Flying alone with 6 months old

[Anonymous]

No way would I drive. We went to the Jersey beach with my son at that age and got stuck in traffic and it was 7 straight hours of screaming. It turns out he has very bad motion sickness but we didn’t know that until he was a toddler. Plus with all those stops to eat it will be miserable. Plus trying to wrangle the dog and baby while husband drives?

Flying alone with baby is easy.

I’d either buy a second seat for baby and install car seat or gate check the car seat and stroller. It’s bettter to have your car seat at destination because baby is used to it.

I did use the baby b’air for my baby when I didn’t have a car seat. I’m sure someone will criticize that as unsafe but it would prevent the baby from flying away if there’s a sudden drop in altitiude, so it’s probably better than nothing in the extremely unlikely event that you drop altitude quickly.

[Anonymous]

Nothing would convince me to fly in this scenario. Enjoy your road-trip together. I drove my kids at all ages across the US. You have flexibility to stop whenever you want at a park, etc. Now road-tripping with dogs is what I can’t fathom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been having bad luck with flights with 24 hour delays. How would you cope if this happens?

At the moment your flight day will be travel to the airport (one hour?), maybe get to the airport two hours early, fly 3.5 hours, wait another hour to deplane and collect bags and then drive to destination. That's about the same time as one day of driving.

In addition you may face the stress of your kid screaming on the plane and being exposed to every virus going around. The baby won't have received some important vaccinations at that age. The baby will scream when their ears hurt from the air pressure.

I'd be tempted to go with your husband's idea. You can stop whenever the baby is fussy which you can't do on the plane.

Yes good point!

We live about 15-20 min from the airport. And DH would leave the day after we left or once we are in the air at least. So he could come back and grab us if delayed. Once we get to FL my sister in law would pick us up. We just have to make it 2 days on whatever I pack/pick up there.

She will have had her 6 month vaccines by the time we fly. Trying to figure out if we can do them a full two weeks before the flight but she will have her 6 mths well visit beforehand. She will tech be almost 7 mths when we fly.

I worry about her being in the car seat for so long on the drive. Essentially stopping for gas and a few minutes of stretching and then stopping just to get a few hours of sleep. If DH could drive through the night like in our 20s I think it would be better. Also I can't drive (lived in the city my whole life) so he can't switch out with someone.

DD screaming on the whole flight is stressful inducing right now. I'm thinking I could bring extra food even a 1oz snack calms her if shes going bananas. And she usually loves the carrier and falls asleep quickly.

So you are visiting family? How long will you be there?
Honestly, you should just board or get a pet sitter for the dogs, and all three of you (you, your dh, your baby) should fly down. Driving down with dogs sounds so difficult. Does your SIL even want the dogs coming to her house?

Yes multiple stops when we get to FL to see DH's family. They do want the dogs coming. Otherwise we would board. Nephew is obsessed. We have flexibility 2-4 weeks depending on DH work travel and how well the trip is going. The dogs are older and just sleep. It's more the space they will take up that is the issue. But on previous trips they stop when we stop for gas. Obviously baby will need to stop earlier. But I just get so worked up when she cries for local trips in the car. I am imagining that and juggling pumping and storing milk I'm a cooler on the road trip. That's is what is freaking me out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing would convince me to fly in this scenario. Enjoy your road-trip together. I drove my kids at all ages across the US. You have flexibility to stop whenever you want at a park, etc. Now road-tripping with dogs is what I can’t fathom.

The dogs will be sleeping most of the trip and have been on many trips. They just take up space. For driving it's baby losing it multiple times and the guilt of keeping her in a car seat for so many hours there and back. Also logistics of me pumping every 3-4hrs in the car and storing milk for two days that is worrying me

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your stroller one of those car seat/stroller combos? If so, use that until you get thru security. Then put the baby in a baby carrier when boarding and carry the seat, install it, then put the baby in the seat. Gate check the stroller frame.

Have multiple changes of clothes and make a few diaper changing kits with disposable changing pads (puppy pad), two diapers and some wipes. Just take that into the bathroom to change the baby.

I did a few solo flights with an infant and it’s much better than with a toddler! But I was nervous until I did it. She slept the whole time and the person across the aisle didn’t even realize I had a baby with me until we deplaned.

Thank you! Yes we have the cybex libelle that has adapters for the nuna pipa lite. The libelle folds to fit under the plane seat or in the overhead with the adapters. I just worry about carrying the car seat but I guess I won't be carrying car seat and baby. She will be in the carrier while I set up the seat. Is it hard to install to the plane seat? Also I'm bigger since giving birth and haven't lost any weight. I'm 210 so I already feel obese sitting next to someone. Let alone with a baby strapped to me. Now that I think we will be most comfortable with the extra seat even if she doesn't use it. I can toss our stuff there and have it in case. She does fall asleep in the car seat and likes to sleep there in the car when moving. But imagining I can feed her until drowsy then Buckle her in and finish feeding. I might be lucky to get a break on the flight

PP you’re quoting - clearly I’m out of the loop on baby items - I don’t think those were around when my now 10 year old was an infant. 😂

Anyway - whatever brand we had wasn’t bad to install. I just watched a few YouTube videos. I also practiced installing the seat without the base in our car at home.

