Traveling with a toddler

Hi there! I haven’t flown Southwest since my single/childless days so I have a couple of questions when it comes to traveling with a little one.

Typically we buy 3 seats, which is typically the entire row (A,B and C) and put my little in his car seat. He chills with Miss Rachel and some snacks. Since we have the whole row, either my partner or I get on the flight first to get the car seat setup and our bags put away situated while the other parent runs the little guy out until the last possible minute. We then get on the plane pretty much last to decrease the amount of time keeping this little guy confined.

For Christmas, the best flight looks to be a Southwest flight and they aren’t starting the new seat assignment policy until January 2026 from what I can see. I know we can pay to be further up in the boarding line, but if my partner goes on claiming an entire row with a car seat and bags are we going to end up as a Reddit post? Do we need to all board the plane together to avoid any drama? Any advice is appreciated, I don’t want to be a pain but those extra 20 minutes of getting to run out some energy are very helpful.