Aimee
I'm going to be flying with my son next month for the first time alone. Unfortunetly we have to make a connecting flight before arriving to our destination. I am planning on bringing a dvd player & some movies. I will call the airport to find out about what i can carry and what i can check. Can I check & carry items for two since we are paying for two tickets? Just wondering if I should bring the car seat on the plane, since I think he will sit better with it but then i have to lug it to the connecting flight. I thought about buying a "sit & stand stroller" so I can push him and any carry-on items. What have you done to make your travel less stressful? Thanks in advance!
Answer
The cardinal rule is this: travel light. The most important thing you can have is your two hands free.
When I fly with my (now 3 y.o.) son, my tactics depend on the flight we're taking AND how we're leaving the airport.
There are actually THREE parts to the flight: getting to the ticketing counter, getting through security and getting on the flights. You'll need to think through all three pieces in your journey.
If you've purchased two tickets, then yes, you have two luggage allowances. But careful - odds are that you can't handle getting all those bags around the airport on your own. And it's worth noting that no single bag can weigh over 50 pounds, regardless of how many seats you have.
Normally, I pack one rolling suitcase, put my son's carseat in a backpack carrier (they sell them for about $20 at Babies'R'Us) and load any other luggage on the stroller. This argues against using a Sit n Stroll - they have no cargo space underneath and the handlebars don't accommodate bags well, either.
I can just barely manage to walk from the car to the ticketing center pulling one bag, pushing the stroller, wearing the car seat and balancing the rest of the gear. I could not possibly get on an airport shuttle, so I allow extra time to walk from parking to the airport - and pay extra to be in a closer lot.
When my son was about 2 years and 3 months, I stopped using his car seat on the flight. He has a little more freedom of movement out of the car seat, which is great. I can even put the armrest up so he can snuggle up against me. You might triple check with your airline first, but I've always been told that as long as my son can sit on the plane in a lap belt, there's no requirement that he be in a car seat.
The ONLY time I keep the car seat with me now is if I'm leaving the airport in a family member's car and can't chance arriving before our luggage does.
So when I get to ticketing, I check my car seat and the rolling suitcase. This leaves me with my bag, my son's bag, the stroller, and, of course, my kid.
I sometimes fly with my laptop, but have never taken a laptop/DVD player when flying solo with my son. Between folding the stroller, getting our shoes off and all the other craziness required to get through security, I can't handle one more thing. We go low tech for entertainment ... and it works just as well. Especially if you have short flights, the amount of time you can use the DVD player probably isn't worth the weight of taking it and the effort of taking it out for security review.
Once we're through security, the rest is a breeze. We reassemble the stroller and ourselves and get ready to enjoy the flight. We usually buy food on the other side of security, and I usually buy my son a new toy. I find that I can get a good 30 minutes or so out of a new Matchbox car or similar item.
Now here's one thing to consider with your stroller - you'll have to gate check it. And you'll probably have to wait for your gate checked item to be unloaded. I'd still suggest taking the stroller, but if your connection is tight, you might mention it to the flight attendant. Some flight attendants will bend over backwards to give you a hand ... some are not terribly helpful. But it's always worth politely asking if they can do anything to expedite the process.
No airline wants a stranded mom & baby. :)
Lastly, take deep breaths and try to enjoy flying. It can be incredibly stressful, but it can also be fascinating for your child.
Good luck!
The cardinal rule is this: travel light. The most important thing you can have is your two hands free.
When I fly with my (now 3 y.o.) son, my tactics depend on the flight we're taking AND how we're leaving the airport.
There are actually THREE parts to the flight: getting to the ticketing counter, getting through security and getting on the flights. You'll need to think through all three pieces in your journey.
If you've purchased two tickets, then yes, you have two luggage allowances. But careful - odds are that you can't handle getting all those bags around the airport on your own. And it's worth noting that no single bag can weigh over 50 pounds, regardless of how many seats you have.
Normally, I pack one rolling suitcase, put my son's carseat in a backpack carrier (they sell them for about $20 at Babies'R'Us) and load any other luggage on the stroller. This argues against using a Sit n Stroll - they have no cargo space underneath and the handlebars don't accommodate bags well, either.
