Flying with an infant

Bruce McFadden wrote in message ...
My daughter and son-in-law have asked me to fly them along with their
four week old son from KTCL to KGIF (about 450 miles) in about 2 weeks.
Daughter wants her aging grandmother to see the infant. Her
pediatrician feels the infant is too young to be around large crowds
like in at a large airport. It would be a 10 hour car trip and only
about 3 hours in my Cherokee six. The pediatrician is not too concerned
about a trip in a small plane, although he is not a pilot.

Has anyone had any experience traveling with a very young baby?

4 weeks is a little younger than our experience -- our daughter's
first plane flight was at 12 weeks. She's 4 now. But as far as I
know 4 weeks is no problem.

For hearing protection, get some muff-style hearing protectors
(Tasco Golden Eagle or Peltor II are two very high quality brands
which work). Wrap some foam around the top to fill in the extra
space and cover it with soft cloth, like the top of an old cotton
sock. Don't listen to anyone who suggests cotton. My husband is
an OSH professional and can tell you cotton is worth very little as
hearing protection. Ear plugs which insert into the ear are effective,
but can be painful if they aren't sized right and inserted to the
correct depth which of course, an infant can't help with.

Suggest to your daughter that she ask the ped. if the baby can be
given a decongestant if his nose seems at all stuffy. She should
let the baby nurse or give him a bottle during climb-out and esp.
during descent.

Flight plan for gentle, 200 fpm descents. If you put "infant on
board, request slow descent" in remarks and reiterate to ATC,
I've found them very cooperative. Normal climbs don't seem to
be a problem.

What else -- use the carseat in the plane. You might need some
foam "pool noodle" chunks to get it fitted right.

For in-flight diaper changes, I found a waterproof crib protector
cut in half to work well.

Everyone always told us that our kid would sleep on long plane
flights. I want a refund, doesn't happens here. Maybe you'll
have better luck.

Good luck and have fun,
Sydney