New Zealand with 19 month old...HELP!

[Welshmum]

Hello.
Am due to travel to NZ with DD in December. We're going straight through - about 24 hours with a couple of hours stop over in LA airport. Does anyone have any tips for the journey? Has anyone given their child medication to help them sleep? some people have mentioned something called Valergan, apparently GPs use it on their kids....would be grateful for any thoughts on the journey and coping with the jetlag at the other end. Thanks

No help I'm afraid - just bringing your message back onto the active board in the hope that someone else can help.

Right... I've taken the sluglet (currently aged 22 months) to both NZ and Australia on separate trips over the last 4 months.

1. Drugs are good. I went to my local pharmist and he suggested Phenergan, an antihistamine. Knocked her out for about 8 hours, but I found I could only use it once on each flight, so keep it for the leg you think it will be most useful on. I found that as we arrived in NZ early in the morning, it worked best on the Singapore/Auckland leg, so she awoke ready to face the day IYKWIM.

2. When you arrive, keep them up and running till as near as practical to their bedtime. In my experience babies seem to suffer little in the way of jet lag as long as the routine is reestablished as soon as practical.

3. On the flight we took food, as there isn't always some avaliable when you need it, but bear in mind that you will have to abandon it on the plane in NZ as the food importation regulations are fairly strict.

4. If your child uses a grobag, take that. It works wonders for convincing them that NOW is the time to sleep. Put your child in pyjamas, do the bedtime routine, fill them full of drugs and hope they'll sleep.

5. We took the beloved teddy with us, but I took the precaution of attaching a luggage tag with the flight numbers and an email address in case it got lost, which would have been a tragedy beyond imagining.

6. If you haven't introduced your child to pull up nappies, now's the time. Airplane toilets are impossibly small and the changing tables are almost impossible to use. Take about 5 more than you think you'll need, plus nappy sacks, in case your luggage goes walkabout.

7. I found in general the best toys were some books, sticker books (thank you whichever mumsnetter suggested that) and the bare minimum of toys. We had a small bag, passport sized, which had several pockets in it. In those posckets I kept a bracelet of beads on elastic and a strecthy beaded headband as well as a maisey mouse toy and some sweets. Periodically I would add more things to the bag to keep her interested, and it had the added bonus of being HER bag which she proudly wore round her neck when she got off the plane.

8. Remember that if your daughter dosen't have a seat of their own it will be impossible to eat if she's awake as there isn't room to have her sit ou your knee and have a tray table open as well. Point this out to the cabin staff who have a tendency to give you the two meals together then look blankly for somewhere to put it. If you're travelling with your partner, take turns, if you're on your own, it's a good excuse to diet.

9. On the subject of food, be careful, on Emirates, the fact that she was under 2 meant there was no meal for her, something they hadn't pointed out when I requested a child, not an infant meal. If the plane's not completly full there's usually some extra meal avaliable, otherwise it's a good diet excuse, you may have to feed her yours.

Finally, if the flight is really full, you can sometimes manage to get the person sitting next to you to move by telling them that your child has been vomiting since London. It's worked for me on more than one occasion.

WOW - Slug has said it all! Good luck with your trip and have a lovely time.

Thankyou so much slug. I've been dreading it - and I've got 3 months to go! Your post has made me feel positively optimistic. Thanks for taking the time x

Gday.. been backa and forth to Sydney for the last 11 months since my daughter was born. She first flew at 5 weeks and several time since! Im also a student Paeds nurse.Id warn off phanergan asyou dont say how young dd is? it hasnt been tested on children under 24 months so i wouldnt give it to my dd till then. I did polaramide a different anti histamine this trip but it made no difference. Its the sedative in phanergan that is 'unreliable' in littlies. lust wouldnt risk it. Sorry Slug. I have used panadol and always take ginger in some form as travel sickness aint fun! ginger nut bicies are great! or flat ginger ale. if your DD has shown any sign of motion sickness id advise not to feed excessive milk on take off and landing. I now use a lollypop and a dummy instead! been there and been covered and half the cabin!
On the meals front slug... been there too. I have now resorted to the wonderfull stewardess, disapear the DD to wander up and down the plan, play in the galley etc so i can eat and nap! at the end of the day they cant go far! I alway fly Singapore airlines now as they provide meals for littiles, milk if you want it. Nappies and toilets large enough to change on the floor is you need too! but the pull ups are also fab. Id possibbly take more but be prepared to have your hand luggage weighed! max 7kg. No extra for DD! by the time you have a change of clothes, toys, formular some bottles of boiled water for the inevitable feed in the deparure gate/ take off. its added up and ive noticed they are getting hotter on weighing everything! accept all help when offered! it will pass quickly but the way back will seem longer! try out some anti histamines before you go. talk to Gp before you give anything. or health visitor. Some older babies freak out at being in the clouds, if yours can comprehend that then stay away from the windows!
it will however be fine. Ive so far allways travelled alone on the longhauls. Survived to tell the tale. Jet lag is another chapter! usually ok going south and best if ypou land at night! worst if you have a day to get through before you sleep! Enjoy the land of the long white cloud!!!!
Say G'day to the relos in Rotarua if you go past!!