baby backpack india
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adimt
Journey is of 24 hrs. She wont fit in a bassinet as she moves a lot in her sleep and we have never used a car seat for her in India. Beside a sling ..can anyone suggest any other options? I will be too tired to attach the sling throughout the journey. Even though I get a vacant seat beside my seat, how do I put her in that seat? Any helping answer is appreciated.
Thanks
Answer
I'm a former Flight Attendant and I now fly a lto with my own children on transatlantics about twice a year.
A squrimy toddler for such a long journey doesn't sound like a lot of fun. I have never seen a bassinet on an airplane that can hold such a big baby. My son was a year on Lufthansa once and that was their limit. I would still recommend sitting at the bulkhead but it's very unlikely you can use those "sky cots".
Babies under age 2 are allowed on laps for commercial reasons but they aren't protected if anything goes wrong. The only way to fly safely is to bring a car seat and use it on board.
Commercial air travel in general is safe so the statistical risk of anything going wrong is so low.
You can ask at check-in if it's possible to get a free seat next to you. Bringing the seat kind of solidifies your arguement and if you don't manage it, the seat can be gate checked with the stroller. I can tell you that the fuss of getting the car seat to the aircraft is worth the peace it gives me onboard. My children sleep much better in their familiar seat.
You have to check with your airline if your seat is approved to use onboard. A lot of it depends on the nationality of the carrier.
Call the airline and see how full the flight is.
There are a lot of gizmos to get carseats to the gate, including one that you can wear like a backpack and some where the baby can ride in the carseat like a stroller (and then you can check the big one).
http://www.gogobabyz.com/products/gogo_kids.html
http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Attach-Rolling-Carry/dp/B000JHN3AS
http://www.onestepahead.com/product/osa/363756.html
(not endorsing these sites, just to show you..)
Decide what works for you. Some parents are able to bungee cord their car seats on to the stroller. I use a simple metal luggage cart with an extra bungee cord. Try it at home first!
I actually check the stroller and just use the car seat as a stroller. When mine were small, I also used a sling.
If you don't manage to get a seat, it's safer for the baby to be loose in your lap for take-off and landing. Some foreign airlines still use dangerous "belly belts" but they are banned on U.S. Canadian and German companies, among others.
If you don't bring the car seat but still get an extra seat, just make her comfortable with extra pillows and blankets. You may want to bring an inflatable pillow for this purpose. Strap her in but the adult seat belt will not adequately protect her.
Just some other odd tips;
-Bring about 1/3 more diapers than you think you'll need...at least! Put them in plastic bags, make at least two "packages" and wrap them with rubber bands to pack them more easily.
-Learn to change her standing up. Practice at home first! This will make it easier and faster, plus, you wont have to search around for baby changers. Toddlers hate to lie down in strange places and I use the handicapped lavs instead.
-Bring a change of clothes. Do the same trick with the plastic bags and rubber bands to save space in your bag.
-Bring a lot of snacks. Don't worry about security. If it's not allowed, they simply take it from you. I've never had this happen. They're more interested in liquids.
-Bring empty sippy cups to use onboard.
-If she still uses bottles, use the kind with disposable liners. Airplanes have bad sinks for washing bottles.
-Make sure the bottles don't have to be warmed. It's not necessary and pain to do while travelling in general.
-Consider ordering special meals. Kids usually hate the standard fare.
-Bring brand new toys to surprise them with onboard. These keep them occupied.
-If you opt to use a portable DVD player, make sure she's used to wearing the earphones, or can watch it without sound.
- Talk to her about security and that she has to put all her things on the belt. My kids are fine with flying but security can be intimitating for any child. This is an American site but you might still find it helpful;
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/children/index.shtm
-Please don't worry too much about ears. I rarely saw any problems when I worked and never had any with my own kids and I never did anything special.
Many flying tips say to make the child suck on something or drink during take-off and landing. This isn't accurate. ENT specialists say to have the child awake about an hour before landing (top of descent, landing or touch-down is too late). I can confirm that is when I saw problems at work. Take your child to the doctor in the last few days before you fly to make sure her ears are clear and infection-free. Heathy ears can handle pressurization changes.
If she falls asleep during take-off, there is no reason to wake her. Please don't worry!
It's a tough age to travel since they can move at this age, don't like to be restrained and their comprehension is limited. You can't reason with them. I remember the toddlers on my flight and then got to experience it myself later on. Just get plenty of sleep the night before you leave.
About eight years ago I wrote an article for a local newsletter. This is entirely non-commercial information and I have both the practical and professional experience of working on board airplanes. Feel free to visit;
http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com
Good luck!
Has anyone done Semester at Sea?
ballaerina
Is it competitive? Would you recommend it? Do you have any advice for an applicant?
Answer
SAS is a FABULOUS PROGRAM!! You will not regret the decision to go - I PROMISE!
