A tip from a friend

A friend the other day shared her best air travel tip and it's so simple but so very awesome. I'm jealous I didn't think of it myself!

My friend advises families traveling together to split up before boarding the flight with Mom and kids (or Dad and kids or whatever permutation your family may be!) being the absolute last to board. Have another family member board on time with their boarding group to secure overhead baggage space and then speak to the gate attendant about being notified at the absolute last minute to board the aircraft. This way one member of the family gets the overhead space needed and the kids aren't on a plane waiting and waiting for everyone else to board.

My husband is always in the first boarding group so we always board together and the result is we sit on the plane for at least 30 minutes waiting for the entire aircraft to be boarded and baby is always antsy during this time as we can't pull anything down from the overheard bin for her to play with and she's pretty much exhausted all other options such as the flight magazine while we're waiting for boarding to finish. Following this tip means my husband is the only one who sits on the aircraft waiting while baby gets an extra 15-20 minutes to run around in the gate area before we board.

If you try this, let me know how it works for you! And remember, key to this plan is to let the gate attendant know what you're up to, so they know to tell you when the aircraft doors are about to close.

Other traveling with children blogs

Circle of Moms has a list of the Top 25 Blogs by Parents here. There are some really, really talented writers in that list! Check them out (and of course, come back and see me!).

Going to the bathroom while traveling alone with baby

Safaa raised the question of how to handle the call of nature while traveling alone with baby? Depending on the mode of travel, the question of bathroom usage can be very tricky. I've had experiences traveling alone with baby by air and also by car so hopefully my hints can be helpful to you. I will say that it's not easy and can be stressful.

First, traveling by air, I found a friendly flight attendant to hold baby while I went to the bathroom. I wasn't terribly concerned about asking someone on the flight to hold baby for me, but I definitely preferred a flight attendant and luckily, found one who was willing! Just be advised that you'll need to wait at least until all flight attendant duties are over -- i.e. meals and beverage -- before asking and when the seat-belt sign is off. If no flight attendant is available when you need to go, consider asking a fellow passenger who looks friendly and responsible; there is always a grandmother or a mom who wouldn't mind a few minutes of baby time on board. Finally, as a last resort, you can take baby into the restroom with you and seat baby on your lap while going. This last bit is awkward and clumsy but if you're concerned about leaving your child with a stranger, this is probably your best bet. If you baby-wear, that's another option as well.

Traveling by road is a little easier, but I would never ask a person I find in the bathroom at a rest stop to hold/watch baby. Too many escape routes. At least on an aircraft, you know it's very unlikely for the person you ask to watch baby to take off with said baby.

When traveling by myself on the road, I usually put baby in a stroller and then wait for the handicap stall to be available and then wheel baby in and then use the bathroom myself. In many cases, the handicap stall is the one that has the changing table in it so I can take care of baby at the same time. If you baby-wear, that's another option as well. And if you're really, really lucky, some bathrooms have stalls that are equipped with a child seat attached to the wall that you can strap baby into while answering the call of nature. IKEA stores, by the way, have this nifty seat as do some airports.

Above all, when you are traveling by yourself  with baby, be hyper aware of your surroundings, especially on the road. Know the route well, travel in broad daylight, and carry a cell phone to let your loved ones know where you are. If something doesn't feel right to you, don't take a chance and keep going until you feel comfortable and safe.

Travel booster seat recommendation

One of the interesting things about traveling abroad is how different baby equipment can be and that included availability. While in Japan, we found that a 'baby chair' was simply a tall bar-stool type thing with no straps -- not a great option for our wiggly 12 month old. We made do with that chair by wedging it up against a table leg, but poor girl was constantly slipping and sliding down and generally looking uncomfortable.

When we decided to travel to India, I talked to a friend who told me that high chairs were few and far between and also (and by the way, this is not country-specific) not always clean. With the memory of Japan still fresh in our minds, I went searching online for a solution and after some research, decided to purchase the Munchkin travel booster seat. We used the seat extensively in India and also at the grandparents', making it possible to avoid buying a high chair for their place as we only visit a couple times a year

I chose the Munchkin seat because of a) the price, b) I liked the look of it, the c) the sturdy legs, d) the ease of folding it up into a carry case, and e) the extra storage for placemats, food, etc. The seat fits nicely into a suitcase and isn't very heavy, maybe less than a couple pounds. The one downside is that it doesn't have arm straps, only straps for the lap, but we saw that as an improvement over nothing at all! Another issue with this travel seat is that the chair you install it in needs to have a high back otherwise it will not work properly as the back of the booster is not particularly sturdy or supportive.

Link of the Day

Head's up -- airlines are charging even more money to change your ticket! United, for example, will relieve you of an additional $200/ticket for a change (not to mention, you may also have to pay any difference in airfare between your original ticket and the new one; for example, if your old ticket was $200 and the new ticket is $300, you'll be paying an additional $300 per ticket to change on top of the $200 you already paid, for a total of $500).

And check out the news about Frontier charging $100 for certain carry-on bags. Since traveling with kids necessitates traveling with a lot of stuff, this new move to start charging for carry-on bags is a bit disturbing.

More details are available in this WaPo story: Fee-happy airlines raise the bar again

Link of the Day

A CNN travel writer answers the question: Can taking your child abroad actually be fun?

Measles and traveling abroad

I want to give you a head's up regarding a major measles epidemic in the UK, and more specifically, in the greater Swansea area in southern Wales. As the UK is a very popular summer vacation destination, please do your research ahead of time, especially if you're traveling with an un-vaccinated child. This is not an insignificant epidemic; as of April 29, 2013, the number of cases reported in Wales has approached 1,000 and as of April 19, 2013, the the first measles-related death may have occurred. The BBC has some maps showing current measles cases in the UK here. You can read more about measles and vaccinations at the CDC's page here. Note that measles is highly infectious and can cause death. The World Health Organization has some sobering statistics on measles here.


If your child is under the age of 12 months and has not yet received a measles vaccine (commonly known as the MMR), talk to your pediatrician about it, especially if you are traveling to a part of the world where a measles outbreak exists. I got the MMR for baby at age 11 months as I was traveling to a part of the world where 50 percent of the cases originate; she had absolutely no reactions. The downside, however, is that baby did need to get another MMR at 15 months as any MMR prior to 12 months won't count for official vaccine paperwork.

Please take the appropriate precautions when traveling overseas after speaking to your trained health provider. Measles is a highly infectious disease that has the potential to cause serious complications in small children, including death.

Need a vacation idea?

Not 100 percent kid-related, but if you were looking for travel ideas, CNN published a list of the 20 most beautiful World Heritage sites. I've only been to a few of the of the sites -- Mont St. Michel (easy trip from Paris!), Venice, and the Acropolis. Clearly there's a whole lot more world out there for baby and me to see!

Talk back to me

Do you have any tips or questions about traveling with a baby? Share them with me! I can be reached at seemag1@yahoo.com.

Mom humiliated on American Airlines flight

American Airlines apparently stopped a woman from using her Medela pump during a flight. I'm posting this story here in the interest of sharing, but keep in mind that some of these experiences reported in the media are not typical. Complete story: Breast pumping mom humiliated on flight.