We are going to be visiting my dad in Phoenix in March and it will be our first plane trip with Mason. I'm wondering if we should buy a seat for him or just have him on our laps. Does anyone have any tips for flying with a 17 month old?

TIA!

JenM

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Well, you wont like what I am going to say... but if it were me I would bite the bullet and pay the extra $ for the seat for Garrett. BUT!! He doesn't like to sit still so sitting on a lap would never work, and at least with his own seat and his car seat I could strap his butt in and he would be forced to sit there! HA!

I would take along lots of snacks, some new toys that he hasn't seen, perhaps a portable DVD player if he is into Baby Einstein, etc? Good luck Jen. We travelled with Garrett to Boston when he was 8 months old and it was not fun. I won't be taking him on a plane any time soon.

Jennifer D

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Garrett Caden - 9/14/03
Braydon Thomas and Devon John - 7/28/05

Sorry no help here.
However, I have taken Grant on several 1o hour road trips.

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I flew with Moo over Christmas. It took both DH and I to entertain her and even at that she was a WIGGLE WORM. I have to agree with buying a seat and strapping the butt in. Baby Einstein is a great idea!

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dance dance revomootion

looking for adventure anywhere I can

Kim (32) I forgot my own age.

I guess things could be different btwn our countries...but in Australia babies under the age of 2 years travel free of charge but have to sit on your lap (a special extension belt is provided). Once they reach 2 years a seat must be purchased at the slightly cheaper rate for children. We took Mason interstate to Sydney (trip only 90 minutes on the plane) when he was 6 months and he was just fine. I b/feed him on take off and landing to help with any ear problems, and he was an angel. We are off on another interstate trip (family wedding in Adelaide - about 60min trip by plane) and again he will sit on my lap. I'm not sure this one is going to be as easy as he hates sitting still.....and I no longer b/feed. I think a seat for him would be a good idea, but far too costly! At least the travel time is fairly short, in fact the drive to the airport is longer than the time spent in the air! I'm going to pack some toys, a book and some snacks for distraction, and perhaps one of the cabin staff will take him for a walk...

How long is the trip to Phoenix? Is it expensive to purchase an extra seat? If it is affordable it could be a good idea, specially as it gives you more room to entertain Mason and change him too if needed.

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We have traveled with Riley quite a bit in her first year- although yours is a little older.

Our last trip was over the holidays, and she was so great. The flights were a nightmare- but she was an angel. We didn't buy her a seat, so she sat on our laps the whole time. I brought toys and books, and snacks for her to munch. She slept some of the time, which was great, but when she wasn't sleeping, she was playing or flirting with the other passengers.

I had to change her diaper on one of the flights, which was something I was really afraid of, but the bathroom had a changing table (a small one) that folded down and it really wasn't that bad.

Can you take a direct flight? It was so much better to do direct than to have a connection. Also- we waited until the last minute to get on the plane. They allow you to board early, but we waited in the terminal and let her play on the floor on a blanket until we had to board- the less time on the plane- the better.

You can also ask when you check in if you can get a row with an empty seat- if the plane is not full, they can usually move you.

HTH,
Lisa and Riley

Lisa is so right....board last if possible, less time to keep him still on the plane. Also, keep Mason's clothing light as I find the air-temp very warm on planes, perhaps opt for light layers as I guess it will be fairly cool/cold outside still in March? and a non-spill sippy cup full of water is a must!

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Thanks everyone for your responses. I think I'm going to go ahead and book the flight through Expedia, and get Mason his own seat. On Expedia his ticket is just under half price of an adult ticket. As it turns out, our first flight will be about 2 hours and the second will be about 4 hours. We wouldn't be able to get a direct flight unless we drove to another airport (any of the larger airports in our area are about 3 hours away). On the return flight, we will be going with the jet stream, so we will cut almost an hour off the flight time.

I'm so excited and can't wait to get back out to Phoenix....we haven't been there to visit in 2 years. Plus, it doesn't help that we had -17 degrees (yep, 17 BELOW zero) this morning here.

JenM

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