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My husband is visiting India and while he's gone, I'm going to visit my mom in another state. What's the best way to manage luggage, baby stuff, and baby by oneself? By that point, my baby will be just shy of 1 year old. We've traveled by plane a couple times before with him but I've never done it completely by myself. Unfortunately, since my husband will be gone we won't be dropped off at the airport and instead will need to deal with shuttle parking.

My initial thought was to carry him in front with my Beco carrier, get a backpack carrier for his car seat (I bought a seat for him so I won't be checking it), take a carry-on suitcase with wheels, and a large suitcase to check. However, that means that I would be carrying 40+ lbs the entire time. I've done it while backpacking but I doubt this will be as ergonomically comfortable.

I've also considered taking our BOB stroller (the only one we have now) but the thing is huge and I can't imagine trying to manhandle it into the shuttle by myself. I just recently saw the Traveling Toddler car seat accessory and I think that might work for most of the trip but again, I'm not sure about the logistics with the shuttle. One thought that crossed my mind was to get a car seat backpack and the Traveling Toddler and use both on various parts of the trip.

Am I over-thinking this? For those of you that traveled alone with a baby, how did you do it?

flag	asked Feb 6 at 1:03 Kiesa 3,385●3●10

Neen · Answer 1 · 2010-02-06 06:59:13Z UTC

Is taking a Taxi to and from the airport a possibility? It would certainly cut out all of the parking and shuttle difficulties, and if you're lucky and get a decent cabbie they will probably even help you get into the terminal with all your stuff.

If I had to travel with a baby again I would be all over that Travelling Toddler thing, that looks like a lifesaver to me!

I've never bothered taking my hugh stroller with me, I bought an umbrella stroller when we got to my sisters the first time and left it there to use when we visit.

I hope everything goes beautifully and you have a wonderfull trip to Grandma's!

BetsyB · Answer 2 · 2010-02-08 04:39:45Z UTC

I have a friend who travels a lot--she has a GoGoKidz Travelmate, and loves it. I've seen a lot of great reviews of it. The disadvantage of it over the Traveling Toddler is you would have to wheel 2 items if you're also carrying on a wheeled suitcase. With either of these, though, I'm not sure how you'd bring the stroller along too.

Another suggestion made to me was to put the baby in a Ergo/Beco carrier, load the carseat into the stroller, and push it through the airport to the gate. Then you can gate-check the stroller, bring the carseat on board, and go. I have heard of people gate-checking BOB strollers, but I haven't done it myself. I would check to see if the airline has size limits on gate-check items. We are using this strategy this weekend for an international trip, but we're just bringing along our umbrella stroller.

Personally, I would re-think your plan to bring a wheeled carry on bag--I think you're going to have enough going on with the carseat/stroller/baby that it's going to be a burden. I would go with a large-ish backpack that you could throw into the stroller to get through the airport.

Lastly, don't forget to ask for help. The flight attendants should be able to help you install the carseat and get settled. Good luck!

mkcoehoorn · Answer 3 · 2010-02-06 02:06:02Z UTC

I've seen the Traveling Toddler in use and it looked like a good idea to me, though I've never tried it myself. As for the rest of your stuff, it sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on what to do. The times that I've flown with my babies, I was in a situation where either my parents borrowed a carseat from a friend for while I was there, or I got one from the car rental company. I've always flown infant-in-arms.

What’s the easiest way for me to travel by myself with a baby?

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