Tsukiji

I like the car seat bag as well. But more often than not, I put the seat on the stroller and carry the kid. It is amazing how much you can put on a stroller and with one parent to steer and the other is responsible for the child - well it should be easy street!

One thing I didn't like about the bag is that the wheels were not placed as well as I liked and the bag started to wear out where the fabric dragged on the ground. Probably user error, but worth noting.


When we did our transatlantic with our 2.5 year old, I had the roundabout, but wound up only using it when she was awake. Our flight over was late in the evening and she sat in the seat and eventually fell asleep. The FA was kind enough to stow it for us until morning.

When DD woke up, just before descent, I took her to the lav, changed her out of her jammies and Dad put the seat back in place.


Happy travels.

KB222

We traveled over the holidays with our 2 year old and 4 month old and used a strap that lets you attach your car seat to a carry-on suitcase, Traveling Toddler. It is very inexpensive and worked great, our son loved riding in his own car seat at the airport. It was very easy to connect and disconnect the car seat. We had no problems at security. We brought our travel system for our 4 month old, and checked a $10 umbrella stroller.

If it wasn't for this product, I don't know what we would have done. We would have been pushing two strollers, had a car seat strapped to one of our backs, which would not have left much room to carry essentials on the plane. This way we were able to bring our carry on plus two diaper bags. The Sit and Stroll looks really nice, but if you are on a budget or aren't going to travel much, definitely check out the Traveling Toddler strap.

jonu

Welcome to FT, KB222!

That looks like a GREAT product. Much cheaper than the Sit N Stroll. If we didn't already have a Sit N Stroll, I'd definitely look into getting one of these.

Swiss Tony

Cool idea, but sadly it works on LATCH and in Europe the standard is called ISOFIX, so again a non-starter

shl1108

I have two thoughts about car seats. One, if you aren't renting a car or going to be in a car (not a bus) when traveling with a child out of an infant seat..I wouldn't bring one.
So so so many times we have brought a car seat on a plane, hauled it with us on the plane, installed it etc.. and our child would have been just as happy in the seat with the seatbelt. I know those of you who think it is safer with a car seat...I think that if the plane is going to have problems you are probably not going to be saved by a carseat when it goes down. Even with rough landings you can safely hold your child in your lap anyway.
If you are going to rent a car and actually are going to use the car seat while traveling, then try checking it as baggage. This works GREAT. Pile it up with the rest of the luggage and send it through baggage. Most airlines have an oversized area this will be at when you arrive.
A poor woman just the other day was frantically waiting for her child's car seat to come down the baggage belt when almost all of the luggage was already gone. I asked her if she looked in the "oversized" area just over there...she was so relieved when she found it over there.
Anyways...we have had more problems trying to carry an oversized car seat on a plane with 3 children, multiple carry ons etc.. it is a nightmare. It is so much easier to check it or leave it behind.
Good luck!

marinedjp

I just got done trekking through ORD with my wife, a 30 month old, and a 8 month old along with a double stroller and a car seat.... and plenty of carry on..

My best advice is to ditch the car seat at home and put the toddler in a real seat. My daughter LOVED playing with the "cool seatbelt" and we had no issues without her using the car seat.. ended up checking it at the gate.

Find some handy item listed above to carry it... its just awkward, and bulky and requires some softly ushered curse words to get thru the terminal with it.

Just bring a stroller along to put the baby in and check it at the gate. Rent a car seat wherever you need to get to.

Leigh Ann

Strap it onto luggage wheels. The wheels then fold up and fit under the seat or in the overhead bin.

CDTraveler

That sounds so simple, but for every one person who said that worked well for them, I've heard 20 disaster stories - seats too dirty to touch, wrong size seats, missing buckles/straps, broken or cracked seats, seats that were the subject of a recall, etc. One newspaper article I saw did a test of renting child safety seats with rental cars - and I think they found 7 out of 10 of them to be unsafe.

I'll take my own along, thank you.

chebourashka

I just wanted to mention that renting a car seat in Europe is quite expensive. Usually you can buy a new one, at least in North America. Other wise taxis are allowed not to have a car seat in many countries even here in Canada. If you rent a car with a driver, limo style, or a taxi in advance, you can ask them to provide a car seat. Usually this was free, at least in Italy.

