Flying with a baby

[netnews.mchsi.com]

Hey all-

I am wondering what the thoughts are out there on flying with newborns.
Here is my situation. I have a 2 1/2 month old who is healthy. My
father-in-law wants to fly us from Des Moines, IA to St. Paul, MN next
weekend. I think that the trip is around 1 hour. I have done a little
searching around online and have not found a whole lot so far. From what I
have found, it seems to me that the biggest issue to consider is the noise
of the airplane and hearing protection for the little guy. Other
considerations are the altitude of flight (I assume we will stay under 5000'
flying VFR), speed of decent and restraint within the airplane. There would
be four adults in a cherokee so I suppose mom would have to hold him on her
lap.

Any thoughts, suggestions or experiences would be welcome.


Thanks!

Jeremy

[Peter R.]

"netnews.mchsi.com" > wrote:

> There would be four adults in a cherokee so I suppose
> mom would have to hold him on her lap.

Hmmm... As a fellow pilot who often flies with young children and babies,
I would be very concerned about this particular scenario and recommend
strongly against it for at least a few reasons.

Ignoring the obvious safety during a crash issue for a moment, there is
also the more common issue of unexpected turbulence.

Two weeks ago, while flying VFR in clear skies to an airport just north of
Denver International Airport (in the flatlands of Colorado), I hit a single
downdraft that sent my box of charts resting on the passenger seat up about
two feet and down to the floor. My father, who had been sitting in the
back seat of the Bonanza with his lap belt too loose, actually hit his head
on the ceiling of the aircraft.

I shudder to think what would have happened had a baby been in someone's
arms at that moment.



--
Peter


















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[Stefan]

netnews.mchsi.com wrote:

> I am wondering what the thoughts are out there on flying with newborns.
> Here is my situation. I have a 2 1/2 month old who is healthy. My

Babies up to a certain age (I don't know which) are not able to handle
pressure differences in the ear. So when they cry during descent, it's
not because they are hungry, but because their ears really hurt.

Stefan

[Cub Driver]

On Sat, 11 Jun 2005 09:37:47 +0200, Stefan >
wrote:

>So when they cry during descent, it's
>not because they are hungry, but because their ears really hurt.

The solution is to nurse the kid at these moments (keeping him hungry
otherwise).

Because the mother is likely to be nursing the baby at landing and
shortly after takeoff, the issue of no restrainer is more or less
moot.

There is also the problem of the automobile at the other end of the
flight. Are you to carry a car seat with you?



-- all the best, Dan Ford

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[Matt Whiting]

netnews.mchsi.com wrote:

> Hey all-
>
> I am wondering what the thoughts are out there on flying with newborns.
> Here is my situation. I have a 2 1/2 month old who is healthy. My
> father-in-law wants to fly us from Des Moines, IA to St. Paul, MN next
> weekend. I think that the trip is around 1 hour. I have done a little
> searching around online and have not found a whole lot so far. From what I
> have found, it seems to me that the biggest issue to consider is the noise
> of the airplane and hearing protection for the little guy. Other
> considerations are the altitude of flight (I assume we will stay under 5000'
> flying VFR), speed of decent and restraint within the airplane. There would
> be four adults in a cherokee so I suppose mom would have to hold him on her
> lap.
>
> Any thoughts, suggestions or experiences would be welcome.

Yes, noise is the biggest issue followed by smell. :-)

Seriously, if you are pretty sure the little one doesn't have a cold or
sinus problems, then you should be fine. I would try to find a small
set of ear muffs. You might be able to use the foam ear plugs, but I've
never done that and would check with your pediatrician about that first.


Matt

[Matt Whiting]

Peter R. wrote:

> "netnews.mchsi.com" > wrote:
>
>
>>There would be four adults in a cherokee so I suppose
>>mom would have to hold him on her lap.
>
>
> Hmmm... As a fellow pilot who often flies with young children and babies,
> I would be very concerned about this particular scenario and recommend
> strongly against it for at least a few reasons.
>
> Ignoring the obvious safety during a crash issue for a moment, there is
> also the more common issue of unexpected turbulence.
>
> Two weeks ago, while flying VFR in clear skies to an airport just north of
> Denver International Airport (in the flatlands of Colorado), I hit a single
> downdraft that sent my box of charts resting on the passenger seat up about
> two feet and down to the floor. My father, who had been sitting in the
> back seat of the Bonanza with his lap belt too loose, actually hit his head
> on the ceiling of the aircraft.
>
> I shudder to think what would have happened had a baby been in someone's
> arms at that moment.

Yes, that is a good point that I didn't address in my post. I was
thinking physiological issues, but I definitely would have the baby in a
good car seat. I never flew with my kids without a car seat when there
were young. Actually, that is one reason I sold my Skylane when my
third child was born. There simply wasn't room for three kids. and
anything else. I tried to get the baggage area seat and actually bought
one from a fellow poster here, but it wasn't complete (had no mounting
hardware) and I couldn't find that so I never got the seat installed.


Matt

[Frank Ch. Eigler]

> writes:

> I am wondering what the thoughts are out there on flying with
> newborns. Here is my situation. I have a 2 1/2 month old who is
> healthy. [...] it seems to me that the biggest issue to consider
> is the noise of the airplane and hearing protection for the little
> guy. [...]

Our half-year-old used an ordinary pair of adult shooting earmuffs on
his first flight - no problems. When he was even younger, his head
appeared too soft to bear the compression involved, but that was just
guessing. We never got earplugs to work with him.


- FChE

[Aluckyguess]

My 11 year old girl still has this problem. Really bums me out.
"Stefan" > wrote in message
...
> netnews.mchsi.com wrote:
>
>> I am wondering what the thoughts are out there on flying with newborns.
>> Here is my situation. I have a 2 1/2 month old who is healthy. My
>
> Babies up to a certain age (I don't know which) are not able to handle
> pressure differences in the ear. So when they cry during descent, it's not
> because they are hungry, but because their ears really hurt.
>
> Stefan

[John Larson]

Just leave it home with the dog.



"netnews.mchsi.com" > wrote in message
news:4Dsqe.44364$nG6.4895@attbi_s22...
> Hey all-
>
> I am wondering what the thoughts are out there on flying with newborns.
> Here is my situation. I have a 2 1/2 month old who is healthy. My
> father-in-law wants to fly us from Des Moines, IA to St. Paul, MN next
> weekend. I think that the trip is around 1 hour. I have done a little
> searching around online and have not found a whole lot so far. From what
> I have found, it seems to me that the biggest issue to consider is the
> noise of the airplane and hearing protection for the little guy. Other
> considerations are the altitude of flight (I assume we will stay under
> 5000' flying VFR), speed of decent and restraint within the airplane.
> There would be four adults in a cherokee so I suppose mom would have to
> hold him on her lap.
>
> Any thoughts, suggestions or experiences would be welcome.
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Jeremy
>