Flying alone with 3yr old & baby - Am I nuts?

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I am planning to travel from London to Perth in Jan with my two children who will be aged 3-1/2 and 6 months. My hubby can't fly with us due to work cmm'mts but will joining us on return leg.
Has anyone done a long haul of this sort with two young children? Will it be too much for me and the children? My 3 year old is a go go boy so i worry about keeping him entertained on the flight, lest my own sanity if he really plays up. The young one is breastfeeding but also takes bottles. Any survival tips, including child friendly airlines, best routes from london to perth and flying times would be much appreciated. I have the option of leaving my 3 year old to fly out with his dad two weeks after me but would prefer to keep kids together. Am i nuts or is this doable?

no, you're not nuts! It's most probably not going to be the best day of your life, but you will survive and so will your lo. I did it in august with dd 3 yrs and ds 14 months, from germany to south america including 2 stopovers. It actually went better than I thought, especially dd was really good about everything, she even slept upright because armrests didn't flip.
agree with taking a bottle and making them drink during take-off and landing. I honestly wouldn't take too many toys, think of stuffing everything into your bags again before leaving the plane let alone having to carry it! Try to get your toddler interested in what's going on around you, in the airport, on the plane ... worked for my dd!

I've just done a 4 hour flight in the last week with 2. It helped that dd is 5, so able to help out a bit and occupied herself brilliantly on the flight.
I think it will be manageable - a hard 24 hours but worth it for 3 extra weeks hols with family.
Think the the way you are working it around naps etc sounds like a good idea. If you decide not to do Emirates, then Singapore Airlines are good with kids.
Even if each child does get a baggage allowance, then you need to watch the number of bags you end up with. I coped with one for me and one for dd, but only because she wheeled it herself,
Assume you will have a pushchair - it helps for carrying everything.
The bulkhead armrest never come up IME, but still worth it for the bassinet.
Ask for the first bulk head to make it easier to get on the flight. (But check it's close to toilets.) You don't want to be having to walk miles up the ailse.
Ask for assistance boarding - to help carry everything and get you settled. (same to get off)
If you ask ahead they will also arrange for someone to help you through immigration, security etc.
You mention that the baby is breastfeeding ... personally, I'd just breastfeed on the flight and not take bottles. It's just extra to carry and it's so easy if you are breastfeeding.
Agree with not taking too many toys - but sticker books used to work for dd.

i agree with ladypenelope re breastfeeding dont forget you will have to first get stewardess attention and heating up bottle using hot water with a 3 yr old at close quarters - no thanks.
also i know it would cost more but if flight is going to be full consider getting a seat for baby. took dd1 to usa last year and flight was so full she had to sit on my lap the whole way (and that was only six hours.) if you don't buy and extra seat check at both check in and again at departure gate to see if there are any empty seats available (check in does not always communicate with departure gate). sometimes they will hold adjacent seats empty till last for lap infants.

take plenty of snacks for the 3 year old. if nothing else they can't make too much noise with a full mouth.

good luck, will be interested at how you get on as am taking dd1 and dd2 to usa next year at age 3 and 1.

I've flown transatlantic twice alone with a 4 and 3 yr old and I honestly think that a 3yr old and a baby will be far easier. Tip, find the airline with seatback video units and go with them. There's always cartoons and children's movies to watch with personal headsets. Lollipops and / or hard sweety for take off/landing is a must. Don't go overboard with snacks, stick to dried fruit/ biscuits nothing major and try and keep the sugar intake to a minimum. Most airlines do child meals and they get served first before anyone else. I would book a bassinet for baby, my cousin swears by them she's flown to Singapore many times. Just make sure you don't have huge amounts of luggage. My big tip, get a buggy board that will fit on the pram/buggy and that way your lo won't have to walk for miles in the airport.

Do it. It will be horrible, but it's finite, and the great thing about planes is that the children cannot get off/get lost. Trains are much, much worse. Take a tiny, umbrella fold buggy, so they'll let you put it on the plane, not in the hold, otherwise you won't have anything to strap the 3yo into in Dubai, which will be stressful. You might also end up walking miles carrying both of them and your hand luggage, which is awful even if you're not knackered after 24 hours in a plane. If you have room anywhere take a little blow up lilo in your hand luggage. That way if you're delayed you can put your 3yo to bed whereever you are while baby sleeps in the sling.

Phone all the airports involved now to ask for airport assistance - this is often free but needs booking in advance. It's lovely if someone picks you up at the gate, drives you to passport control in a buggy, etc. Ask them for details also of their nursery facilities and play areas.

Dont forget to take a change of clothes for you in case someone vomits all over you at the beginning of the trip

Breastfeed - less to carry, less trouble.

That would be Perth Australia rather than Perth Scotland yes?

The reason I ask, and I hate to tell you this, but I flew from Gatwick to Glasgow with a four year old and a nine month old and I was fighting back the sobs by the end of it.

Good luck. Dig deep. Alcohol might be necessary.

also done it a few times - to usa east coast mainly, but also to California. once with three of them by myself.

Would agree its doable - its not going to be fun - you'll need some tlc when you get there. if you can do any leg of the journey overnight i def would it makes a huge difference and GOOD LUCK!

Just done a short haul with 2 of similar ages. One idea, if your 3 year old isn't used to flying, is to really talk through the different elements of the journey so that your ds knows what to expect (eg you may have to leave him in his seat with the tv while you go and change the baby, that there is lots of waiting, that he will have to sit down for a long time, but that there will be a tv/games to play etc etc). Do you have a portable dvd player? Might be an idea, in case the offerings on the plane are not young enough to entertain him.

I found stupid things difficult, such as having to fold the buggy whilst holding the baby (who in fact I handed to the official) to stick the buggy through the conveyor belt. Other passengers were helpful too!