9 month old on a long haul--book a seat?

[magpie]

Hi, I hope it's okay for me to post this here.  I wanted to get the opinion of the experts.  My H and I want to take our baby girl to visit his family in Australia this summer.  The flight will be out of LAX, so probably around 14 hours if I am remembering correctly.  We keep going back and forth on whether or not to book a seat for her.  We will most likely fly on Qantas, which has bassinets, although it might be a tight fit.  DD will be 9 months at the time of travel.  She is a little under 18 pounds now, so I am pretty sure that she will be under the 25 pound limit for the bassinet, though it's going to be a tight squeeze, lengthwise.  Also, the bassinet is no guarantee (nor is it guaranteed to be comfortable for her, even if we do get it!).  The price of a seat is about $1400.  What do you think?  If you've flown on Qantas with an infant, I'd love to hear about it!

[woodenshoes]

We just flew to San Francisco and then back home to the Netherlands (10ish hours) with our 9 month old this month and didn't get him his own seat. I worried a lot in advance if we were making the right decision safety wise but I am happy in the end that we didn't get the seat. He is such a lap baby anyway that I doubt he would have used it.

We flew KLM and they provided an infant seatbelt which I attached to my seatbelt on take-off, landing, and during turbulence. We did sit in bulkhead and had a bassinet (DS wasn't too big at 21 pounds, 28 inches) but didn't end up using it other than for storing our stuff. DS ended up sleeping on me when he did sleep.

[dorothyinAus]

Speaking not as a mother, but as a passenger who has made the flight from SF to Sydney with a lap child in the same row as me, I'd say if you can afford it, book the child their own seat. Even if you only use it for takeoff and landing, the other passenger(s) will appreciate the space. It's tough top be cramped next to one person for 14 hours, let alone 2, one who's wiggly.

For the record the infant was incredibly well behaved, but it still would have been nicer for everyone if the baby had their own seat.

[potatopie]

I'm flying solo from South Africa to Chicago next month with a 9 month old. I did not book a seat. He will be too long/squirmy for a bassinet, but I booked one anyway. I'll have more space for stuff and maneuvering, plus I can set him down in it when I need my hands.

I just plan on him sleeping on me anyway since you wouldn't be able to close your eyes if they were sleeping in a seat next to you, nor would they be able to recline comfortably. I'm bringing the soft wrap so I can be hands free.

[pittpurple]

I did several flights with my DD when she was 7/8 months and am doing several more this summer. I haven't booked her a seat and won't until she's 2 - I just can't justify the extra cost. I absolutely recommend getting a bassinet, even if she hates it you'll at least have somewhere to put her for a moment or just to put all the stuff that you'll have with you. I flew on my own long haul with my DD and the bassinet saved us.

But yes, of course if you can afford it, it's safer and easier to pay for the extra space. If you're travelling with your DH, you'll be able to book 3 seats together which, in most planes anyway, means you'll have a whole row which would be nice.

[Deleted]

If you can afford it go for the extra space. - from a woman that is so so tired of long haul flying with a kid on my lap yet has another two and half years of it ahead of her.

[frlcb]

That is about the oldest I would do a lap child but my kids prefer their own space. Can you afford to but a ticket? It is always safer if you can, so I would always say yes if you can afford it.

[origami]

If you can afford the extra ticket then I would do it. My 9 month olds were lap babies when we flew but a 5 hr flight was about all I could handle with them in coach. It is so cramped back there. If you were in business then I wouldn't buy an extra seat. Maaaaybe the bulkhead I could do but it would still be so much easier on you to have the extra space.

[dutchgirl678]

When DD was 6 months we flew to Europe and he was too tall for the bassinet but it was nice to have the space anyway. We didn't buy her a seat. When she was 13 months I flew with her by myself and had a seat for her which was nice because she slept a lot in her car seat. But at 9 months and with the price of the ticket I'm not sure I would buy an extra seat. At least at 9 months they don't walk yet so they're more willing to be in your lap.

[frlcb]

Apr 30, 2014 23:39:00 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

When DD was 6 months we flew to Europe and he was too tall for the bassinet but it was nice to have the space anyway. We didn't buy her a seat. When she was 13 months I flew with her by myself and had a seat for her which was nice because she slept a lot in her car seat. But at 9 months and with the price of the ticket I'm not sure I would buy an extra seat. At least at 9 months they don't walk yet so they're more willing to be in your lap.

My daughter walked at 9 months. And my son was crawling, so neither of them wanted to be held!

