really wanted to nurse on the flights...help with the ear thing, as well as the normal routine...my husband and I felt it more important to keep the babies in their car seats, especially for the take-off and landing...so we fed expressed milk in bottles. (I don't know what the TASA regs are on all that now.)

I always brought both familiar and new toys for the ride there and the ride back. I used to wrap them (maybe not at 7 months) to add to the excitement.

Also, travel with lots of extras...diapers, milk, snacks, etc...just in case of flight delays.

Additionally, international flights often reserve bulkhead seats for families with infants, and they will put "sleeping cots" in front of the seats, attached to the wall. I don't recall seeing this in the U.S., but I may be wrong. A bulkhead seat will give you more leg room. Often, however, the arms cannot go up on the bulkhead seats, between the seats (at least on the larger, international flights), so as your child gets older you may not want that if you want him to be able to cuddle against you during a flight!
Good luck on your trip!

To what part of FL will you be traveling? We travel to FL every year and I can recommend some great places for you to go to with your little one!

Have fun!

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J.A.

answers from Philadelphia on

Check the TSA website for regulations for traveling with an infant.
You can bring most toys, though, I would suggest ones that don't make noises. You can bring formula that is already prepared or in the powder form. You cannot bring water bottles through security. You will have to buy them once you get through.
I did not use a car seat for my baby, but we bought the extra seat. We held her while in take off and landing, but then she had room to lay down and sleep in the seat between my husband and I.
I saw another mom who brought a car seat for her son and it looked so cumbersome and her baby refused to sit in it.
It was just a lot easier for us to not have it.
We also brought a pillow for our arms if our daughter wanted to sleep on us.

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V.J.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi,
We have traveled quite a bit with my son. At that age, we traveled with him in our lap. We never bought a ticket for him. He just turned two so we will have to buy him a ticket now. If we were taking a car seat with us, we just gate checked it. Never check your car seat with baggage claim. We have seen one get destroyed that way. I would either take an umbrella stroller or baby bjorn for walking through the airport. It is too hard to hold the baby and all your carry-ons. You can gate check the stroller, too. As far as liquids, you are allowed formula and breastmilk. Sometimes I was able to get water through security, but usually not. Just buy some bottled water at the airport or get some from the flight attendants. I have asked flight attendants for hot water before to help warm up a bottle. They should let you bring baby food, too. Definitely take whatever you can (toys, books, etc) to help entertain your son. I would take a pacifier, too, even if he doesn't usually take one, in case his ears bother him. When he gets older you can take snacks for take off and landing. My son loves looking out the window so that helps pass some time while we are waiting for take-off. One more thing, most flights are usually full these days, but we did have a flight where there were a few empty seats so they let us bring our car seat on board even though we had not bought a ticket for our son. That was nice of them. I think it was Southwest Airlines that did that. Ok I think I have said enough,
good luck,
V.

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