If you really think that you need a car seat just check it in with your bags or use it on the plane.

dhflies

It may be a pain to schlep a carseat through an airport, but I'll take an aching back anytime for peace of mind and safety for my kids. I NEVER check a car seat or rely on a rental company having one. Friends who have done both have regretted it after their travels.

When my kids were younger I'd use the stroller to carry the car seat and either strategically secure it so my child could ride in the car seat which rested on the leaned back stroller seat or inverted the car seat to stick up from the basket of the stroller, while the child was in the regular stroller seat. I've also worn the car seat over one shoulder.

What worked best on my last trip, traveling alone with two kids, car seat, bottom part of booster seat and our luggage, was to invert the car seat over a wheelable duffle bag and secure it with a belt. Of course, I also grabbed a smartcarte whenever we saw an orphaned one about the airport.

During trips in the last year to TOL with a change of concourses in DTW and ANC with changes in LAX and SEA this worked just fine. Plus, I knew that (1) the seats would still be safe for my kids when we got there (unlike the luggage that gets tossed about and sometimes missing), (2) we'd have safe seats for them for the rental (without the change that the ones at the car rental location would be (a) gross (b) unsafe/expired (c) not available even with a reservation) and (3) My daughter had seat she was comfortable in/familiar with and would rest on the plane (which she did).

BoulderHyattHopper

After 10 trips across the Atlantic, maintaining 1P, most of the time without my husband, all as a stay-at-home mom ... this is how I do it.

I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS travel with my stroller. (originally GRACO with infant and base, now a Bugaboo).

I ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS travel with my Sharper Image. I have had the thing since my Big 6 100% travel consulting days and it still looks brand new.

I attach the car seat, which is either a GRACO Alpha-Omega or a BRITAX Marathon to the clip at the top of the roll-a-board. If you angle it and roll it as normal, the car seat does not drag on the ground and just rolls with you. A little big in elevators and trains (home is DEN concourse B), but this is the ONLY way to make it work. If you are stuck somewhere for days without extra essentials, life is miserable (all in the roll-a-board). I have lived without the stroller and cannot imagine why anyone would ever elect to do this.

As far as not traveling with it, my story is always the same. Go to RSW during Xmas with a "Reservation" for any car rental company. Once they run out of cars, sorry charlie. We have watched friend after friend after friend go there and end up with no car for a week long holiday. Sorry!

As far as checking the car seat, we have watched countless times of people who have checked it and then it not make it to its final destination. Crying kids, angry parents, confused grandparents and a helpless airline who has already given out all of their spares.

Sorry, it is a lot of work, but I'll do it!

jonesing

DS (7 months) aka "The Little Giant" outgrew his Graco Mayfair car seat some 2 weeks ago We decided on the Britax Boulevard seat and I'm getting the GoGoKidz carrier for an upcoming trip. Will let you know how it works out.

22wingit

Just to add, there is checked baggage, and then there is gate-checked baggage. If your child is too big to use a carseat on board but still needs it in a ground vehicle, you can gate-check the seat to be sure it makes it onto the same plane you are on. (Works for lap-baby scenarios, too, if you do lap-carry.) If you don't carry your carseat in a satchel, you should ask a Skycap for a plastic bag to put it in, they don't usually have those bags available at the gate, and the hold is a very greasy place.

I'll also point out that after our first transatlantic experience with a heavy carseat, we purchased a second, more lightweight seat specifically for travel (and for loaning to grandparents, etc.). What we got for this purpose was a Cosco Touriva, which BTW is also the seat most commonly supplied by rental car companies in the US and Canada.

Remember that when travelling by air with a stroller, it is best to remove all of the accessories, etc. that are easily broken, and put them in your checked baggage. This may include snack trays, cupholders, the hood, any toys; essentially anything that is made of plastic &/or sticks out somewhat when the stroller is folded. You should also *secure* the stroller in the folded position, with a bungee or a strap of some kind, if you don't put it in a protective cover. Most stroller breakage happens when a ramp guy accidentally hits the latch and unfolds it, then can't figure out how to fold it again and just forces it shut. They don't have time to figure out all the different models; so be proactive about protecting it from damage.