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Tips for taking an 11 month old on a 4 1/2 hour flight!?!

63 replies

REIDmylips · 22/07/2007 19:56

title says it all really. I'm taking ds on his first holiday next weekend. There will be lots of family members on the flight (12 of us in total) but tbh i am dreading the flight!! any tips/suggestions?

OP posts:
BrightonNim · 27/07/2007 09:44

Great tip about Boots at Heathrow - will definately do this as well. Anyone any experience about baby food? Are they ok about jars at security- do you need to take them in the clear plastic bag as well?

Schmizaj - Tiny Love - available over internet and also places like Jo Jo MAman Bebe I think - do linking plastic chains that attach to different types of toys and to back of chairs etc, and can make them up to any length and attach multiple toys.

belgo - I agree with your point - I did wonder if sedating a baby on flight might attract the interest of social services (!) but I guess if you use it if the baby is crying with distress rather than just using it to have an easy ride it's as much for their comfort as yours??

Anyone any experince about car seats once in the US? We want to hire a car. Do any car hire places provide them or do you have to fork out for one?

twentypence · 27/07/2007 11:52

For all those going through Singapore esp 1xmum - the bit where they check your fluids is right before you get on the plane, then you are in depature lounge with no toilet, and no more access to water, a chemist etc.

However they were very relaxed about us having 4 bags for 3 people as one of them just had prescription creams and some vicks vaporub in it. They also allowed my 150ml cough mixture without which everyone on the plane would have missed a night's sleep. They did not make me taste it. Also you can take empty bottles on and fill up on plane.

viciouspoet · 27/07/2007 15:01

BrightonNim
If you are renting a car in the US, most rental agencies have car seats available. The cost with Alamo was $9/day..we had a 10 day rental and that was just too much so we just checked ours as baggage and used it. Check on rental agency website or call them for more details.

Drillbert · 27/07/2007 21:40

This is a random list of stuff in reply to several comments:
We flew France - NZ - Aus - UK with our 11 month old, 15 month old on the way back! We spent 4 nights in Singapore on the way out which just delayed sorting out the jet lag for all of us so not so good. Coming back from Perth, Australia to UK, we spent one night in Singapore which is in the same time zone as Perth so we all had a really good night's sleep which set us up nicely for the long flight back to London. We did a lot of flights with DS and found that evening / night flights were best especially if you keep them running round the terminal for as long as possible before the flight. He nearly always fell asleep on takeoff after a bottle of milk.
I used bottled water for DS milk from the beginning. In France they label the bottles of mineral / spring water that are suitable to use to make up formula - why they can't do this in the UK I don't know. Anyway, in France, Evian is OK so I guess it is OK in the UK and the rest of the world as well! I found with sercurity at the airport, that if the water was in the babies bottle, they let it through after tasting but if it was still in the water bottle, it got confiscated so fill up your baby bottles before security. I then made up a formula while everyone was getting settled on the plane and he had it once we started taxiing - remember - on budget airlines with no seat allocation, nobody wants the seat next to the screaming baby, so hold off with the milk until everyone has picked a seat if you want that spare seat for extra space!
Take a few toys and get that bulk head seat - it gives more space for them to play and you can block off the aisle with a bag or leg to keep them in. DS liked to watch the stewards going up and down but was quite happy to stay put, even at 15 months, unless one of us got up. We found the bassinets a waste of time, even at 11 months, he was too big to settle in them, but book one as it gets you a bulkhead seat. Make sure you have a drink available for the descent as well to help with the ears. Maybe we were just lucky but DS didn't have a problem so long as there was a drink available.
We had a fantastic time and it was a lot easier than I ever imagined.
We had a fantastic time

sarah985 · 27/07/2007 22:41

We took our son to states when he was 18 mths - bang in the middle of the security scare last year. Getting food and drink in was a nightmare as we had to open and try everything so get there early (at least I wasnt breast feeding like the family in front of us!) I made sure he was drinking (a bottle) on take off and landing to help his ears and also gave him some medised...people may not agree with drugging unnecessarily but it certainly helped and on the horrendous landing back to UK he was fast asleep without any problems! Also took plenty of toys and distractions and adopted a stewardess (actually think DH got the benefit of that one).

Have a great time!

twentypence · 28/07/2007 01:00

at least I wasnt breast feeding like the family in front of us!

