04.06.08
A Good Little Traveler
Che is a great traveler. Here he is sleeping in the Atlanta airport in front of an iPod vending machine during a recent layover. (Yes, I found the iPod vending machine tempting and fascinating.)
Keys to successful traveling with a young toddler:
- Dress the child to be as cute as possible. Make sure the clothing changes are cute too. An adorable child will get more attention and help for both you and the child when getting on and off of planes…and getting seat assignments. It also makes strangers smile at your child and speak kindly, which can help put the child at ease.
- If you have to travel with a car seat, wrap the long rear stabilizing strap of the car seat around the telescoping handle of a roll-aboard suitcase. This eliminates the need for a stroller and diaper bag, reducing the amount of items you have to lug through the airport. Also, make sure your car seat is clearly labeled that it is approved for aircraft. If not, you may be required to gate check it anyway.
- Bring a long-sleeve bib with you that can be wiped down. I like the one from IKEA. This will reduce the need to change clothes while traveling. If your child is as squirmy as mine, fewer changes are a good thing.
- Make sure you have enough diapers and wipes with you! Be sure to account for using the wipes as hand-washing for both you and the child. Also, it’s best to use alcohol-free wipes to prevent alcohol toxicity in a small child.
- Have enough clean bottles for the length of the flight. Formula is only good for an hour, so having 2-3 bottles for a 4-hr flight will prevent having to use an airplane lavatory to rinse bottles during a flight.
- Learn to change your baby while he is standing up. Not all planes have changing tables, and this can be a critical skill on a long flight…unless you want to lay your baby on the lid of the toilet in the lavatory (ew).
- Find a place to let your baby move around during layovers. Just because your plane is leaving out of a gate doesn’t mean that is where you have to wait. Find an empty seating area for her to run around. Just be sure to watch the time and get back to your gate at least 20 min before scheduled take off.
- Some find it easier to be the first one on the plane. I prefer to be one of the last, since it means less time for my son to be confined to the cramped space.
- Hydrate, both before and during the flight. Keeping both you and the baby hydrated will keep you happier.
- If you are comfortable letting a stranger hold you baby, go to the bathroom while on the plane. After all, no one can kidnap your child while on a standard plane and there will be lots of witnesses. This can be much easier than trying to use the bathroom in a crowded airport. Then again, if you are using the car seat strapped to a roll-aboard suitcase, you can just use a handicapped stall. After all, traveling with a child can be a real handicap.
08.14.07
The Trouble with Car Seats
When my husband and I purchased a car seat for our baby, we intentionally a convertible car seat. For those who haven’t looked at car seats lately, there are four kinds of car seats:
Infant Car Seats–These are the kind you see everyone carrying their baby in these days. I hate these because the babies are always in them. Doesn’t anyone hold their babies anymore? I realize that these seats are much more convienent, but seriously, they are only babies for so long. I want to hold my baby while he is a baby, not lug around an extra 20 lbs of car seat.
Convertible Car Seats–This is the kind we got. It can be used both rear facing (required by law for the first year of a babies life) and forward facing. Our convertible car seat can be used from birth until Che reaches 50 lbs, which is when he can officially stop using a car seat. That is, if he turns 5 before he reaches 50 lbs. But if he weighs 50 lbs before he turns 5 we’ll have more problems than needing a new car seat.
Forward-Facing Car Seats–These are like a convertible seat but they can only be used forward facing.
Booster Seats–These are used once a baby is big enough to not need a 5-point harness (the kind that attaches at both shoulders, both hips, and the crotch). They are generally used until the child reaches about 70 lbs or gets old enough to be embarassed by having to ride in a car seat. However, most babies can’t go into a booster seat right after the infant seat, so parents end up getting a convertible or forward-facing seat anyway.
I love the convertible car seats because they are build much sturdier than the infant car seats, and they prevent the temptation to leave a baby in the car seat for hours on end. Of course this means that when we go places, I have to hold Che. The good thing is, I love holding my baby. I waited a long time to have a baby in the right circumstances (married with income), so I am going to hold my baby every chance I get.
I’ve received complements at church, which I attend for three hours each Sunday, for holding my baby rather than leaving him in a seat, and those compliments make me feel good. Don’t get me wrong. I pass no judgment on those who swear by infant car seats. I completely understand the rationale of not wanting to wake up a baby who just fell asleep as you park in the grocery store lot. And if you’ve got more than one child under the age of 5, being able to strap one in and know he is safe is an incredible help.
But for now, for me, I want to hold my baby, and having a convertible car seat was one way to insure that I wouldn’t give in to the temptation not to hold him.
And if you want a recommendation, I love the Britax Roundabout we got. It costs more than the others, but since I won’t have to buy an infant car seat and a forward-facing one, I was able to justify the cost. We also like the Evenflow Triumph we got for my husband’s car. The Britax is much easier to use and install, but the Triumph was a lot cheaper.
When we go to a restaurant (which is hardly ever) we take my car and the Britax. That way we can take the whole car seat into the restaurant so Che has a place to sit. It looks a little weird, but works great. And it is so easy to get in and out with the Latch system, that I don’t complain. But my husband does. He’s the one that has to carry it, and it definitely weighs more than one of those infant seats.
Another nice feature of car seats is that you can use them to get a perspective of how much a baby has grown. When I get around to taking another picture of him in his car seat, I’ll post it next to the one we took on his first day home. The difference is amazing.
