Flying with infant - buy an extra seat?

[Anonymous]

We are planning to go to a wedding in California in August with our newborn (first child) who will hopefully be about 5 weeks old. Does anyone have an opinion on whether we should buy a seat for the baby? Do carseats fit in those tiny airline seats? How much should we expect the baby to actually stay in a carseat if we do bring one and buy the ticket? Most likely I will be flying out with my parents and baby (3 adults, 1 baby) and flying back with husband and baby.

[Anonymous]

I would say no. Better to hold him/her. You can pass baby around between the three of you to split the burden.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't buy a plane ticket until you have the baby and know how things will be going. 5 weeks is pretty optimistic with your first.
The baby still needs a ticket even if you don't buy a seat--not sure how that works before baby is born.

[Anonymous]

For safety reasons, buying a seat and using a car seat is always recommended. That said, I'd still just hold a 5 week old and not bother buying a seat. I did the lap baby thing with a 3/4 month old, and it was fine.

[Anonymous]

It makes things much easier if you have somewhere to put the baby on the plane, but since there will be many of you, you can give each other rest. Try not to plan too far ahead though, the baby may be a bit early or a bit late, so wait for baby to come before confirming your plans.

[Anonymous]

It is more convenient for you, for sure, to buy a seat for the baby and use the car seat. Your car seat manual will indicate whether it's FAA approved (it will fit), but I think almost all infant seats fit these days. But with all those adults going with you, you and baby should be fine if you want to hold baby in your lap.

You will be issued a ticket that says "infant in arms" for your child if you choose to hold him/her in your lap.

You should take a birth certificate with you, or the birth record from the hospital if you haven't received the birth certificate yet, just in case they ask (they never ask me, though).

I know on international flights they can give you bulkhead seats and a little bassinet that snaps to the front wall for your baby to sleep in. I haven't seen these on domestic flights, but haven't really paid attention. But it can't hurt to look at the airline's website for more information.

[Anonymous]

I think it somewhat depends on the airline, but our experience has always been that we don't buy an extra seat, but bring our carseat to the gate. If there is an extra seat on board (we've always been lucky & there has been a seat), they let us use it, free of charge. If there is not, they let you check in the car seat at the gate. Also helps to know the seating situation on the plane--are there 2 seats in a row, 3 seats, or more...helps determine who will be able to sit next to the child (i.e. both parents or just one)....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't buy a plane ticket until you have the baby and know how things will be going. 5 weeks is pretty optimistic with your first.
The baby still needs a ticket even if you don't buy a seat--not sure how that works before baby is born.

I flew with my DD all the time after she was born and she never needed a ticket, even without a seat. Just when you check in, let them know you have a baby and they will give you an infant boarding pass. It doesnt cost anything and no one really even looks at it. They just have to keep track of everyone that gets on the plane.

I would not buy a seat. If there are extra seats on the plane, they will let you take the car seat on with you. and my DD at that age, just wanted to be held, so wear the baby in a Moby or bjorn and just lay back and relax. Hopefully the baby will sleep the whole time.

[Anonymous]

Do not buy a seat. When booking, try to choose a 3-seat row and book the window and aisle. Hopefully the middle seat will remain free, and you can at least lie the baby down across the seat to get a little reprieve.

Don't forget to be prepared to feed the baby on the way up and way down - the change in altitude is rough on baby's ears - and bring some saline drops in case the nose gets dry.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

16:28's experience is not typical. In general, you have to tell the airline the baby is coming, and you may even have to show id.

You probably don't need a seat, but the truth is, it is safer.

I know you didn't ask, but: I would also buy trip insurance for at least your ticket. Not every child and every mother would be up for this trip at only 5 weeks post partum.

[Anonymous]

I think there are a lot of different opinions and practices on this. For us, we've always bought a seat for our son since Day One both for safety and comfort reasons (including flights to CA his first year as my family is there).

FWIW, this post actually reminds me that we flew Continental a few weeks ago. We now have the CARES harness for our son. One of the flight attendants was commenting on it when my husband was on board and putting it on around the seat (I wasn't there; he got on early while my son and I always hang back and board last to minimize plane time). In the course of that conversation, he heard her comment to her colleague on the side (we were sitting in the last row of the plane where they hang around) that at least some - maybe several - of the injuries from the Continental flight that skidded off the runway in Denver were lap babies and that the FAA is revisiting this policy. I also read independently once a while back that they were thinking of revisiting that policy (prior to the Denver incident).

Of course that still wouldn't take care of the fact that it's almost impossible to keep young children in their seats for an entire flight. No wait, it IS impossible - but I still like the idea of having their own seat so they can sit in it as much as possible.

[Anonymous]

My son is now over 2, so his free-travel days are passed, but we always bought him a seat anyway--it was safer and it made things much easier for my husband and me. We also always traveled Southwest, because they're the only airline I know that offers steeply discounted fares for children under 2. I believe we paid something like $110 each way for his seat for a trip from BWI to to Portland, OR--worth every penny as far as we were concerned. (You can't buy the infant tickets online; you need to call their 800 #.) I would have had a hard time swallowing paying full price for his seat, but the ultra-low fare convinced me.

[Anonymous]

Honestly I would never fly with such a young baby in a car seat. Or would I buy a seat for him. I flew with our baby when she was 3 weeks. She was in a moby wrap very close to me the whole time. Our pediatrician was not excited that we were flying so early so she said, wear her in a wrap to keep her away from other people and germs. She also said to clean out her nose with saline spray and bathe her when we got to our destination to prevent any illness from the plane.

It was a piece of cake, the baby slept the whole time and did not get sick.

You can gate check the car seat or arrange for one at your destination.

[Anonymous]

I would buy a seat. It's much safer for a child to be strapped into a car seat on takeoff and landing, or if there's severe turbulance. Just as you couldn't safely restrain a child in a car if there was a sudden stop, you can't hold onto your baby on a plane if there's a bad event.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't bother with a baby so young.

The wrap is a good idea though.