Why so Sarah - surely that would have been easier. They can't confiscate boobs.

kazza25 · 28/07/2007 13:45

hi all the straps for the toys are from mothercare, in the section with the buggy accessories. they are blue and red. hth

BruceBabe · 29/07/2007 19:37

Great tip re toy straps as we're travelling with 1 yr and soon to be 3 yr old in Sept to Australia - also lots of family but also with kids around same age... other folk are gonna love us!
Took a 20 min train journey as treat for 2 yr old yesterday... youngest was like jack-in-a-box! Trying not to think about it!
Don't understand either about the family breastfeeding???

Underconstruction · 29/07/2007 21:51

Credit to all those mums who say it's easy. Most of our flights have been exhausting. The worst was when DD1 started getting her molars on a turbulent flight from LA (ie we were all strapped in). The most exhausting was solo to Oz where she slept about 3 hours total, and one of those was in my arms in transit (I hadn't thought to ask ahead for a buggy). The best was from Singapore when she finally got the point of the video screen. The best entertainment has been washing toys in the baisin (best at night when there's no queue for the loo)! Because DD1 doesn't sleep on planes, we've found flying in the day less harrowing all round and the best for jetlag is to arrive at our destination quite close to bedtime and then she wakes in the morning with apparently no ill effects at all (maybe the gods' way of making up for the hell of the flights ) Never try to deal with jetlag solo! Good luck.

emkay · 29/07/2007 22:21

We flew to Brisbane with a 6 mo old and back when she was 1 yr. It was basically fine but just really, really hard work. The hardest thing is keeping a baby quiet when all the other passengers are trying to sleep. I found the daytime sections easier because if she was tired, dd would sleep anyway, but when she was awake there were plenty of faces to look at and no one minded her noise.

Being able to breastfeed her for take off and landing made life incredibly easy and I didn't have to worry about sterlising equipment, taking formula through security etc. However, would highly recommend requesting a seat that means you won't be breastfeeding with baby's head sticking out into the aisle! by the window and with your partner next to you is infinitely more preferable. Even though I loved breastfeeding and feel 100% happy to have been able to do it, I did feel self-conscious about other people having different views in such a public place - sorry to hear a negative observation expressed so casually about that, Sarah, because that's the kind of comment that sticks in the mind and will stop someone feeling comfortable about just getting on with what they want to do.

Individual nappy change kits were also a life saver - a single nappy sack with a nappy in it plus trial size (if you can get it, or decant into a small pot) nappy cream, a handful of wipes in a small sandwich bag and a disposable change mat you can lie over the change table - that gives you something very portable to take into the loo for changing. There is NO space and dd aged 1yr delighted in pulling all the tissues out of the dispenser while I had both hands busy changing her and holding her onto the table.

Take a rug or blanket that you can lie down on the floor in front of your feet (assuming you have seats with the bassinet and therefore leg room). This means that baby can sit on the floor and play with toys and you don't have to worry about how dirty it might be. We created a barricade to the aisle with our legs so that she had a little rugrat space. She loved pulling toys / books out of the magazine holder and putting them in again. A blanket to go over the bassinet is also essential if your baby is sensitive to light and your bassinet is near the loos or the lights go on just when you don't want them too.

Don't assume the bassinet will work even if you get one... ours was so high on the wall my partner had to climb on the seat in order to lower our baby in without waking her. If she woke on the way in, that was it until we could settle her to sleep again - this happened many times! But still worth booking for the leg room.

Finger puppets are good value too.

If you're transitting for a couple of hours or so, check out if the airport has rooms and showers you can book by the hour. DD loved having a shower and a chance to stretch out on a bed and kick about.

What else? Zurich airport has a fantastic children's playroom and change mats, cots etc.

Having family at the receiving end when you're cactus with jet lag is wonderful! Just plan to stay long enough wherever you're going so that it's worthwhile. Good luck!

schmizaj · 31/07/2007 21:36

Great advice emkay. Only three days to go until my longhaul......

sarah985 · 02/08/2007 14:25

just wanted to clarify - i didnt mean that the people in front of us on the plane were breastfeeding - I meant in the queue, the poor mother had bottled some of her milk and was being made to test it - sorry - last posting and clearly tired when typing!!!!

sarah985 · 02/08/2007 14:31

Sorry meant late posting. Can't emphasise enough - I am PRO BREAST FEEDING, have no issues with anyone feeding in public and did it myself - I wasnt commenting on anyone breast feeding literally - just the fact they were being made to test their own milk -my sincere apologises if I have offended anyone - I didnt make myself clear. Enough said before I dig myself any deeper.

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