Mayday! i think i've agreed to something very stupid

[sansouci]

oh no, oh no... have consented to flying ALONE with 2 yr old ds & 5 yr old dd to Vancouver & back again. Hulababy just gave me a hint as to what i'm in for. PLEASE HELP ME!

no, Baby Born. the German-made BMW or Audi of a doll, heavier than real baby. dd loves her & will not be parted from her.

We always take DD's doll, but she is responsible for carrying it to plane.

I have to second moondog on this, is already hard enough to carry all the things required for the flight and two children when you are travelling in your own. To add two extra pieces of luggage will definitively make you slower at connections and will gnerate more stress as you can't ontro what 's in what has been left behind in the plane, waiting room, etc.

Charlotte? Unnecessary crap? wait 'til dd hears about this...

seriously, what's a mum to do?

does anyone want to come with us & at least keep me laughing?

Don't worry too much Sansouci, it will be OK

this is no ordinary doll, hulababy. it is a tank disguised as a doll. it even looks scary!

btw, how's the peanut allergy problem, chandra?

Eeek. Hmm - can you strap it to outside of your DD's handluggage case?

Ctapult her into your travel bag so you don't end with a drama of where Charlote is if she gets lost in transit.

good idea, hulababy.

i've just had another worry! what about security?!

we've got a baby born carrier you'd be welcome to borrow if you wanted (although must admit it's not fantastic and tends to overbalance on 3yr old dd a bit, might be better with an older child...) CAT me if you want me to post it to you.

good idea, chandra.

another bit of info for you all: last time we all got on a plane (dh was with us), it was on New Year's Eve. we were flying from Dulles to Geneva and of course there was a terrorist alert. we didn't take off til 3am. Happy New Year, most definitely NOT.

Would recommend the case on wheels for the children. Bought one for DS (2.4) last year and it was great as it stopped him running off. His was a penguin too so very cute!

I'd recommend taking a car seat for him too if BA only have adult sized belts for his seat. I searched the archives on here before we travelled and decided that was the best option. Not only to keep him safe in turbulence but also as he is used to having to sit in it in the car and can sleep in it comfortably.

Fine Sansouci, thanks for asking, my mother has just "tested" DS, she handed him a chocolate with peanuts and after he got back in a rash while I shoved the piriton on his little mouth, my mother said: See? it was not that bad! you worry too much!

I felt very angry but the second reaction has solved the problem, we don't need to fight for a RAST test anymore... he definitively has it. But at least it not the allergy that causes anaphilaxis shock, otherwise I would be an orphan by now

thanks, phillipat. i think we might have one already, tho. somewhere in dd's rubble of toys.

will look on archives but expect more frantic messages between now & departure. sigh.

BA is a good airline, they tend to have seatback tvs. We do London->Montreal/Toronto every year, and I found that once DS1 was 2.5, he was happy to sit watching telly for pretty much the whole trip.

It probably helps that I'm a mean mum who doesn't generally let him watch telly.

Hi, new to MN.... I am in a similar situation as we are flying to Malaysia in 3 weeks time (for a wedding) and we are going to be travelling for over 20 hours... which is bad enough for me but with a 2 yr old will be a nightmare as she is currently into everything!!

A friend of mine recommended Phenergan (can be used for travel sickness or short term sedative as it causes drowsiness.... maybe that is worth considering?

sticker books are also a good idea. and magnadoodle/etchasketch things

Would suggest you try out any anti histimines first - our dd went mental on an aircraft after we gave her phenergan. Our GP did say that these medicines could make some children hyper...

Have done a couple of transatlantic flights with dd (2.5) and we bought a portable dvd player (cheapie as poss) and then took Fimbles and Balamory dvds. This did work a bit and we also found it useful when eating out on holiday to keep her amused whilst we finished our meals.

Stickers and fuzzy felt are good as is the travel etch a sketch thingy. I bought lots of little toys and wrapped them up in paper so that she could open them as well.

The trickiest thing is when they want to walk around the aircraft and the crew are trying to keep passengers in seats for security reasons.

I also found fellow passengers really nice and very helpful in general. I think when people see that you are reallt trying to entertain your kids and keep them from disturbing everyone(instead of getting quietly pissed and letting them run wild..) then they cut you some slack.

You will be knackered at the end of the flight but then you will have a nice holiday to look forward to. Don't think about the return trip til you need to and stock up on cheapie in flight amusements as you see things on holiday.

Good luck!

sansouci - try to plan what you'll do when your 5 yr old needs the toilet on the plane - might be worth being seated close to the loos so she can go herself (pack some antiseptic hand gel for goodness' sake!!! )
I've flown a couple of times with my kids (5, 4 with SN and 18 months) to Germany, only a 1.5 hour flight and can only agree with moondog: "JUst expect it to be f*ing grim and believe me,it will be."

Having said that, is your 5 yr old sensible? Mine is, and she tends to me more of a help than a hindrance.

Don't worry about taking children to the toilet... the main problem is when you need to use the toilet, so if one kid falls asleep and the other one can be entertained for a minute by a hostess or passenger, that's your oportunity girl! go for it!

Oooh, sansouci, I've just found you can find out what movies etc will be on a flight, if it's this month, on the BA website. DS1 will be thrilled to see Robots, and there's a cartoon channel too. I just have to get him to try wearing headphones, for practice.

Sansouci,

Sorry hun, would not think you will get an upgrade as such flights are usually full. BA only fly once a day to Vancouver I believe and get in quite late in the day. Wondering why you did not therefore choose Air Canada instead?.

If your two year old wears a nappy change it before you board the aircraft. This will save you some hassle.

Take full advantage of the early boarding you will be offered at the departure gate.

Pushchair (if used) can be taken up to the gate and BA staff will tag it for you.

Do not take anything really tiny for the children to play with; if its dropped you'll probably not see it again

Portable DVD player is good, some batteries have several hours of life.

Flight back to UK should be easier as they should sleep most of the way.

When do you leave for Vancouver, you may be able to choose your seats online. BA's website has this facility.

Unfortunately you will not be able to take advantage of the online check in they have in use because of the children.

Make sure you have all the documentation you require to hand well before setting off.

Vancouver is a nice modern airport and you won't have to walk miles to get to immigration either. If memory serves me correctly the lugguge carousel is immediately behind immigration. You will need some money (I think its $3 in notes or thereabouts)to get the luggage trolley.

This is the website for Vanocuver airport:-
www.yvr.ca