diaperjoys
New member
Well, the trip is over, and I thought I'd post a bit and update people on how the four carseat scenario worked out. And yes! It works. It's a ton of work, but then, everything is a ton of work right now with everyone being so little. We did four domestic flights, so that gave me 16 airplane installations + vehicle installations on both ends of the trip...
Our kiddos are 4yo, 3yo, 2yo, and 4 months, and we took two Marathons, 1 FPSVD, and a Diplomat for them.
We used a Joovy stroller (similar to a sit-n-stand) to toodle about the airport, and found a nifty way to get a couple MA's on it. Here's a thread pics that we took when we were experimenting before the trip http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=35263 My husband pushed the stroller with the 2yo & the 3yo, and carried the Diplomat on his back. I carried the baby in a wrap, and pulled the 4yo along behind me - he rode buckled into the fpsvd which we strapped onto a little folding luggage cart.
Our first attempt at boarding a plane with four children was quite humorous, really. They announced preboarding right as I started nursing the baby, and in the 30 seconds it took to get the baby unlatched and everyone standing up again, (everyone else was eating too), they ended the preboarding...so we boarded the plane near the end of the line, and I spent the whole way down the tunnel asking people, "pardon me, what seat are you in, would you mind carrying this carseat down the aisle for me, it goes in seat 24A..." Then everyone got to wait while I tried to figure out how to use a seat belt extender. That would be how NOT to board a plane with 4 tiny tots.
But here's what worked. And, really, it worked well. It's called divide and conquer. I preboarded with ALL the carseats, and my husband boarded at the very end of the line with ALL the children. When we arrived at the gate we stacked the fpsvd and the two marathons on our luggage cart, and I put the Diplomat on my back. My hubby would take the kids and the stroller and let them romp a bit while I stood right at the counter and made every effort to get on that plane first. Once I was on board I'd request 3 seatbelt extenders (only actually got three on one flight) and set to work buckling. Then when everyone finally got on board they had their seats all ready to go.
To get off the plane we did the same thing in reverse. Hubby would take the kids and I'd work on stacking the seats. I was a real sight exiting the plane with four seats - and probably got as many stares as my husband, who had the baby strapped to his front in a wrap, and three toddlers with him!
We flew Northwest, and when I was searching on this board before our flight I was told a MA wouldn't fit down the aisle of the plane, that I'd have to lift it up over the seats. But it DOES fit!!! I don't know if it something different about Northwest airplanes, or maybe something about our luggage cart, but I was able to roll the the cart right to our seats.
And to carry the Diplomat, I extended the tether strap out, ran it under the seat, and clipped it to the crotch buckle strap (that strap is a loop, so it clips on just fine) That turned the tether into backpack straps, and it was very reasonably comfortable, even though our gates were always miles apart.
I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of things, but the baby is fussing for her nursing, so it's time to close for now.
Our kiddos are 4yo, 3yo, 2yo, and 4 months, and we took two Marathons, 1 FPSVD, and a Diplomat for them.
We used a Joovy stroller (similar to a sit-n-stand) to toodle about the airport, and found a nifty way to get a couple MA's on it. Here's a thread pics that we took when we were experimenting before the trip http://car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=35263 My husband pushed the stroller with the 2yo & the 3yo, and carried the Diplomat on his back. I carried the baby in a wrap, and pulled the 4yo along behind me - he rode buckled into the fpsvd which we strapped onto a little folding luggage cart.
Our first attempt at boarding a plane with four children was quite humorous, really. They announced preboarding right as I started nursing the baby, and in the 30 seconds it took to get the baby unlatched and everyone standing up again, (everyone else was eating too), they ended the preboarding...so we boarded the plane near the end of the line, and I spent the whole way down the tunnel asking people, "pardon me, what seat are you in, would you mind carrying this carseat down the aisle for me, it goes in seat 24A..." Then everyone got to wait while I tried to figure out how to use a seat belt extender. That would be how NOT to board a plane with 4 tiny tots.
But here's what worked. And, really, it worked well. It's called divide and conquer. I preboarded with ALL the carseats, and my husband boarded at the very end of the line with ALL the children. When we arrived at the gate we stacked the fpsvd and the two marathons on our luggage cart, and I put the Diplomat on my back. My hubby would take the kids and the stroller and let them romp a bit while I stood right at the counter and made every effort to get on that plane first. Once I was on board I'd request 3 seatbelt extenders (only actually got three on one flight) and set to work buckling. Then when everyone finally got on board they had their seats all ready to go.
To get off the plane we did the same thing in reverse. Hubby would take the kids and I'd work on stacking the seats. I was a real sight exiting the plane with four seats - and probably got as many stares as my husband, who had the baby strapped to his front in a wrap, and three toddlers with him!
We flew Northwest, and when I was searching on this board before our flight I was told a MA wouldn't fit down the aisle of the plane, that I'd have to lift it up over the seats. But it DOES fit!!! I don't know if it something different about Northwest airplanes, or maybe something about our luggage cart, but I was able to roll the the cart right to our seats.
And to carry the Diplomat, I extended the tether strap out, ran it under the seat, and clipped it to the crotch buckle strap (that strap is a loop, so it clips on just fine) That turned the tether into backpack straps, and it was very reasonably comfortable, even though our gates were always miles apart.
I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of things, but the baby is fussing for her nursing, so it's time to close for now.