DH would drop us at the airport and I’d check bags curbside. When I did this the first time, it was to stay with my parents for two weeks- so I just had Amazon deliver diapers, lotion, wipes etc. so I didn’t have to pack them or try to get them when I got there (in hindsight, I could have made a Target run, but I was overthinking then…).

Also, doing this will boost your mom confidence.

I also think it’s much better than driving at that age - even though she was fine in a car seat, it would have taken forever with stopping regularly to feed & change the baby. We did a longer road trip when she was just over a year, and that was fine, however.

[Anonymous]

This is entirely doable. Take as little as possible. No stroller or carseat— just wear the baby. I always flew with mine as lap babies— no second seat, but that’s a personal choice. Definitely nurse during take off & landing to help with ear pressure (even if baby doesn’t get much milk, the sucking helps).

[Anonymous]

I'm a single mom and did both long car trips and flights with an infant. Honestly, both are fine -- my kid tended to sleep on long car rides and was sometimes hard to entertain on the plan (sometimes she slept though). With two drivers, I think a two-day drive to FL could be lower-stress (if of course longer-duration).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been having bad luck with flights with 24 hour delays. How would you cope if this happens?

At the moment your flight day will be travel to the airport (one hour?), maybe get to the airport two hours early, fly 3.5 hours, wait another hour to deplane and collect bags and then drive to destination. That's about the same time as one day of driving.

In addition you may face the stress of your kid screaming on the plane and being exposed to every virus going around. The baby won't have received some important vaccinations at that age. The baby will scream when their ears hurt from the air pressure.

I'd be tempted to go with your husband's idea. You can stop whenever the baby is fussy which you can't do on the plane.

Yes good point!

We live about 15-20 min from the airport. And DH would leave the day after we left or once we are in the air at least. So he could come back and grab us if delayed. Once we get to FL my sister in law would pick us up. We just have to make it 2 days on whatever I pack/pick up there.

She will have had her 6 month vaccines by the time we fly. Trying to figure out if we can do them a full two weeks before the flight but she will have her 6 mths well visit beforehand. She will tech be almost 7 mths when we fly.

I worry about her being in the car seat for so long on the drive. Essentially stopping for gas and a few minutes of stretching and then stopping just to get a few hours of sleep. If DH could drive through the night like in our 20s I think it would be better. Also I can't drive (lived in the city my whole life) so he can't switch out with someone.

DD screaming on the whole flight is stressful inducing right now. I'm thinking I could bring extra food even a 1oz snack calms her if shes going bananas. And she usually loves the carrier and falls asleep quickly.

So you are visiting family? How long will you be there?
Honestly, you should just board or get a pet sitter for the dogs, and all three of you (you, your dh, your baby) should fly down. Driving down with dogs sounds so difficult. Does your SIL even want the dogs coming to her house?

Yes multiple stops when we get to FL to see DH's family. They do want the dogs coming. Otherwise we would board. Nephew is obsessed. We have flexibility 2-4 weeks depending on DH work travel and how well the trip is going. The dogs are older and just sleep. It's more the space they will take up that is the issue. But on previous trips they stop when we stop for gas. Obviously baby will need to stop earlier. But I just get so worked up when she cries for local trips in the car. I am imagining that and juggling pumping and storing milk I'm a cooler on the road trip. That's is what is freaking me out.

Maybe I'm dim, but why do you need to pump when the baby is with you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a single mom and did both long car trips and flights with an infant. Honestly, both are fine -- my kid tended to sleep on long car rides and was sometimes hard to entertain on the plan (sometimes she slept though). With two drivers, I think a two-day drive to FL could be lower-stress (if of course longer-duration).

We flew with our kids around the world from four months including 30 hour door to door trips. Before they could walk was pretty easy.

The absolute worst was a 3 hour flight when #1 was 2.5 years old and decided to have a tantrum.

OP, this will be one of the easier times to drive before your kid turns into a toddler.

[Anonymous]

Think Gilligan's Island: a three-hour trip can turn into days at an airport due to weather, etc. Pack accordingly, not just for the itinerary in hand.

FWIW, we used to make these long trips in a car when our twins were infants as we also had a dog. You're lucky that you can run a 2 on 1 defence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been having bad luck with flights with 24 hour delays. How would you cope if this happens?

At the moment your flight day will be travel to the airport (one hour?), maybe get to the airport two hours early, fly 3.5 hours, wait another hour to deplane and collect bags and then drive to destination. That's about the same time as one day of driving.

