carseat or not?

Hi All,

As promised, here is my update on travelling to India with a toddler.
We just got back and had a wonderful trip and not only survived rather enjoyed the 20 hrs in-flight time. We flew Chicago-Delhi with a stop in Vienna. Our lay-over was 4 hrs that was just right amount of time and I did take the car seat with me. Here are my recommendations:

1. I carried my son (13 mo) in Ergo carrier
2. Instead of a purse and diaper bag I carried a backpack and kept the passport, PIO etc in the pocket of Ergo carrier for ease of taking things out.
3. I carried one carryon (rolling suitcase) for both of us and attached the backpack and car seat to the carryon. I used 'kids travel mate' straps to strap the carseat (Cosco Scenera) on the rolling suitcase. I didn't use it as a stroller and it worked fine to carry things. So all I had was a baby in ergo and a suitcase to pull.
4. I packed enough diapers, wipes, 2 toys, sippy cup, snacks, baby food, spoons, bib, a blanket and PJs for flight.
5. I took all recommended medicines (vomiting, diarrhea, Benadryl, Tylenol and malaria meds). Fortunately I didn't have to use anything other than Tylenol and of course malaria meds.
6. I was glad to invest in extra seat and for bringing the car seat on-board. It helped a lot. he was quite content playing with the little TV screen and tray-table.
7. I kept my watch on US time and fed him on his scheduled times, he was happy. Sleep was not great but he did quite well. It was a mix of sleeping in car seat and my lap but worked quite well.
8. He walked up and down the aisles after he played in his seat for a while and I followed him.
9. Airlines provided baby food and a few books and toys which was nice to keep him occupied.
10. We also carried enough baby food for us to last the whole trip (3 weeks) but towards the end he was more interested in rotis and curry/ daal which was great.

Everybody around was super helpful. People were willing to take my carryon to the next gate and I let them and thanked for their help. Air hostesses were more than happy to help out a parent travelling with a toddler.
It was a good experience!
Once we were at my parent's home, it took almost 1 wk for his clock to switch to India time but fortunately, he was happy all the time and didn't get sick. He had slight fever and cold for 4-5 days, gave him Tylenol as needed and that took care of it. All in all, we had a swell time!

 

can you take an umbrella stroller with you instead? Those are light weight, pretty small and fit easily in overhead compartment and cheap enough to leave in India if you feel that it wasn't of much use. These airport transport/ buggy, whatever these are called, are pretty convenient too. We used one at Delhi airport.

 

Thanks Minion. I didn't mean that you made the name up. It was my ignorance