Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

We just booked a flight to Florida for January. DS will be 6-7 months. We're staying about a week.

DH "reserved" a car seat through the car rental so we have less to carry/pack. I'm not sure I'm good with that and want to bring our own. Who knows the condition/cleanliness/safety. I'm sure it's all good but I'm kooky like that. Just seeing now how DS is sucking on everything, I'd be skeeved to see him sucking on the straps of a rental car seat!

Am I crazy or should I bring our own car seat? Can I trust it checked on the plane or does anyone know if Southwest will check it in a special location with our stroller (I'm thinking by then, I'll bring the peg perego and not the snap n go)?

Also, if you traveled, did you bring your pack n play or have one of those portable pod bed things? We'll be staying in SIL's guest room. I could ask her to find/borrow one for us but there goes that skeevy thing of mine!

Re: Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

I always bring my own, but I purchased a smaller lighter one just for travel.

Re: Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

Bring your own. You can gate check it.

I don't trust car rental seats (and I'm pretty lax) after my SIL rented one for her DD when she was one and it was one for a much older child and she had to go to Wal Mart and buy one...

Plus they are first come first serve...

Oh and it isn't cheap, I think like $9/day or more, which works out to almost the cost of a seat...

Re: Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

I would say bring it...when I traveled with my dd around the same age...i brought it to the gate and since there was empty seats (I knew from my mom an airline employee) to ask if I could bring it on board and sit next to me in an empty seat, that I didnt pay for in the car seat..i felt safer and was a lot easier for her naps!

Re: Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

I would bring your own. Most airlines let you check it in with baggage so you don't have to bring it around the airport.

Re: Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

Re: Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

Bring your own seat. There have been many cases of people reserving seats only to get to the airport and find there were none available.

Also, remmeber that the seats have passed through many hands. There is nobody at the car rentals that verifies that the seat is in good working order, as well as clean.

Several years ago I was asked to look at seats for a rental company. Of the 12 I looked at 5 were taken out of service. Bring your own.

Re: Traveling out of state with a 6-7 month old...bring the car seat?

We travelled to Florida with our son when he was exactly that age, and he still fit in his infant seat so we brought that. It was small enough to carry on the plane, so we had little trouble checking it.

I would say to cover it when it goes through the machines--ours got stuck and wound up with some nasty fabric burns. The machines are also pretty dirty.