[magpie]

May 1, 2014 6:27:49 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Apr 30, 2014 23:39:00 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

When DD was 6 months we flew to Europe and he was too tall for the bassinet but it was nice to have the space anyway. We didn't buy her a seat. When she was 13 months I flew with her by myself and had a seat for her which was nice because she slept a lot in her car seat. But at 9 months and with the price of the ticket I'm not sure I would buy an extra seat. At least at 9 months they don't walk yet so they're more willing to be in your lap.

My daughter walked at 9 months. And my son was crawling, so neither of them wanted to be held!

Thanks you guys!  I think we're going to take a chance with the bassinet.  She isn't even rolling reliably yet, so I doubt we'll have a walker by 9 months.  I called qantas and the lady told me that there were still 5 bassinets available on the flights we're looking at and that it would be very unlikely for us not to have one as long as she is within the weight limits.

[americaninoz]

We've done that flight 4 times (+ another 4 hours to Minnesota)
I definitely wouldn't bother buying a seat at that age
Even if you don't get the bassinet , still try and get the bulkhead
Dd played on the floor and stood holding my leg when we flew alone and she was 11 months
It was nice to have that extra space right in front of us

[toutsuite]

**Long time lurker here butting in** - Another vote for purchase a seat if you can afford it though this is admittedly coming currently from a non-mom. DH and I often take lengthy trips (14+ hours) and from a comfort perspective, it is more comfortable for all involved to have that extra space. In one particularly nightmarish incident (though the baby was incredibly well behaved) my DH was twice the recipient of projectile vomiting by a baby during a 15 hour flight because the poor thing likely had motion sickness. Granted this is an extreme case and the parents were very apologetic/embarrassed though he was the one who had to sit in vomit (it got in his hair and he tried to clean as much as possible) for the remainder of the flight since obviously there were no showers on board (he did change into new clothes though that didn't make a difference because it happened again during turbulence and he only had one change of clothes in his carry-on). He was in business class too and paid a ton for his ticket - though this was just a bad luck kind of flight. Needless to say, he was not pleased though realized it's no one's fault. That one experience has definitely colored our opinion even though like I said, that is an extreme example.

In a second incident on a separate flight, a mother was burping her baby and he happened to puke all over the seat behind her. Luckily, no one was sitting there. After I saw that though, I figured we have the worst luck with young babies on long flights and the poor parents obviously can't help it if their kids get motion sickness. That said, motion sickness is more common for babies when flying, and especially on lengthier flights. Granted I hope you don't have this experience and I will attribute my DH's and my experience to just very bad luck. Nonetheless, if you can afford it, I would buy the extra ticket (this coming from a newly pregnant GBCN'er who will be buying extra tickets for LOs if financially feasible in the future.)

**Runs back to lurking.**

[frlcb]

May 3, 2014 18:10:48 GMT -5 toutsuite said:

**Long time lurker here butting in** - Another vote for purchase a seat if you can afford it though this is admittedly coming currently from a non-mom. DH and I often take lengthy trips (14+ hours) and from a comfort perspective, it is more comfortable for all involved to have that extra space. In one particularly nightmarish incident (though the baby was incredibly well behaved) my DH was twice the recipient of projectile vomiting by a baby during a 15 hour flight because the poor thing likely had motion sickness. Granted this is an extreme case and the parents were very apologetic/embarrassed though he was the one who had to sit in vomit (it got in his hair and he tried to clean as much as possible) for the remainder of the flight since obviously there were no showers on board (he did change into new clothes though that didn't make a difference because it happened again during turbulence and he only had one change of clothes in his carry-on). He was in business class too and paid a ton for his ticket - though this was just a bad luck kind of flight. Needless to say, he was not pleased though realized it's no one's fault. That one experience has definitely colored our opinion even though like I said, that is an extreme example.



**Runs back to lurking.**

This totally sucks, I can't imagine being vomited on twice in the same flight. But to be fair the family sitting in business class paid a ton for their ticket too, and an additional 10% on top of that, for the lap baby. And the mom burping the baby would have had the same outcome if the baby had their own seat or not, since you have to take them out of the seat to burp.

My kids never experienced motion sickness flying, so I don't think this is a general baby thing as much as a specific child thing. I am also all about buying their own seat but I think either of these things could have happened even if the baby had their own seat.

