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Shelly's Review of the FlyeBaby
The "baby travel hammock" for airplanes
 In this feature:
How it Works
Top Features
Considerations
Find it online at:
Amazon.com
The FlyeBaby "Travel Hammock" as I'm
calling it came out with perfect timing for me to test it out
with our Travel Baby #3. The FlyeBaby was featured in the SkyMall
Inventor's Corner, and as you know by the fact that you're
seeing it featured here--our results were positive.
In fact,
that's my little guy (below) using one of the first models
available on one of our flights. The FlyeBaby was just updated
with a new and improved model, which includes some of my
original suggestions, including a new, more travel-friendly
fabric and enhanced harness.
How to use the FlyeBaby
 The FlyeBaby is a multi-purpose
sling-like seat, with an adjustable 5-point harness and straps
that help create an extra seating space for your lap-held baby
on aircraft. Be aware that it is NOT approved as a safety
device, but can be used during cruising portions of your flight
to help free your hands and give your infant a cozy spot to
relax. As a bonus, It may also work on some other chairs for use as
you travel as well (more below).
Here are a couple of pictures of me
installing it on a 737:
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First
the straps with loops and Velcro secure around the
airplane tray table (two vertical, one horizontal). |
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Here
is is with the tray table closed.
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At first I had two Velcroed
closures overlapping each other, and I couldn't close the tray
table. A simple adjustment fixed this, however.
The top
travel-friendly features as I see them:
What I like most about the
FlyeBaby is how it provides a great solution to an age-old
dilemma for overseas travelers with infants, which is whether or
not to book bulkhead seats with an airline bassinet, or to
forego those busier and more public seats for quieter seats with
more privacy toward the rear of the aircraft.
With
a FlyeBaby, you can sit anywhere you want in the aircraft with
your lap-held baby
(excluding emergency rows, of course), and still give your arms
and back a rest, and your baby a comfy place to lounge with full
eye-contact from you. Your best position will be beside a
window, however, where you won't have to disturb your baby if
someone else needs to exit your row--which will also give you
the fewest disturbances from passing passengers and reading
lights during flight, not to mention the most privacy for
breastfeeding.
The FlyeBaby, as you can see,
also positions your baby for much easier spoon feeding than
you would be able to do with your "lap child" sitting directly
on your lap (though the "RetroMod" fabric was so pretty, I admit
I was a little hesitant to "bless it" with pureed sweet
potatoes--the new model is more forgiving).
The FlyeBaby is ultra-compact,
lightweight, washable, and easy to bring along in its own small
travel pouch.
The FlyeBaby may also help
convert some adult chairs you encounter in your travels into
baby and toddler-friendly seats, adding value and giving
longevity to the product beyond your infant flying days. With some lounge chairs
that have long arm rests and seats, you can actually follow the
FlyeBaby instructions to create a reclined baby seat
(more
details here). When your baby and young toddler are able to
sit upright, you can also use it to create a 3-point harness
seat for them on most kitchen or restaurant-style chairs. The
usefulness of this last point will vary greatly depending on
when you travel with your child and what chairs you happen upon,
so I don't recommend it as the primary reason to buy. If that's
your primary concern, the Leachco
Sit 'N Secure (baby seat wrap) will do the same job for
babies sitting upright for less money. However, I like that this
feature gives a good product for flying with babies more
longevity and extra usefulness.
Important
considerations:
Note that my "big boy" was 8.5
months old in the photos above, and at 28.5" he was already
above the recommended height level for airplane use as shown on
the FlyeBaby itself. Nevertheless, we still liked it and, as you
can see, he had a great time playing with me while "hanging out"
in his hammock. Face-to-face contact can be such a help when
flying with a baby!
Since he was so tall, however,
when our forward neighbor decided to fully recline his seat, it
did cramp his space. I could tell that with a smaller baby, say
6 months or younger or equivalent length, it didn't look like it
would have been a problem with the seat reclined. Be aware that
aircraft can vary widely in how much leg room is available
between rows, even between two models of a 737, for example.
Your results on one airplane may be quite different from the
next. For this
reason, I recommend buying FlyeBaby for infants through 6 months
on average, and consider any additional use you get beyond that
as gravy.
Keep in mind that the FlyeBaby is
a travel solution for flying with a lap-held infant, but it does
not provide the equivalent safety of a car seat (CRS). It's also
not considered a safety device or child restraint. Though with
that said, I was impressed by how, with the three straps affixed
to the tray in front of me, combined with the strap fastened
around my waist and the harness over my child, I felt
like my baby was more secure in the FlyeBaby than he would have
been riding on my lap alone and in my arms. I did have to take
him out of it for breastfeeding, however.
Like the
Baby B'Air
flight safety vest, which protects against turbulence during
the cruise portion of flights (more in
Car Seat Alternatives), the FlyeBaby is not FAA-approved for
use during take-off, landing, or taxiing segments of your
flight. In other words, you'll have to take that snoozing (we'll
hope) baby back out before you land.
Final point: Even with the
FlyeBaby, you will still have your child at least partly on your
lap. For short flights this may be irrelevant. For long-haul
international flights with meal service, this may pose the usual
problem of where to set your meal tray while you dine. For more
considerations about flying overseas with a baby, using airline
bassinets (and not), flying with a lap child, and using a car
seat on air craft, don't miss the nuggets of wisdom on all of
the above in Part 5 of
Travels with Baby.
Where to buy a
FlyeBaby for your family?
Find it online at:
Amazon.com
All photos, video, and content
(c) 2009 - 2013 by Shelly Rivoli.
Product provided by FlyeBaby.
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