flying with a 17 month old... need suggestions

[Sirrahsim]

Even if she does not have a paid seat you can always bring along your carseat. It does not incur baggage fees, and if there is room you may use it on an empty seat. If there are no empty seats, they can plane-side check it for free. Chances are she may feel more secure if she is strapped in AND you won't have to worry about a car seat when you arrive.
Also a new little toy or two can be a great distraction. Something that she hasn't seen in a while might work too. If you have a portable dvd player that could be a lifesaver. She is a bit young to be into TV but she might enjoy the sounds and colors of the Baby Einstein DVDs.
Snacks are also a good time waster, especially if you can make it into a game. I saw a snackbowl at the store yesterday with a plastic lid that requires you to push your hand through a hole to get to the cheerios or whatever. I can imagine that Austin would think that was a hoot and he isn't much older.
I'm sure you have thought of this, but possibly THE most important thing that you need to do for her is to have something for her to suck on during take off and especially landing. A pacifier, teething ring, or even a sippy cup will do, but you need something that will help her pop her ears.

I'll keep thinking. We have flown with one or both boys several times.

[sparks19]

ooooooooh we can bring a stroller on the plane and they will check it? I was worried about that. I thought we were going to have to carry her lol. that's great news.

I was thinking about a portable DVD player but don't know how expensive they are as we don't have one at the moment. but if we had one of those... I would just put her signing times on and she would stay perfectly still the whole time lol. she LOVES that show.

she will definitely have her pacifier and her sippy cup.

She has a whole bunch of toys downstairs that she hasn't seen in a long time so I will have to go through those and make up a bag.

I'm on the fence about the carseat. it's REALLY big and bulky and will be hard to carry around the airport.

[lvpets2002]

Please make sure that you bring the baby something to put in her mouth to chew on == upon plane takeoff into the air.. So many parents dont think about this.. Adults put gum in their mouths to chew on.. Babies need like a bottle or pasifier or your thumb to suck on.. Her wittle ears drums will start popping when the plane is reaching altitude.. After that & when the plan is in flight I will just bet she will go to sleep.. See I used to fly a whole lot & noted all of this in diff flights.. Have A Fun && Safe Trip..

[Grace]

Benadryl.

[Husky_mom]

Benadryl.

LOL...LOL...LOL... that should help too... LOL

[sparks19]

if I can keep her awake all morning then she just might sleep on the plane. but she doesn't normally sleep in vehicles anymore unless she is exhausted.

Benedryl... thats a good idea actually.

[prechrswife]

What we did with our car seats is we counted them as checked baggage, and just picked them up at baggage claim when we arrived. We could have rented them with our rental car, but it was going to drive the price up, so we just took our own.

[Husky_mom]

Please make sure that you bring the baby something to put in her mouth to chew on == upon plane takeoff into the air.. So many parents dont think about this.. Adults put gum in their mouths to chew on.. Babies need like a bottle or pasifier or your thumb to suck on.. Her wittle ears drums will start popping when the plane is reaching altitude.. After that & when the plan is in flight I will just bet she will go to sleep.. See I used to fly a whole lot & noted all of this in diff flights.. Have A Fun && Safe Trip..

what she said ^.... she´ll probably go to sleep.. but if se doesn´t have something for her: a toy, food, etc...

cheap DVD players can be found at 80-100... maybe less...but that´s the cheapest I´ve seen... but I think you´d do better with some of her fave toys and play or some new toy so she´s busy with it getting to know it...