Flying with under twos -any advice

[Sprogstersmum]

We are going on a ten hour flight with DD who will be 16 months and on our laps - having just read another thread with several stories about nightmare flight experiences does anyone have any advice for how to keep her occupied/quiet during flight?

I flew to Australia in June with my one year old. She was really no trouble, but did stay awake for longer than we expected. Be prepared to get hot as having a child on your knee is like nursing a hot water bottle.

We saw someone with a portable DVD player playing baby einstein dvds which kept their baby occupied for hours. The on board system had some baby programs too.

I took a bag of little toys that she hadn't seen before and gave them to her one by one. Anything with a velcro strap to attach it to the seat would be good as everything that went on the floor seemed to disappear.

The air hostesses weren't that much help but I discovered they often leave out drinks and snacks in the galley to help yourself so don't be afraid to go and have a nosey. They also had lots of baby stuff including spare bottles and nappies but they didn't offer them, I had to ask.

Eating was a bit of a challenge, so maybe take some snacks for yourself in case too. Our baby mostly drank milk and wasn't that interested in food.

I wouldn't recommend Medised, my father in law is a GP and said that although it knocks them out, it also makes them grumpy when they wake up!!

Hope it goes well!

Remember it is very unlikey you will ever see the people sitting around you again. So don't stress and try to enjoy it.

DS at 11 mths was too big for a bassinette and we did 12 hrs from UK to USA and read the same (new) book far too many times but ds loved it and still does (3yrs old next mth)