Rules & Regulations for Children on Airplanes

Here is a good summary of traveling on airplanes with children. Additional information provided by TSA can be found here. I know a lot of parents will print out the page on carrying food for children to show TSA "just in case" there are any problems at security, especially those carrying a breast pump and breast milk; personally speaking, we've had ZERO problems with TSA when carrying formula powder and food pouches through security. They just require us to remove them ahead of time for some additional scanning. Still, if it's a concern, it's worth having a copy of the regulation on you.

Car Seats

Car seats are obviously required for car travel but can also used in airplanes if purchasing a seat for an infant (child under age 2; after age 2, child must travel in their own seat). I recommend the following when researching a car seat purchase. Check out Car-Safety.org and also The Car Seat Lady and also NHTSA for tips and recommendations on what seat to buy. The Car Seat Lady has a huge section on using carseats on airplanes here and it's well worth checking out.

Kindle Fire at Amazon

I've mentioned in a previous post that the Kindle Fire has been an invaluable "toy" for both Mommy and baby when traveling. I have the original Kindle Fire, not the HD version, that goes for about $159 right now. It's a great buy, mho, for the tablet, especially if you plan to let your child use it for any length of time. I've learned that no matter how much I try to teach my child that a tablet is not for throwing, somehow, it always ends up on the floor!

There are lots of apps available for kids at the App store, though rumor has it, the app selection is not as extensive as what Apple offers for the iPad. For my child, at 17 months old, Picasso - Draw! Paint! Doodle! is a great free app. I've downloaded a bunch of the free puzzle apps, but they are a bit complicated for the child right now and I end up having to fill in the puzzles for her. Another app I like is also free: iStoryBooks. Another thing to keep in mind is that Amazon also has promotions every now and then for an app, for example, buy this app and get $1 mp3 credit at the music store. Some of the apps that qualify for this promotion are free to begin with so it's win/win!

And oh! The best part? All the music and video you purchase on Amazon is put in the Cloud so it's accessible on your Kindle anywhere you have an internet connection. I bought my child 50 Nursery Rhyme Songs, which she adores, and it's awesome that I can play it for her on the Kindle anytime she wants to hear her favorite songs.

If you're interested in finding out more about the Kindle, go here to shop Amazon's New Kindle Fire.  

All sales made through this page directly support this blogger. Thank you!

Breastfeeding and car trips

I've talked a lot about airline travel just because we have so much experience with it and tend to travel that way a lot, but car trips with a baby can be equally stressful!

When Baby was between 4 to 8 months old, I traveled about 3 hours one way by car by myself and it was definitely stressful since I couldn't really check on Baby unless I stopped the car and if she was upset, I had to stop wherever I was to console her or feed her. Luckily, I knew the route I was traveling like the back of my hand so I knew of good and safe places to stop. However, a few times, I was caught unaware with a hungry baby who was rejecting her bottle and I had to pull over on shoulders to breastfeed. One time, I pulled in the parking lot of an abandoned and dilapidated restaurant and another time, it was just a 'park area' in a wood area. Scary. I sat in the back of the car with Baby hoping for a fast feed so I could get the heck out of dodge!

My biggest tips to breastfeeding moms whose babies won't take a bottle during the drive is to carefully study the route ahead of time (if you don't already know it well) and pick out good places to stop along the way. Always try for a populated area but as my experience has shown, it's not always possible! Ask friends/family for recommendations and perhaps check out the route on Google maps to identify large population areas where there could be a convenient area to pull off.

I don't have any experience, by the way, of pumping while in the car (I'm assuming the pumping is not happening while driving!), so if anyone has any thoughts to share on the subject, please do so!

Travel toys!

We just returned from a 10-hour round trip transatlantic flight. We weren't concerned about going over to Europe as our flight left at bedtime and sure enough, a few hours after we took off, baby fell asleep and promptly slept most of the flight. Coming back though, we knew would be a completely different story as it would be broad daylight and our baby isn't the greatest of sleeper when removed from the 'comforts' of home.