I can just barely manage to walk from the car to the ticketing center pulling one bag, pushing the stroller, wearing the car seat and balancing the rest of the gear. I could not possibly get on an airport shuttle, so I allow extra time to walk from parking to the airport - and pay extra to be in a closer lot.
When my son was about 2 years and 3 months, I stopped using his car seat on the flight. He has a little more freedom of movement out of the car seat, which is great. I can even put the armrest up so he can snuggle up against me. You might triple check with your airline first, but I've always been told that as long as my son can sit on the plane in a lap belt, there's no requirement that he be in a car seat.
The ONLY time I keep the car seat with me now is if I'm leaving the airport in a family member's car and can't chance arriving before our luggage does.
So when I get to ticketing, I check my car seat and the rolling suitcase. This leaves me with my bag, my son's bag, the stroller, and, of course, my kid.
I sometimes fly with my laptop, but have never taken a laptop/DVD player when flying solo with my son. Between folding the stroller, getting our shoes off and all the other craziness required to get through security, I can't handle one more thing. We go low tech for entertainment ... and it works just as well. Especially if you have short flights, the amount of time you can use the DVD player probably isn't worth the weight of taking it and the effort of taking it out for security review.
Once we're through security, the rest is a breeze. We reassemble the stroller and ourselves and get ready to enjoy the flight. We usually buy food on the other side of security, and I usually buy my son a new toy. I find that I can get a good 30 minutes or so out of a new Matchbox car or similar item.
Now here's one thing to consider with your stroller - you'll have to gate check it. And you'll probably have to wait for your gate checked item to be unloaded. I'd still suggest taking the stroller, but if your connection is tight, you might mention it to the flight attendant. Some flight attendants will bend over backwards to give you a hand ... some are not terribly helpful. But it's always worth politely asking if they can do anything to expedite the process.
No airline wants a stranded mom & baby. :)
Lastly, take deep breaths and try to enjoy flying. It can be incredibly stressful, but it can also be fascinating for your child.
Good luck!
Strollers are making me go insane?
FunkyMonke
So i have a high risk pregnancy and an overly cautious and slightly superstious husband, so i am 23 weeks and i have bought NOTHING... this however has been replaced by EXCESSIVE amounts of research on baby stuff, every freaking baby object you can imagine i have went nuts on reading reviews of, especially strollers. I have read so many blogs, seen so many pictures, i am literally obssessed with this stroller thing, i even read the reviews of European websites and i use a translator sometimes! I thought I had it figured out and settled on the Quinny Buzz + bassinet + Maxi-Cosi-Mico car seat, but then i realized the maxi cosi only lasts to 20 pounds and my friends baby is 22 pounds at 4 months! THen i saw the PEG PEREGO SKATE, and now i think i want that stroller instead. I was obssessed with the Stokke Explorey before i saw the Quinny in the store. I never liked the bugaboo b/c of it folds in two pieces. SO now i am just becoming super confused!!!!!!! What should i do? what stroller do i get? I am getting it later but i want to decide on it now? Please do not tell me i am insane for spending a lot of money on a stroller, i know it is excessive but when i went to Babies R US to look at the basic things like Graco and Evenflo I almost cried. They do not compare, and i do not want to buy another stroller in a year because those fell apart. I live in the city, the stroller has to be sturdy, i do not go on public transport pretty much ever , I do not use a car often, only with my husband (its a stick, i dont know how to drive it) ..... i want a stroller that is forward and rare facing and i want something that will last until child 1 is 4 and then through any other children i will have.
umm the stuff at babies r us sucked. They do not have the same stuff as they do online. They do not have stokke in stores or even bugaboo, atleast not the store i went to
Unfortuanatley i am in the US. The stroller options availabe in Europe just do not compare to anything we have here. The best strollers here are imported from EU, and only few are imported. You guys have the Joolz Bloom out recently, i can not even look at it as no store has it.
