Flight to the States with infant

Thanks so much for the info! I'm thinking I will take his car seat as it is equipped for planes too. I found this thing at gogobabyz.com that you connect the car seat to. You can actually put your child in the car seat and then use it as a stroller. Hope it helps!

Definitely do the carseat thing. You will go crazy trying to hold that baby all the way home, especially if someone is crammed up next to you. He should sleep much better. You will have to buy him his own seat though. Good luck. I'm trying to decide if I want to do the trip home by myself with a (will be) 9 month old and a 3 year old this summer. The heat of Doha verses a hellish ride home...

One trick if you do take the carseat -- to carry the seat through the airport, turn it upside down, put it on top of your rolling carry-on bag and get a big bungee cord to strap the seat on to the bag. Saved my life!

The car seat is a must if you buy a seat for Connor. I travelled American Airlines last summer during the terrorist scare from London to New York with a 10 month old baby. Because they were restricting what you could take on the plane, we didn't take the car seat even thoough we had paid for a seat for the baby. Because, we had no car seat, we were required to have the baby on our laps the whole flight even though we had a paid for empty seat next to us.

The rule is if you pay for a seat for Connor you must have a car seat or bassinet.

Well, I can't fly my mom over here. She works, it's expensive, etc. My husband will be working and cannot fly home with us so no help there.

Although not on a plane, I had a similar experience with the heat thing. Connor was crying endlessly one night. I went in the room to calm him and just rubbed his head. He was sweating like crazy. So, now when he is fussy, we check his head to make sure that he is not too hot. Worked like a charm when we cooled him off...he went straight to sleep.

I am absolutely dreading this trip. I think I will do the car seat thing. Someone on this site suggested some kind of travel seat made for airplanes. Might try that.

sabbiabella, i might have misquoted the weight requirement for the bassinette. Might want to check with the carrier. It could be less than 10kg. not sure.

My son cried all the way from Amsterdam to Helsinki. It was a nightmare. It wasn't until towards the end of the flight that we realised it was because he was feeling too warm. We ended up stripping him down to just his nappies. That did the trick. He stopped crying and started smiling. I read later that babies at that age 3 months or so are still unable to properly regulate their temperature. They depend on us to help keep it in check. For a lot of babies,flight environment can get very heaty for them. We were worried that he might be cold and so we covered him with a blanket. But now whenever we travel we make sure he is cool, not cold. We put him in light clothing and flying has been a breeze since. I once suggested that to a mom flying with her 9 month old. She couldn't figure out waht was wrong as the baby kept crying. After checking everything (milk, soiled nappies etc)..I related to her my experience. Her baby slept soundly after she removed the swaddle cloth and his autumn weather clothing. So, after checking everything else, try to see if baby is feeling too warm. You can always leave the socks on but maybe put him/her in lighter clothing.

Just trying to help.

Hi Sabiabella,

We first took our son on a plane with us when he was 3 months old. From Malaysia all the way to Finland with a stopover in Amsterdam. Check with some carriers if they allow you to bring a car seat that you then strap onto the plane seat. But to do this you will have to purchase a seat separately for your son. The bassinette is only for children up to 12 kg (convert this to pounds). ESL teacher was right. Sometimes they don't have enough bassinettes and you end up without one . If travelling by economy it can get very cramped with you and baby on the same seat. Plus meal times will be hell because you just won't be able to eat with a child on your lap. Is it just you and Connor? Ask the nice lady or gentlemen at the check in counter if the flight is full. If it's not ask if they can block the seat next to you. Sometimes they do that. That will give you some breathing space. Good luck...

I just travelled to Canada with an eight month old and honestly it was awful. Even though I booked a basinet seat I didn't get one, and then on the second flight they said it was meant for smaller babies.

The baby cried for 15 hours straight. Honestly, if I were you fly your mom, or whoever you are seeing here to Qatar it is soooooo much easier.

And if you try to put the baby on the floor he will just crawl away...unfortunately the lap thing is what you might be stuck with.