In addition you may face the stress of your kid screaming on the plane and being exposed to every virus going around. The baby won't have received some important vaccinations at that age. The baby will scream when their ears hurt from the air pressure.

I'd be tempted to go with your husband's idea. You can stop whenever the baby is fussy which you can't do on the plane.

Yes good point!

We live about 15-20 min from the airport. And DH would leave the day after we left or once we are in the air at least. So he could come back and grab us if delayed. Once we get to FL my sister in law would pick us up. We just have to make it 2 days on whatever I pack/pick up there.

She will have had her 6 month vaccines by the time we fly. Trying to figure out if we can do them a full two weeks before the flight but she will have her 6 mths well visit beforehand. She will tech be almost 7 mths when we fly.

I worry about her being in the car seat for so long on the drive. Essentially stopping for gas and a few minutes of stretching and then stopping just to get a few hours of sleep. If DH could drive through the night like in our 20s I think it would be better. Also I can't drive (lived in the city my whole life) so he can't switch out with someone.

DD screaming on the whole flight is stressful inducing right now. I'm thinking I could bring extra food even a 1oz snack calms her if shes going bananas. And she usually loves the carrier and falls asleep quickly.

So you are visiting family? How long will you be there?
Honestly, you should just board or get a pet sitter for the dogs, and all three of you (you, your dh, your baby) should fly down. Driving down with dogs sounds so difficult. Does your SIL even want the dogs coming to her house?

Yes multiple stops when we get to FL to see DH's family. They do want the dogs coming. Otherwise we would board. Nephew is obsessed. We have flexibility 2-4 weeks depending on DH work travel and how well the trip is going. The dogs are older and just sleep. It's more the space they will take up that is the issue. But on previous trips they stop when we stop for gas. Obviously baby will need to stop earlier. But I just get so worked up when she cries for local trips in the car. I am imagining that and juggling pumping and storing milk I'm a cooler on the road trip. That's is what is freaking me out.

Maybe I'm dim, but why do you need to pump when the baby is with you?

She doesn't transfer well at all. She can't take a full feed or really half a feed from the breast. It's mostly for comfort and we are still working though oral dysfunction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Think Gilligan's Island: a three-hour trip can turn into days at an airport due to weather, etc. Pack accordingly, not just for the itinerary in hand.

FWIW, we used to make these long trips in a car when our twins were infants as we also had a dog. You're lucky that you can run a 2 on 1 defence.

OMG twins and a dog. You're the MVP.

Yes. Thankfully we live super close to the airport and DH would be home if he needed to come grab us with delays or something. Unfortunately I don't drive so we can't split the drive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think Gilligan's Island: a three-hour trip can turn into days at an airport due to weather, etc. Pack accordingly, not just for the itinerary in hand.

FWIW, we used to make these long trips in a car when our twins were infants as we also had a dog. You're lucky that you can run a 2 on 1 defence.

OMG twins and a dog. You're the MVP.

Yes. Thankfully we live super close to the airport and DH would be home if he needed to come grab us with delays or something. Unfortunately I don't drive so we can't split the drive

Your not driving is a key fact, though your DH sounds prepared to do that on his own, so not necessarily essential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Think Gilligan's Island: a three-hour trip can turn into days at an airport due to weather, etc. Pack accordingly, not just for the itinerary in hand.

FWIW, we used to make these long trips in a car when our twins were infants as we also had a dog. You're lucky that you can run a 2 on 1 defence.

OMG twins and a dog. You're the MVP.

Yes. Thankfully we live super close to the airport and DH would be home if he needed to come grab us with delays or something. Unfortunately I don't drive so we can't split the drive

I wasn't posturing to be MVP, only pointing out that you have a lot more advantages here than you may realize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is entirely doable. Take as little as possible. No stroller or carseat— just wear the baby. I always flew with mine as lap babies— no second seat, but that’s a personal choice. Definitely nurse during take off & landing to help with ear pressure (even if baby doesn’t get much milk, the sucking helps).

Totally agree with this.

My kiddo had logged 30K miles in her first year of life. When they are 6 months (or really anything younger than 10 mons) I also did lap baby, and nursed on take-off and landing. Would change the baby right before boarding, and highly recommend wearing the baby. The stroller becomes a nightmare to take down, etc and also hold the baby.

Sometimes I checked a carseat--i had this huge backpack carrier. But if you can avoid this, I would. If I was lucky, the baby would nurse on take-off, take a nap in my arms. Eating, drinking, and figuring out what to do about bathrooms was hard. Get an aisle seat as walking around with the baby is helpful.

Part of the reason I preferred flying is that I could hold or nurse the baby most of the time. When you're in a carseat, you can't nurse the baby (maybe they'll take a bottle). Maybe it depends on the temperment of the kid, but flying was always so much more enjoyable.

Good luck--I'm sure you'll be able to make either scenario work.