How to Fly Alone with 1 Year Old AND Rent a Car

[Anonymous]

My DH works on the Hill and will not be joining me and my 1 year old daughter on our flight Wednesday morning to Connecticut, as Congress is unexpectedly still in session.

My question is, how do I get from the airport to the car rental company and install a car seat (my experience is that no rental company will install) alone with luggage and active child together. It will be too cold to have her hang out in the stroller. And I know the shuttle to the rental car will not have a car seat.

Has anyone else attempted this and been successful?

[Anonymous]

In a word, tips. I tip heavily when traveling with my three kids.

1) Take a cab, have cabbie drop you at the departures near the skycaps
2) Tip the skycap heavily, and leave everything but your diaper bag and stroller with him. Now, you're mobile.
3) After you land, stroll or take the shuttle to the car rental counter first before getting your bags (if you checked your carseat, of course you'll have to get that).
4) Let your bags come off the carousel and get pulled into the airlines' baggage area - it's okay.
5) With your DD in her stroller, do the rental paperwork. Let her play in the front seat - oh happy day! - while you buckle in her car seat and put her in it.
6) Drive the rental car up to arrivals and locate a skycap to help you with your bags. If you must park and stroll, this is still easier than lugging bags onto and off a shuttle service. A skycap will follow you back to your car for a nice tip.

It's not easy but it's doable. Get lots of 1's and 5's handy....

[Anonymous]

I'm so glad I posted... didn't think of leaving the bags and getting the car first. I'm flying into a small(er) airport, so I think they should be safe. Thank you PP!

What is the going rate on tipping sky caps these days? Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Let me add a few alternatives--even though the tipping route is a great idea that I hadn't considered. Get a bag for the carseat that is a backpack. That way you can carry that without using up hands. Pack one big bag with wheels (plus a diaper bag, of course), rather than a few smaller ones. If it isn't too cold to do curbside check in, then do it. The sooner you ditch your stuff the better.

Also, random strangers are ridiculously nice to moms traveling alone with kids. I too am daunted by the shuttles, even when DH is with me. So, I have him drop me off at Departures with BOTH kids and all of our stuff. He helps me load it up onto one of the big luggage carts. Then I push one thing and pull the other (luggage cart and stroller) either to curbside checkin or into the airport. By the time I get everything checked in and get over to security, he is usually arriving on the shuttle and makes it through security with us. But not always. Once I had the pleasure of getting to the front of the security line with my 3 month old, 22 month old, a double stroller (that had to be folded and put on the belt), and a diaper bag. People were clamoring to help me even though all I really needed was a minute or two to get the baby into the Bjorn so that I could have two free hands to fold the stroller. And it wasn't a "hurry up lady" type thing because the line wasn't long at all; people are just nicer than you would expect.

The biggest thing is to relax. Give yourself a big cushion of time when getting to the airport, and I assume there is no real rush when you arrive. If you get flustered, so will the baby and that doesn't help anyone! You can do it.

[Anonymous]

$2 per bag for tipping the skycap guy. I love the tipping post!

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how big your child is or how strong your back is, but you might want to consider a backpack for the baby. It leaves two hands free for paperwork or carrying things. I have a metal frame pack and use it whenever I can. The child loves it and your body heat will help keep them snuggly warm. Taking it on and off by yourself takes a bit of practice. It requires a flat bench of sitting on the floor for a moment. Airports usually have tons of benches. You can take it off and set the backpack in the backseat while you are getting the carseat hooked in.

[Anonymous]

Great idea 21:49 and I will invest in one soon. My challenge is that I threw out my back a few weeks ago, lifting the child out of her jogging stroller in the cold (learned the hard way that she now weighs enough that I absolutely must bend at the knees!)

[Anonymous]

when i flew to florida last spring with my eighteen month old...the avis guy installed the carseat for me. (it was one i was renting, since i could not figure out how to carry the car seat + my son + my one duffle bag.) the year before dollar rent a car did not. i don't know if i just got lucky or if avis does sometimes.

[Anonymous]

and if you have to drive yourself to the airport, both National and Dulles have valet service. It absolutely is the only way I could fly alone with 2 kids and get carseats, strollers, luggage and people into the terminal. Again, tip heavily (I gave $10 to the valet). You can even reserve a parking spot with them at National, so no stress about getting there and having no place to park.

