First family holiday with dd

[Peanutbutterjelly1]

Sorry not really a aibu but I really need some advice.

Me and my husband are booked up to take our dd 23months on holiday next week. 2 hour flight so not too long. I have a bit of a fear of flighing myself and i really suffer with my ears too which makes matters worse but now my anxiety is getting worse thinking about poor dds ears.

Does anyone have any advice so i can help dd if her ears start to hurt her. Dd isn't yet speaking properly and mainly babbles but can say some very basic words and phrases and she can also follow basic instructions.

I'm seeing gp tomorrow about myself so I'm thinking of asking if there's anything they can give me for dd.

Does she use a dummy? Ours still did at night at that age so I made sure they had that to suck on the flight, as the sucking relieves the pressure in the ears. I also used to give them a dose of calpol just before getting on the flight.

I agree with the dummy or drink idea. But also don't assume she'll suffer. I just took my 11 month old on his first flight and apart from being a little nervous at the noise when taking off and needing a cuddle he was fine. He slept there and back for most of the flight. You might be worrying for nothing. Good luck.

I found keeping my dc's entertained made me forget about my fear of flying!
All my kids have flown since an early age and ear pain was never a problem. I gave them lollies as soon as they were old enough (good quality ones, cheap lollies can separate from the stick) or breastfed on takeoff and landing.
I trawled charity shops to look for interesting bits & bobs- magnetic puzzles, small toys, plastercine- which I put in individual ziplock bags in my flight bag and could take out easily as each one lost its allure. And food. You get a hall pass on healthy eating for sanity's sake on flights. You'll be fine 😊

I've done several flights with DD, all 10 hours + from when she was 5 months to just recently (18 months) - when she was younger I breastfed her on the way up/down and most recently she had a sippy cup, but TBH I don't think think she needed it as her ears didn't seem to bother her at all.

Would echo what PP said about healthy eating - particularly with a longer flight where you're not sure what food you'll be getting, it's all about snacks, snacks, snacks. Make sure there's some seat friendly activities to do - mine liked stackable cups, a few pieces of duplo and small trucks/cars etc. On the way up and down she played with the Baby's App on our iPad - it's very simple, just coloured squares you can move around with your finger. We did have some episodes of Peppa Pig queued up but she's still not really "into" cartoons.

The best thing you can do is treat the flight like a little adventure so they don't pick up on your anxiety. If you are bright and breezy about the whole thing, they will be too.