To travel with a 9 month old long haul

[Blondie6123]

Hi

We are looking to go away end of March 2023. We would really like to travel long haul, possibly Mexico or Mauritius. Mexico has a 10.5 hour flight time and Mauritius is 12 hours.

My daughter will be 5 years and my son 9.5 months.

We have spoken to Tui today with regards to getting a bassinet seat, they said they no longer have bassinet seats however some other airlines may do but they think the age limit is 6 months. As our son will not have a seat this leaves us with having to share carrying him for the flight. We do have a good baby carrier which we hoped we could wear for part of the journey.

Am I mad to do this? Has anyone else gone long haul with a 9 month on their lap? If anyone could share their experience of this, that would be great.

Yes, plenty of people do this all of the time, as you will see when you are on the plane. It is the hardest time to fly with them to be honest - under 6 months is the easiest and then over 3. So, no you're not mad to do it, it's a completely normal thing to do, but I'd go prepared with stuff and don't expect ot to be your best flight ever.

I think it all depends on your baby, we just did a four hour flight with a 10 month old and it was bordering on too long. We had a flight attendant who wouldn’t let us stand with him or have him stood between our seats and the seats in front so it was hell trying to keep him happy only sat on our laps. Our daughter at that age though would have been more than happy on our laps with toys to keep her entertained though.

I think it’s fine, I travel extensively with my kids and went long haul with them alone several times when they were little. Sometimes the flights were a bit long and challenging but you’ll survive!
i would say though, that Mauritius is a better idea, for the time difference.

Forgot to say, I have had mine on my lap at around that age as they didn’t really like going in the bassinet and I found the baby carrier helpful. Also, some airlines do put a 6m limit on the bassinet but others go in weight. I had one once with my dd when she was around 10 months (although she refused to go in it!)

Flew to Mexico in March with my then 13mo. Easy! Flew premium economy with BA and had a bassinet/infant seat for him. Staff were brilliant, held him when he was awake and we were eating!

You can pay for an extra seat if you want more space.

I’d suggest Mauritius as minimal time difference. Only you will know if it’s worth the flight!

We did it with 9 month old twins. It was fine.

Yes. We had a bassinet which we ended up using for our luggage because 10 month old didn't think much of it!

I am currently in a resort in Mauritius, having flown out with BA. The bassinets are very different to what I remember when I took DD (16) to Singapore and Oz when she was 15 months. They look like those little bouncy chairs. We were on an overnight flight (delayed an hour) and I think they dimmed the lights at about 11:30. Some of the kids coped better than others.

We are staying next to a French family with a baby I would put at about 10-15 months and 3 pre teens. Thankfully the resort is designed with minimal adjoining walls but she honestly screams (not just mild grumbles) for hours each day. We know to check when they go to eat to avoid the inevitable screams after about 15 minutes.

I used to choose self catering (or at least a kitchen) with a toddler with jetlag. It just made things easier.

Be aware that there is currently an outbreak of Dengue Fever in Mauritius, though hopefully they are getting things under control.

We flew long haul with ours when he was just 9 months. We did have a sky cot, but we since flown many times with our kids at all stages without the sky cot, and it’s been fine.

The only pain is the tiny changing table in the loos if you’ve got a whopper of a baby!

Yes you are mad. It will be the longest 10/12 hours of your life. Unless you go business class

Yes, I think you are completely bonkers.

Holidays are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable.
Doing this would completely negate the benefit of the holiday for me.
Remember it is both ways too, not just one.

Oh and put it this way. We flew to Mexico in March and have three further long haul trips within the next 9 months so it can't have been bad at all! Disclaimer - premium economy bulkheads in BA every time.