Answer
Wow!! You sound like me! I read some of your post to my husband, and he was cracking up because it sounds so similar. I have a huge spreadsheet comparing widths, weights, folds, etc. for a couple dozen different strollers but have pretty much narrowed it down to just a few. We just drove over two hours (each way) yesterday to go stroller shopping for the first time. At the first store, we saw the Orbit Baby, Stokke Xplory, and Quinny Buzz (as well as a less expensive model we didn't like at all called the EasyWalker Sky.) Even though my husband initially ruled out any 3-wheel styles, he loved the Quinny. (It actually has two little wheels instead of 1 in the front center position.) I definitely liked it best of those three. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the bassinet, which is something we'd definitely get. Then at the second store, we were able to see the Peg Perego Skate and the Bugaboo Cameleon. Well, my husband never, ever thought he'd want to spend $900 for a stroller (when I started my research, he thought even $500 was nutty), but it was seriously love at first sight. He really didn't even want to bother with the Cameleon after seeing the Skate. (In his words, it's like the Ferrari of strollers...the whole "Italian thing".) Like you, I had also ruled out the Bugaboo because of the 2-fold thing, but it's my mom's favorite (because of all the "pretty colors"), so I was trying to be open-minded. The only reservation I had had about the Skate (other than the high price, of course), prior to seeing it, was the weight: 33.7 lbs! But it didn't bother us at all. Like you, this is our first child so maybe we don't really "know" how much of a pain it's going to be to lift it in and out of the car every day. But we're both healthy, strong, fairly athletic people, so we decided it doesn't matter to us. I'd say that the bugaboo maneuvers every-so-slightly better than the Skate but not so much so that we'd consider it over the Skate. Now, the only other "serious contender" is one we haven't been able to see in person: the Uppababy Vista. It's a LOT cheaper and doesn't seem to have any major flaws (other than the 27" width when the regular all-terrain wheels are on it.) My parents (who live elsewhere in the country) have seen both the Skate and the Uppababy. Dad loved the uppababy but forgot why by the time he saw the Skate. (Clearly, he isn't taking this whole "stroller research" thing as seriously as he should!!) They saw the Skate and Cameleon side-by-side. Unfortunately, the salesman who demonstrated them was CLEARLY biased against the Skate and loved the Cameleon. I won't get into everything he said here, since this is already probably too long of a response, but suffice to say that I don't think it was a "fair comparison". So mom left the store still thinking the Bugaboo was still superior. That was disappointing for us, since we were hoping she'd share our "Skate excitement". Anyway, the only stroller other than the Uppababy I haven't seen and still haven't eliminated (based on negative reviews, specs, etc.) is the Bumbleride Queen B. But at this point, I'd say it's likely between the Uppababy and the Skate for us. Perhaps if we saw the Quinny bassinet and loved it, we *might* be tempted to put it back on our short list. But really, that convertible bassinet-seat feature is awesome. The guy who showed my parents the Skate emphasized that the Bugaboo bassinet is far superior in terms of baby's comfort, but to us (again, "first time parents", so take my comments with a grain of salt), the Skate bassinet looked plenty comfy! So I don't know if I've helped at all. Like you, I just want to DECIDE, even if we don't buy right away, so I can move on to the next decision (carriers/backpacks, perhaps...) And it sounds like we are basing our decision on very similar criteria. Have you seen the Skate in person? I think there's a very good chance that's what we'll end up with. The only remaining concern we have about the Skate is that it's the first model year, and there are bound to be minor glitches as a result, at least in some of the strollers they sent out. So that's a risk. My husband is going to call Peg Perego USA customer service on monday, partly to get answers to a couple little questions but also partly to find out how easy they are to deal with, in the event that we do get the Skate and have problems with it. I know Peg Perego is a solid brand that's been around forever. (My mom had Peg Peregos for my siblings and me!) But we're certainly not taking the decision to buy a $900 stroller lightly. (not to mention the $250 infant seat that goes with it and possibly the $100 matching storage bag...) Best of luck in your search! Hopefully, you'll just see one and just know that it's "the one" for you!!
