11 month old on 9 hour flight - any advice?

[artyjoe]

I'm taking our 11 month old baby girl to Barbados in January, where she will celebrate her first birthday, but the thought of the 9 hour flight has only just hit me and i'm panicking.

She will have her own seat on the aircraft and I know to give her milk on take off and landing, but what can i do for 9 hours with her? She normally goes out, has a bounce, crawls for hours, etc, how can i keep her in her seat for 9 hours...any advice or tips would be really appreciated.

Thanks - Joe

How weird-have just posted almost identical message!!
When in Jan are you there?-we might still be around if you fancied meeting up.

Make sure she's worn out when she gets on the plane, so she might sleep a bit.

Also, let her go up and down the aisle some, with you.

Don't worry too much, it'll be over before you know it.

You may well find she'll sleep a lot of the way.

My tips are:

Pack a goody bag with some interesting things keys, plastic cutlery, playdoh.
Take her favourite toys and blanket with you on the plane
Let the stewards help out where possible - they are often very friendly and love kids.

HTH
dejags

I went to Australia on my own with my 9 month old and I know the dread you are feeling.

On my plane there was an area in the middle of the plane, by the toilets, where I could stand and rock/play with her. When there, there were lots of people who came by to stretch their legs who were really kind and more than happy to talk to her (and me) and added to the entertainment for a little one. Everyone is very interested in the babies (well not everyone, but enough people).

There will also be other parents and babies on the flight so you can chat with them and the babies can stare at each other.

Basically you'll sail through. Because when she is not sleeping she will be eating and when not eating she will be drinking and when not doing any of these things you will be changing her in the toilet (and at this time you can do lots of singing and looking at your reflections in the mirror). When you've exhausted these options you can take her for a walk up and down the plane, get one toy out at a time, let her crawl around if there is any space - then get your partner to do all the same over again.

Don't expect it to be a relaxing flight - expect it to be a big effort. When I went I didn't even get the ear phones out of the wrapper, and that was a 24 hour flight, so prepare yourself for no rest and you can only be presently surprised.

Tixylix has a sedative effect and says it is ok for under 2s - you could maybe try that if you are worried about her sleeping.

Thirtysix: We are travelling on 9th January from Heathrow, what about you?

Notquitecockney: We fly at 11am which is roughly when she would have her morning sleep so I'm hoping to get an hour or so out of her, but then she will probably be so stimulated by the people on the plane that she'll miss her sleep!

Dejinglejags: good tip with the goodie bag, I was thinking purely in terms of toys, wouldn't have thought of keys, which she loves.

Rubles: Never even thought about the toilet I hope they have a changing thingie! She isn't walking yet but is trying to stand so I'm hopeful that she may be teetering around so i can put her in reins, if not, she just won't sit still normally...this child may be young but she sure knows how to throw a tantrum if she can't crawl/walk. I am hoping for some sort of thing on the TV that will distract her, but I'll never get headphones on her so it will be reliant on images. I was thinking about a bit of Calpol to settle her but the doctor said not to, but then I don't think my doctor likes me very much!

I'm just hoping she'll look at the plane chair in the same way she does her car seat...she never tries to get out of that but anything else with restraints she does, and of course they are only lap buckles so she'll figure out how to get out of them.

I'm trying not to even contemplate the fact that we arrive at 3pm their time but 8pm our time, which means she'll be sleeping and therefore waking again at 4am...actually, that's a lie, unfortunately she wakes 5-10 times a night anyway, but she'll be getting up at 4am wanting breakfast!! Don't think we'll be seeing much of Barbados nightlife somehow

Any more tips would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. Can I take SMS, Weetabix, jars in my suitcase do you know? Can she have bottled water (I have just switched to filtered rather than boiled)?

as someone who just travelled with a VERY active 17 month old to the US (8 hour flight there, 7 hour flight back)...

hmm... well, you can walk around the plane with her (holding her if she isnt walking) - there will be loads of new things to look at! new toys, books, anything different. (or put away some of her favourite toys NOW so in Jan. they will be 'new' again.) and SNACKS. anything she will like. bottled water will be okay. we woke ds up early and DID NOT let him nap before the flight.
if the flight has those little screens on the back of each seat, that will be something to look at, even if its just something silly.
peepo's with airplane blankets kept mine amused for bits of time.

trust me, its wont be as bad as you are probably thinking now!! i was SO worried about ds on the flight. he did cry. but not a lot. and dont worry if your dd does cry. babies cry. thats life. and ignore any dirty looks you may get, its their problem. not yours. you will just get stressed out over it.

we were able to take formula on the plane and in our suitcases (if in suitcase, WRAP in carrier bag, it may leak otherwise!) weetabix should be okay, (we took it to the US, since we didnt know if we would find it there) and jars are probably best in your carry-on bag if you can swing it.

good luck!!

Thanks for that, i was wondering about the formula in case I got put aside for suspicious substances!

I really don't want to feed her jar food as I cook her all home made (except weetabix and petit filous) but I'm so worried in case she won't eat anything there which is why I want to pre-empt any problems with jars...amazing how she won't eat my home made organic apple and pear desert, but she'll eat Cow & Gates!

I like the idea of 'putting away' her toys so they are fresh, definitely be looking at that tomorrow.

Thanks for all the advice, if there's anything I'm missing, please let me know.

Thanks - Joe

It may be an idea to change her nappy before boarding the aircraft.

