I am sure I will be flamed for this, but I'll say it anyway - I have no problem with any of the post except the part that says you should ask others if they'd be willing to carry your car seat.
If you've got so much stuff that you can't take care of the kid and all your stuff, I'd recommend that you try to cut down on your stuff. Put the purse IN the diaper bag, or better yet, get one of those carryalls that are a purse and diaper bag in one.
Besides, since you're a stranger and you're asking someone to carry an item of unknown provenance onto a plane, I'm pretty sure that counts as a safety hazard. The last thing you want is to have a long talk with the TSA - they have their sense of humor removed as a condition of employment.
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