Flying interstate what to take

[nickosmoo]

I'm taking Nick to Melbourne and want to know should I take his car seat with me and if so how can I pack it so that it doesn't get damaged - any ideas?

I'm looking into hiring one at destination but if that doesn't work I guess I'll need to take it - has anyone else done this?

What other essentials should I take apart from a lightweight stroller? Has anyone tried those walking harness/reins? Are they any good?

[H&B'sMum]

Hi Nickosmoo,
I'm taking Harry up to QLD next month. We have already bought a lightweight stroller but this will be going in the cargo hold and for use when we go out with his Grandparents.
I will also be taking his car seat with me and am going to wrap it with lots and lots and lots of packing tape. My main concern are the straps getting caught on other bags in the cargo hold.
On the plane I will be taking a drink, to help with his ear pressure, some snacks, a new book I will buy and his fav little bear. I have also recently been told of another great way to occupy them on the flight....stickers. So I will be buying a scrap book or exercise book and some stickers or a sticker book and letting him go for it.
At the airport I will either sling him or if he wants to walk I'll make him hold my hand or he gets carried. I don't like reins or harnesses (just my personal thing) so won't be buying one. My other option is when we meet Grandparents at the other end he will want lots of cuddles from them and won't want to walk. Harry's pretty good at staying with me so I don't think I will have any problems.
Good luck and have a good flight and a great holiday.

[draught]

I have done a lot of interstate flying with my two - normally on my own. I have never wrapped the carseat up - just do up all the buckles and send it on it's way on a tray. I have never had any problems with it.

It depends where I am going whether I take it/them or not. If you are going to family or friends they can often borrow one, or you can hire them from kidsafe in every state, or do a search on line for one of the baby hire companies. The baby hire companies will normally deliver, install and pickup as well. I used one in Hobart in February and had two car seats and a portacot with bassinet insert for the week for $70, which was easier for me than doing the luggage on and off plane thing with two little ones on my own.

The stickers on the plane are always a big success. My only tip is to get ones that aren't TOO adhesive as my daughter prefers to stick them on the plane itself rather than in a book and if they are hard to peel off you end up leaving a decorated plane behind!

For a slightly older child when you can't guarantee they will drink on take off and landing, a chupachup lollipop is a great recommendation someone gave me - they are sucking on it so it has the same effect for their ears. Don't forget to take two, and have a cloth ready to remove the stickiness when they are finished!

I always take a pile of books for the flight too. They are heavy in hand luggage but definitely worth it. I have been known to do swaps with other mothers on the plane on long flights! I also carry crayons in a snap lock bag and an exercise book for drawing - easier than loose paper everywhere.

I have never used a harness etc as my eldest tends to stay close enough, and if all else fails I strap her in the pram (which always goes with us.)

[ThomasMum]

When we went interstate for holiday not long ago, we paid an extra $AUD15/day (with Avis which btw you'll get discounts if you fly with Qantas) for Thomas’ car seat. It was convenient for us because nothing for us to worry when we got to the airport we know that there’s a car waiting for us, and the main thing is this car seat was fitted by a professional.
We're going away this November, we r doing the same thing. (except for the first time we r not going to fly with Qantas, but JQ knowing as Qantas don't fly there anymore and we can still using the Qantas Lounge lots of cheaper why not), sorry off the track here…

We brought a stroller for when we went out to dinner. Most of the time DH carried Thomas around using the Baby Bjorn carrier. Thomas slept through during the flights on previous occasions. Would be interesting to know this trip because he’ll be much older then!

Extra tip: we also using the Qantas Valet service to park our car while we were away - saves having to wait/find a taxi with a child seat from/to the airport.

[jamb]

When I fly up to see my mum we take everything, car seat, pram, portacot- havent been charged any extra for it. With car seat i do same as Draught, just do up clips and off it goes on conveyor belt- no probs so far. Its pretty easy as it all comes off at same time so you see all your stuff pretty easily.

Good luck and have fun!

[Norman]

I've travlled a lot with my son and I do a mixture of taking my own, hiring and borrowing from friends.