[toutsuite]

May 3, 2014 19:55:14 GMT -5 frlcb said:

May 3, 2014 18:10:48 GMT -5 toutsuite said:

**Long time lurker here butting in** - Another vote for purchase a seat if you can afford it though this is admittedly coming currently from a non-mom. DH and I often take lengthy trips (14+ hours) and from a comfort perspective, it is more comfortable for all involved to have that extra space. In one particularly nightmarish incident (though the baby was incredibly well behaved) my DH was twice the recipient of projectile vomiting by a baby during a 15 hour flight because the poor thing likely had motion sickness. Granted this is an extreme case and the parents were very apologetic/embarrassed though he was the one who had to sit in vomit (it got in his hair and he tried to clean as much as possible) for the remainder of the flight since obviously there were no showers on board (he did change into new clothes though that didn't make a difference because it happened again during turbulence and he only had one change of clothes in his carry-on). He was in business class too and paid a ton for his ticket - though this was just a bad luck kind of flight. Needless to say, he was not pleased though realized it's no one's fault. That one experience has definitely colored our opinion even though like I said, that is an extreme example.



**Runs back to lurking.**

This totally sucks, I can't imagine being vomited on twice in the same flight. But to be fair the family sitting in business class paid a ton for their ticket too, and an additional 10% on top of that, for the lap baby. And the mom burping the baby would have had the same outcome if the baby had their own seat or not, since you have to take them out of the seat to burp.

My kids never experienced motion sickness flying, so I don't think this is a general baby thing as much as a specific child thing. I am also all about buying their own seat but I think either of these things could have happened even if the baby had their own seat.

The bolded is a good point - I hadn't thought of that.  As for the other flight - mom and baby were sitting on the aisle with the dad across the aisle - they were FF and were upgraded after the flight was overbooked.  DH was in a window seat next to the mom and baby.  The first puke incident happened when the baby was sitting pointing towards him after take off.  The second occurred during turbulence when DH was asleep - when he woke up the mom tried to tell him him what had happened with incident #2 and apologized profusely (there was a bit of a language and culture barrier issue which DH suspected was the reason why she hadn't woken him up).  To note, DH initially offered to switch seats with the dad so the family could sit together but the dad preferred an aisle seat.  Baby was extremely well behaved and obviously couldn't help getting sick.  DH, nonetheless did not enjoy sitting/sleeping in puke (who would?).  I'd be lying if I said that this messy situation (literally - ha - errr -ummm - bad joke?) has definitely influenced my opinion.  And, like I said, this example is extreme (and frlcb - you are right in that it's kid specific) but after flying on countless 14+ hour flights, we will get an extra seat for our little one when he/she arrives and when financially possible for the extra comfort.  Not only will it give our legs a break from keeping the baby in our laps, it will give everyone more space.  Of course fi this isn't financially possible, then it becomes a moot point.  Either way long flights suck.  

[frlcb]

May 3, 2014 21:41:21 GMT -5 toutsuite said:

May 3, 2014 19:55:14 GMT -5 frlcb said:

This totally sucks, I can't imagine being vomited on twice in the same flight. But to be fair the family sitting in business class paid a ton for their ticket too, and an additional 10% on top of that, for the lap baby. And the mom burping the baby would have had the same outcome if the baby had their own seat or not, since you have to take them out of the seat to burp.

My kids never experienced motion sickness flying, so I don't think this is a general baby thing as much as a specific child thing. I am also all about buying their own seat but I think either of these things could have happened even if the baby had their own seat.

The bolded is a good point - I hadn't thought of that.  As for the other flight - mom and baby were sitting on the aisle with the dad across the aisle - they were FF and were upgraded after the flight was overbooked.  DH was in a window seat next to the mom and baby.  The first puke incident happened when the baby was sitting pointing towards him after take off.  The second occurred during turbulence when DH was asleep - when he woke up the mom tried to tell him him what had happened with incident #2 and apologized profusely (there was a bit of a language and culture barrier issue which DH suspected was the reason why she hadn't woken him up).  To note, DH initially offered to switch seats with the dad so the family could sit together but the dad preferred an aisle seat.  Baby was extremely well behaved and obviously couldn't help getting sick.  DH, nonetheless did not enjoy sitting/sleeping in puke (who would?).  I'd be lying if I said that this messy situation (literally - ha - errr -ummm - bad joke?) has definitely influenced my opinion.  And, like I said, this example is extreme (and frlcb - you are right in that it's kid specific) but after flying on countless 14+ hour flights, we will get an extra seat for our little one when he/she arrives and when financially possible for the extra comfort.  Not only will it give our legs a break from keeping the baby in our laps, it will give everyone more space.  Of course fi this isn't financially possible, then it becomes a moot point.  Either way long flights suck.  

I agree long flights suck! We do them all the time with our kids and having their own seats definitely helps