Here's some advice I've given others in the past:
as far as money is concerned - it's different for everyone. i brought a lot in the way of cash for trip expenditures. that is, i bought almost nothing in countries to take back with me (which was a damn good thing, too, because i would have just lost everything in katrina, anyway). my roommate, on the other hand, bought a huge backpack and filled it with trinkets and gifts for people. she only brought about a grand for this, as she did most of her trips with SAS. it totally depends on the type of person you are.
make sure you go through that itinery book thouroughly - my recommendation would be to do a good mix of trips. i personally picked about two big ones to go on with the group - i travelled in china with sas (i did tsingua university and the great wall with a short stint in shanghai for the new year) and i travelled kenya with the group (i did a 4 day safari and a day at the baby elephant orphange). for the rest of my sas adventures, i pretty much just wing'ed em. i hadn't had much travelling experience in the past, so i thought this was a great way to learn. haha.
this goes back to the applying early thing - the only way to secure your spot on sas trips is to apply early. point blank - even then, it's not a guarantee. don't stress out over this - no matter what you pick, you'll have an amazing experience!
as far as other advice is concerned:
-go knowing no one. you'll meet tons of people and have a blast. if you know someone, you're likely to shut the two of you out from the rest of the ship.
-don't invest in a satellite phone - it's just not worth it. they're expensive, and chances are, someone else will let you use theirs for a minimal fee if god-forbid there was a crisis (i.e. during our "storm incident" a few kids had em and just let us call our parents to let them know we were okay).
-bring USD! despite what you may think, most of these places think cashiers checks or travellers checks are worthless. i made this mistake. don't do it. there is a safe in your cabin where you can lock up any valuables.
-buy a "travellers belt" and use it! it looks stupid underneath your clothes, but it's a great way to ensure you don't get pick-pocketed (and as americans, that happens a lot).
-bring lots of singles because its a great way to haggle!! also, you can exchange currency one you get to a port - they offer this service right on the ship. easy. and don't sweat the exchange rates because they'll always be terrible. haha. in the long run, you'll only lose a few us dollars by doing it the day of. the onlyonly way you'll wind up risking more is if you exchange more than you need in each county (because the exchange back will always be less - just as a rule of thumb).
-don't pack more than you can carry. everyone else will have the same amount of crap and no one is going to help you because they have their own load to worry about.
-it's not a fashion show. being a girl, this was a hard lesson to learn. i brought a few "cute going-out outfits" and wound up exchanging with three or four other girls when we had adventures on the town. on this note, label your clothing! it will probably, at some point, get lost in the laundry.
-bring bathingsuits. lots of them. you're surrounded by water and hell, there's a pool.
-if you have a laptop, bring it, but be careful. while it is a small community with tons of trust, laptops, as with other expensive electronics (ie ipods), tend to disappear. you can rent one on the ship (which is what i had to do after my television fell on mine during the 'wave') for a minimal fee - the rentals are pretty crappy.
-use your ship internet time wisely. if you go to india, don't waste any of your shipboard internet minutes because internet cafes in india are like a penny a minute! by that same logic, use your free minutes in south africa where internet cafes are a dollar a minute. once you expend your shipboard internet minutes, using the on board computers get expensive.
-get your shots in advance. i applied late like i mentioned above. i had to get al 3490825875467862134 vaccines in two weeks before i left. NOT FUN! also, beware of your malaria medication. mine made me sick. turns out, i was allergic. i stopped taking mine and i was fine. i don't reccommend this, though. make sure that your body can handle all the meds and such.
-don't forget that this is school! the grades you earn will stay on your permanent transcript. excuses like "but i lost my paper to a fire-breathing chinese dragon" will only get you so far. the professors aboard are great ones and they are learning with you. open your mind and expand. you will learn more out of the classroom than in - they know this - but this is still no excuse to not take classes seriously.
-here's some advice you may not want your parents to read: don't go with a significat other. now i don't know whether you are dating someone or not. i wasn't when i went. my roommate was. needless to say, she broke it off with her long-term beau. if you ask almost anyone that has gone, it is just not wise to go attached. you are experiencing things with people that only they will understand. and truth be told, after two months of seeing the same people day in and day out, they start to look good, haha. so avert relationship disaster. and if it's meant to be, your sigother will be waiting for you when you get off that ship and you will be waiting for them as well. but let it be known that you will be a changed woman after this trip and your relationship may never be the same (plus, they'll get totally sick of you yapping: sas this...sas that..sas..sas..sas)!!
-try everything once. i did stuff i never thought i would do: cage diving with great whites, jumping from a 75 foot cliff into a freezing pool of water, horseback riding through the winelands, riding in a rickshaw... i even ate things that got me so sick i thought i wouldn't see another day. no matter the outcome, i'll probably never have the chance to do these things again and i relished even in the not-so-pleasant times.
-prepare to see the worst. imagine the most horrible thing you have seen in your life thus far. you'll see worse. trust me. humanity can be cruel. learn from it and carry it with you.
-HAVE FUN! this is unavoidable but take time to write in journals, snap photos, and reflect on what you are doing. less than 1% of the world's population circumsail the world and you are one of them! it's awesome. it's better than awesome.
-keep in touch! i want e-mails, updates, pictures, whatever! sas was the best time of my life, and i promise it will be yours, too.
hope this was of some help! if you have more questions, please don't hesitate to ask! lots of luck,
Stephanie
stephattulane@yahoo.com
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