Qantas have the security plastic bags that fit car seats so they are a good option as packaging them up yourself in the car park after you've used it to get to the airport is a little cumbersome.

With respect to hiring - I recently used HireforBaby in Melbourne - to be honest the pram I got wasn't the best but that was my fault for not asking the right questions - it just wasn't suited to our needs. But I did hire an exersaucer and that made playtime great for the week.

I also hired a car seat on a trip to New Zealand earlier this year and I was not happy with the car seat I got. We were actually going for a long car trip so in hindsight I should have taken my own as I knew that DS travels well in it. Having said that, the hire company was very understanding and replaced the seat with another one after listening to my concerns - NZ do not tether car seats when they are rear facing.

And finally - I think there is such a thing of taking too much on the plane - I've done it - you can't find what you are after for all the other things that you packed for just in case.

[nickosmoo]

Hi Everyone

Thanks for the advice - it was a big help. I'm going with my sister (the poor thing) so we'll probably hire a car and try to get the car seat included, if not I'll bring mine down.

I have a Phil and Ted so there is no way I'm lugging it down with me and in fact am sick of it taking up all the boot space in my car so can anyone recommend a good umbrella fold stroller - must be lightweight and have a sun hood - I checked out a babylove one at target today and it was ok but I don't know if I should opt for one which has a layback option -aaarrrgghhh I thought buying a mobile phone was confusing - too much choice is a bad thing!!

[vmills]

We bought a "Childcare" stroller from Target for well under $100 - it's excellent as it's not a really small flimsy one, but really light and takes up hardly any space in the boot. It's got a sun hood and reclines from upright to 45 degrees, which is a good compromise between not reclining at all and one which reclines all of the way (which would be bulkier). We took it with us when we went to Port Douglas last year - it was perfect. Not nearly as nice to push as the Phil & Ted's, though!!

[Merlion]

We just flew to Singapore last week (unfortunately not for a holiday but to my grandmother's funeral). Thankfully we didn't have to bring a car seat, port-a-cot etc as my cousin had a 15mth old baby who outgrew his cot and had a car seat too and we travelled majorily by taxi where we didn't need one.

We bought a Safety 1st Quick Smart Stroller which is between $80-$100. One good thing it folds to a size of backpack and you can take right up to your seat. One thing if you buy one make sure you practice it folding it from day one. It's a bit complicated but once you get the hang of it, it will take you approx 30 seconds to fold it up. We went from standing at the taxi into the taxi in 30 seconds flat.

Also if you want to bring your car seat a suggestion for you is to go to a Baby Shop and ask if they have any car seat boxes in the back as some people install the car seat straight away and leave the boxes behind. So all you have to do is insert the car seat in it with alot of newspaper to fill the holes and seal tight and unpack it at the other end. We are going to NZ in March and that's we are doing. But if you call car hire agency they probably be able to organise something for you.

[LucyE]

Just regarding the carseat, if you don't manage to hire one, I'd pack your own properly. Even hairline fractures can affect the intergrity of your carseat in an accident and those airline baggage handlers are not gentle.

[melzy]

We've been on several trips interstate with our little girl when she was 1, 2 and 2 1/2. We took a stroller with us on the plane and didn't even worry about packing it, just made sure it was easy to identify when collecting luggage. We hired a car and had the car seat included for a couple of dollars per day so it saved us lugging such a big thing around.

Do make sure you take snacks and definately a drink you know bubs will have when taking off and landing as the pressure in their ears will pop. The aircrew attendants are pretty good as you will be seated at the back of the aircraft as you have a bubs and they are always there to assist.

The toilets in the planes are a pain in the **** though as they are very small. I had to change my daughter as she did a smelly and it is extremely awkward as the table lays across the toilet width wise.

Small toys or even crayons and paper are great for any trip in the plane.

My daughter wouldn't sleep on the aircraft when she was 2 and she was so tired and miserable I could have jumped without a parachute,lol. She fell alseep while landing!!

Happy travels.