Also take full advantage of the early boarding offered to parents with small children (ignoring the adults who line up without!).

Evian is good for babies - and comes in handy little bottles.

Wouldn't recommend play doh on an airplane!

just a question, i have been abroad with charges when i was a nanny and with my dd. planing a trip in june when she is 13 months. i have been told by the agent that seeing as she is under 2 she is only allowed a seat of her own if her car seat ( forward facing) is attached to a seat. at that age they are not allowed to seat on a seat without one as lap belts are not safe.
so you either have her on your lap. ( not something i will consider as she hasnt slept in anybodys arms since 2 months as she likes her own space, and at 7 months she is already in 12-18 months clothes so dread to thing how big and heavy she will be then)
in your original post artyjoe you just mention her having her own seat.
please can people tell me the general rule and feeling on this. thanks.

Flew to Australia, virtually non stop, two hour change over at Singapore, when DS1 was 13 months.

We had a bassinet for him and with hindsight we would have got a seat for him instead., as everytime we hit turbulence we had to take him out , bloody annoying for him and us when he was fast asleep.

Check with your airline what faciliteis and what they will provide on board for infants, also cehck what you can take into the country you are flying to regard food etc. when we went to australia we took some jars of food to get us through the first dy or so and as long as they were sealed it was OK.

As someone said Evaian is the best for babies something to do with the mineral content .

On the plane it will not be like thr good old days wher you could watch the film and have a few nice drinks, but remember where can DD go on an aeroplane? She can't get lost .They will be plenty of people to give her a smile and walking up and down the asile an be great fun for a toddler although not much for you !!

I will say that I didn't find much rooom in the tiolets for changing nappies.

Just before you get on board change her anppy but give you one less to do on the flight.

Plenty of drink, milk or otherwise on landing and take off.

It will fine and the time will fly by ... Have a lovely time.

I have 2.5 y.o. twins and have flown 16hrs+ with them several times, including at about 11mos. If you haven't introduced your DD to sippy cups with straws yet, I highly recommend you bring one along and teach her how to use it during the flight. It's fun and novel and takes up a bit of time. I recommend the one made by Platex with the soft, rubbery straw thats comfortable to chew on. The basic model comes with a blue body and yellow top. Bring a couple of baloons. When she melts down, inflate one and let her play with the tied part...show her how it snaps back and maked a noise.

If you haven't introduced Cheerios yet, now is the time. Don't worry about food too much, it's normal for a small child to just drink milk/juice/water on the flight. If you are really concerned, find a jarred food she will eat at room temperature and bring one on the flight.

I'd recommend bring a change of clothing for you and the bub incase she throws up or spills something on herself or you. I include undergarments for myself as I've been vomitted on and had drinks spilled in my lap.

Don't worry about too many toys. She'll likely find the magazines interesting to pull in and out of the pocket, and the plastic drink cups are fascinating. Just make sure to get rid of them as soon as the crack cuz then they'll have sharp edges.

When you check-in, ask if the flight is full. If it's not, ask for an empty seat next to you or even your own row. Most of the time, if it's available, they'll give it to you. If you bring a carseat aboard, it'll have to be forward facing. Unless you're child is really happy sitting in a carseat, I'd recommend not bringing it aboard as it make maneuvering in the row very difficult. In anycase, I find it easiest and most comfortable to let the child sleep on the plane seat. The car seat is likely to throw out your back. You'll hold the child on your lap for take off and landing.

Most sources I've consulted do not recommend Evian as it has too many minerals. They do recommend Volvic because of the lower mineral content. If she's already on filtered water, just use the drinking water on board. If it's mineral water, even if it's not Volvic, it' not going to do any harm for a day.

Bring one small board book and teach her how to turn the pages. Buy a telephone toy...if she doesn't have one already, that'll keep her for an hour! For melt downs, I also bring plain spaghetti...no sauce. Keep it full length. They love to play with it and eat it.

I used to also put a bib/smock/apron type of thing on them as soon as we got on the plane. They alway spill things on themselves so this keeps their clothes protected for the flight. I also bring a packet of handwipes and a washcloth. I keep the washcloth wet for wiping their mouths. Bring a non-allergenic lotion as your hands will get dry as will hers from the wiping. It's also nice to use as a massage lotion. One of my DS love getting a hand, foot and face massage on the plane.

Those are my secrets...oh, and don't drink any alcohol no matter how tempting. It will make the adjustment much more difficult.

What fantastic advice! Thanks so much, I'd never have thought of half of these things!

I am however now worried about Amyjo22's comments about not being allowed her own seat...Thomas Cook said no probs, I'm travelling BWIA, and I wasn't going to have her in a car seat...just on our laps for take off and landings. Having said this, what can they do? I've paid for a full price ticket and I won't have a car seat with me, so there will be no choice...unless of course they want to upgrade us to first class so she'll have a better seat!! (pray pray!)

I'll be printing this thread off a week before going and hitting the shops.

Thanks again - Joe x

Artyjoe,

If you have paid full child fare for your 11 month old daughter then she should have her own seat. However, children under the age of 2 do not generally have their own seat unless the parent pays for it. She will have to sit on your lap though for the take off and landing (they will give you an extender belt).

Would certainly check with BWIA directly Mbefore you travel re her seat status.

I have definitely paid a full child fare and our details specifically say 3 passengers, two full paying adults and 1 full paying child...presumably I'm safe ?