CommuterMom: Pack Mule
CommuterGirl and I are planning a trip. We’ll be gone for 6 six days, staying with my Aunt and Uncle and visiting with my grandmother. My mother is going to be flying with us, so I’m not too worried about CommuterGirl management. What I am thinking about is all the stuff. First on my list, the car seat.
Last time we did this trip (about a year ago) I brought the car seat with me. I bought a backpack attachment and carried it on the plane – strapping it into the seat, and dragging it around on my back during our layover – not an ideal situation. It was nice to have a seat for CommuterGirl (she was only 1 ½), but after the pilot and two flight attendants had to help me try to unbuckle the thing from our seat at the end of one of our flights, while I was trying to manage CommuterGirl on one of those little planes that only have about 30 seats and you can barely stand up straight, I vowed to never do that again. The pilot promised I wasn’t the first person who had a problem, but I think he was just trying to make me feel better.
So, now I have to figure out how to get a car seat to my Aunt and Uncle’s house. Should I just check ours and cross my fingers that it doesn’t get mangled, or worse…lost in the baggage compartment? I heard that you can rent things like that, but I don’t know where to even start looking for something like that. Help….
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5 comments:
Rental car companies usually have car seats that you can rent and I think that some local police stations also loan them out. Be careful doing that though, as I've heard that some of those rental seats are in pretty poor condition.
You can also purchase travel bags for your car seat to protect it - and if you check it at the gate, it takes less abuse.
This is a tough one. I have yet to travel on a plane with my daughter, but every time I'm in the airport and see someone struggling with the carseat, kids and luggage, I wonder if there isn't a better solution. One thought -- Is there a less expensive (and maybe slightly smaller) carseat you could by to have for this kind of purpose? not exclusively for airplane travel, of course, but if you have a second car you could maybe keep it installed there most of the time. I know you're daughter isn't an infant, but I did just recently realize that an infant seat can be used without the big bulky base. The base just makes it easy to ensure you're properly installed easily and quickly, but the seat itself is equipped with a place for the seatbelt to hold it in all by itself (and installation instruction are actually printed on the car seat). A good tip for a mom I once saw in the airport lugging the infant seat with the base attached so she couldn't even properly snap it in the stroller. I felt so bad for her.
I have flown many times and have checked a carseat (or two!) almost every time. I buckle the straps and tighten them down so that they don't rattle around or catch on anything and then ask the ticket agent for a courtesy bag (very large and clear). The carseat slips into the bag and can then be tied shut at the top. The ticket agent will then put the fancy travel sticker on it and voila, you are traveling carseat free. I have also had concerns about what would happen if it didn't show up at the other end, but figured that I would cross that bridge when I got to it. I've done this for at least 10 flights in 3 years and haven't had a problem. Good luck and happy travels!
I've had similar experiences with Melissa and checking the car seat. However, if you like the seat on the airplane, an umbrella-like stroller serves as a handy way to tote the carseat through the airport - the carseat straps can be placed over the umbrella stroller handles - it is a bit ackward, but better than the back pack.
If you're flying you probably won't be going there often enough to buy a carseat to keep there, but maybe your Aunt or Uncle (or you) know someone that can loan you an extra carseat of theirs for the week you are there.
We recently made our first flight with my son (16 months). We purchased him a seat so that we were guarenteed extra space, but we didn't want to carry the carseat (or even check it in). We wanted to take as little as possible. So, we borrowed one from my brother. It made the trip easier, not having to worry if our carseat would get messed up, not having to carry it, etc.
One thing though, you'll have to get to the airport. We let a friend use our car w/our carseat. You can also request a carseat from most shuttles or taxis.
Hope that helps...
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