[Anonymous]

Tipper poster here: Most airlines have added a $2 fee per bag to the skycappers. So, you need to pay attention to whether they charge a fee and then still tip above that. I usually tip a minimum of $5, or $2 per bag, which ever is more. If you tip the shuttle driver (let's say you're parking and taking the bus to the airport or using the car rental shuttle) that's about $1 a bag, or $5 if you're feeling generous. People do help you more than you'd expect, but it can depend on when you're traveling too. The business crowd is the worst, I'd say, especially if you're trying to make a shuttle at night and everyone just wants to get home. I got nosed to the back of the line for almost 45 mins. once on a busy night in Houston with three kids. It was really appalling to see that kind of behavior, but in the minority overall. Like someone said, build in an extra 30 mins on each side of a process, and lower your expectations by 50%. It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.

I've been known to use disposable strollers in a pinch too. No, they don't really make them, but I'll buy one at a garage sale for $5 and then leave it when I'm done with it at the airport or coming home after checking in. Near a trash can, marked FREE.

Other tips, feed the baby and wait for the results about an hour before you want to leave. Diaper changing is the WORST in airports. If you can speed along a dirty diaper at home, you're halfway there! Take lots of food and juice in your diaper bag for rewards. Keep baby thirsty until the plane takes off, then let her have a bottle or sippy cup to help de-pressurize her ears. No crying... I also flew my toddlers in their footie pajamas. It definitely made them more comfortable and increased our "cute factor" thereby increasing the odds of goodwill of strangers!

What else... did you consider renting a van with a built in car seat? That's another thing I look for in a rental now, rather than lugging or renting two of them for my youngest.

You will do fine - there's a treasure trove of tips in this thread!

[Meconbear]

I went on a 3 hour plane trip with DS by myself at Thanksgiving b/c DH had to come later and I think all the tips here are totally awsome. One thing I'll add is that I went to a GOOD toy store (if you're in DC, the one on Conn. Ave near Chevy Chase circle) and threw myself at the mercy of the salespeople and told them what I was doing. I walked out iwth $15 worth of toys that were produced on the plane and amused my son for about an hour and a half. I got two sticker books, a little plastic alligator whose mouth opens to reveal teeth...when you press the teeth the mouth shuts, and a plastic tube that pulls out and crinkles shut. Of course out of all of those, he loved the $.99 tube the best. We survived. You'll be fine and never happier to see your family in your life

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! The flight is not a problem for me because my husband can get through security with me and get me through the gate. We had this down to a science when my dad was sick this year and I flew alone with my daughter over 10 times. The rental car part is what was bothering me... but I know all will work out. That being said, I appreciate all of the additional traveling tips... some I hadn't thought of.

Here are some of mine, should they be helpful to others:
*make sure your child drinks on the way up and the way down and wait to start until the plane is actually about to go down the runway for takeoff- thus far I haven't had any ear problems
*Frames that hold the car seat are the best type of stroller to bring while the infant is still in a "bucket" style- I've checked all of it at the gate.
*Southwest has been the most accomodating for traveling with children and there are a lot of families on their flights
*When traveling alone with a child, some airlines will allow someone who is not flying to take you though security and to the gate. That person needs to provide photo id when you are checking in and they get a security "ticket"
*Until now, I always wore a shirt that had 2 strings hanging down from the collar. My daughter who is obsessed with strings played with them throughout every flight.
*I've worn my daughter in her bjorn through the xray machine without needing to take it off. The bjorn was particularly helpful when getting on and getting off of the plane.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to comment on the "get a backpack to carry the baby" suggestion. If you are going to get a back carrier for your child, check out the Ergo carrier (just google it; you'll find lots of places online to buy). It is all cloth so it smooshes down much smaller, easier to travel with, can be stowed in a bag, and in my opinion is much comfier than a frame backpack. It holds a child up to 40 or 45 lbs, too, I think. Basically it's like a Bjorn that can go on your back. There's also a carrier called a Mei Tai which can fold even smaller than the Ergo, but it takes a little practice to use it correctly because there are no buckles, just straps that you tie. Anyway, I've used both with great success while traveling. Good luck!