When looking for entertainment for an airplane ride, here are some of the things we are looking for:

1. We want a quiet toy so we don't bother other passengers. To be honest, more and more people are using noise cancelling earphones (my husband uses Able Planet noise cancelling headphones
2. We want a toy that doesn't roll away when dropped. The last thing we want to do is chase a toy all the way down the aisle, especially if the flight attendants are in the aisle with beverage/food service. 
3. We want a toy that doesn't have a lot of pieces that can get dropped/lost/render the toy inoperable for the duration of the flight.
4. In the past, we wanted a toy we could use with a lanyard (we used Baby Buddy Secure-A-Toy for this purpose; worked great with pacifiers, but not so great with the type of sippy cup we used -- handles left a gap for the lanyard to slip out!).

A couple of toys that have worked well for us in the past for both airplanes and cars include the Bright Starts Clack and Slide Activity Ball and Freddy Firefly. We've always had decent luck with our Kindle Fire as a diversionary tactic, but while overseas, our child become unbelievably fascinated with the Kindle and constantly wanted to watch 'Elmo'. I was able to stream short bits of Sesame Street on the Kindle, but I knew that would be an issue while flying home. So while I was able to download Elmo Loves 123s (Kindle Tablet Edition) "just in case" and many other apps, I knew Elmo and the Kindle wouldn't last the full 10 hours home!

We also knew Baby had pretty much outgrown the toys I mentioned above and so I wanted to get her something new for the trip. Before we left, a friend recommended stickers as a good toy for an airplane. We loved the idea and set about searching for an appropriate book. The friend had suggested a Melissa & Doug sticker pad set and we liked that idea because right now we're trying to keep Baby as free from 'commercial influences' as possible (a losing battle as all parents know!). Because I didn't have enough time to get the set from Amazon and couldn't find a similar Melissa & Doug in stores, I ended up getting a gigantic -- and I mean, gigantic! -- activity book with 1000+ stickers, sketch pad and 'scene pages' from Costco for $12.99. It was Disney-themed, but we decided to let it go for now given the shortness of time.Best $12.99 we've ever spent as Baby spent much of the flight pointing to stickers, sticking them on the 'scene pages', resticking them and occasionally decorating us and the seats around us with the stickers.

Since a sketch pad was included, we also picked up triangle crayons from Crayola; they don't roll AND they are washable! The latter became especially important when Baby decided all she wanted to do was color on the tray table! It didn't take more than a single swipe of a baby wipe to clean up the mess and baby was completely happy. Also, whenever she dropped the crayon, no matter where, it stayed put. Love, love, love. We will definitely be using these again.

The items kept her occupied enough that I didn't have to break out the Kindle for entertainment purposes. This was definitely a concern as I wasn't able to fully charge the Kindle before leaving the hotel and also because I knew Baby would protest mightily when we had to take it away during take-off/landing. I'm still glad we had the Kindle and the apps/videos on it as back-up, but am really glad we didn't have to use it at all for this particular flight.

Strollers and American Airlines

When flying with children and the 'special equipment' that comes with them, ie the car-seat and/or stroller, it's always a good idea to check the baggage allowance requirement first. Airlines have been really cracking down lately so it's best to be prepared. I'm bringing this up because of an American Airlines' policy that recently came to my attention (as a note, I do not typically fly American Airlines so I have no direct experience with this policy or how it would affect travel).

According to American Airlines' policy, which can be found here, strollers that are large, non-collapsible or over 20 lbs. must be checked at the ticket counter. There is more detail here and the good news is that it looks like checking a heavier stroller won't incur baggage fees, but you have to check it at the counter. This means if you were counting on using a jogging stroller or a double stroller through the airport, you'll have to come up with a Plan B.

Movie Complaints Leads to Flight Diversion

Parents complained about the movie showing on a United Airlines flight on the overhead screens; plane was eventually diverted and the family removed from the plane. Complete story here.