Wow!! You sound like me! I read some of your post to my husband, and he was cracking up because it sounds so similar. I have a huge spreadsheet comparing widths, weights, folds, etc. for a couple dozen different strollers but have pretty much narrowed it down to just a few. We just drove over two hours (each way) yesterday to go stroller shopping for the first time. At the first store, we saw the Orbit Baby, Stokke Xplory, and Quinny Buzz (as well as a less expensive model we didn't like at all called the EasyWalker Sky.) Even though my husband initially ruled out any 3-wheel styles, he loved the Quinny. (It actually has two little wheels instead of 1 in the front center position.) I definitely liked it best of those three. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the bassinet, which is something we'd definitely get. Then at the second store, we were able to see the Peg Perego Skate and the Bugaboo Cameleon. Well, my husband never, ever thought he'd want to spend $900 for a stroller (when I started my research, he thought even $500 was nutty), but it was seriously love at first sight. He really didn't even want to bother with the Cameleon after seeing the Skate. (In his words, it's like the Ferrari of strollers...the whole "Italian thing".) Like you, I had also ruled out the Bugaboo because of the 2-fold thing, but it's my mom's favorite (because of all the "pretty colors"), so I was trying to be open-minded. The only reservation I had had about the Skate (other than the high price, of course), prior to seeing it, was the weight: 33.7 lbs! But it didn't bother us at all. Like you, this is our first child so maybe we don't really "know" how much of a pain it's going to be to lift it in and out of the car every day. But we're both healthy, strong, fairly athletic people, so we decided it doesn't matter to us. I'd say that the bugaboo maneuvers every-so-slightly better than the Skate but not so much so that we'd consider it over the Skate. Now, the only other "serious contender" is one we haven't been able to see in person: the Uppababy Vista. It's a LOT cheaper and doesn't seem to have any major flaws (other than the 27" width when the regular all-terrain wheels are on it.) My parents (who live elsewhere in the country) have seen both the Skate and the Uppababy. Dad loved the uppababy but forgot why by the time he saw the Skate. (Clearly, he isn't taking this whole "stroller research" thing as seriously as he should!!) They saw the Skate and Cameleon side-by-side. Unfortunately, the salesman who demonstrated them was CLEARLY biased against the Skate and loved the Cameleon. I won't get into everything he said here, since this is already probably too long of a response, but suffice to say that I don't think it was a "fair comparison". So mom left the store still thinking the Bugaboo was still superior. That was disappointing for us, since we were hoping she'd share our "Skate excitement". Anyway, the only stroller other than the Uppababy I haven't seen and still haven't eliminated (based on negative reviews, specs, etc.) is the Bumbleride Queen B. But at this point, I'd say it's likely between the Uppababy and the Skate for us. Perhaps if we saw the Quinny bassinet and loved it, we *might* be tempted to put it back on our short list. But really, that convertible bassinet-seat feature is awesome. The guy who showed my parents the Skate emphasized that the Bugaboo bassinet is far superior in terms of baby's comfort, but to us (again, "first time parents", so take my comments with a grain of salt), the Skate bassinet looked plenty comfy! So I don't know if I've helped at all. Like you, I just want to DECIDE, even if we don't buy right away, so I can move on to the next decision (carriers/backpacks, perhaps...) And it sounds like we are basing our decision on very similar criteria. Have you seen the Skate in person? I think there's a very good chance that's what we'll end up with. The only remaining concern we have about the Skate is that it's the first model year, and there are bound to be minor glitches as a result, at least in some of the strollers they sent out. So that's a risk. My husband is going to call Peg Perego USA customer service on monday, partly to get answers to a couple little questions but also partly to find out how easy they are to deal with, in the event that we do get the Skate and have problems with it. I know Peg Perego is a solid brand that's been around forever. (My mom had Peg Peregos for my siblings and me!) But we're certainly not taking the decision to buy a $900 stroller lightly. (not to mention the $250 infant seat that goes with it and possibly the $100 matching storage bag...) Best of luck in your search! Hopefully, you'll just see one and just know that it's "the one" for you!!
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Title Post: Tips for traveling with a 2 1/2 year old?
Rating: 95% based on 9768 ratings. 4,5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
Rating: 95% based on 9768 ratings. 4,5 user reviews.
Author: Yukie
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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