Long haul flight with baby? Yes or no?

[emelsie]

I'm debating whether to do a long haul flight this summer with what will then be an 8 month old baby and also my older child who will be 9 and myself the only adult. The flight is around 10 hours with a journey of a couple hours once picked up by family from the airport . Anyone done this ? Will it be a nightmare ? Any tips? Best travel pushchair? , should I bother if I can't get a bulkhead seat ? I did enquire with the airline for a particular day on which these seats were fully booked, is this vital?

Thanks !

it will be possible. if you end up with an overnight flight (which will probably be easier). ask your airline if they have bassinets, you can put your baby down to sleep and hopefully they will settle. it may be worth investing in a bassinet cover/shade, so the lights don't bother them.

as for your other child, take a tablet for them to play games on/watch movies, as well as headphones. when it is time for them to sleep, you may want to bring an eye mask (so the lights don't keep them awake). let them lay their head on your lap and their legs on their seat. just as you would on the ground, have a set bedtime and put the tablet away 40 mins before this.

make sure they are wearing comfy clothes when flying.

all the best x

Yes, I did an 11 hour flight alone with a one year old and with my animals in the hold when I moved back to the UK. I just booked two ordinary seats so DD had her car seat for take off/landing and naps.

When we arrived in the UK my best friend met me in the car I had bought and had delivered to her house and our journey from the airport home was four hours, journey to the airport pre flight was 6 hours.

I didn't bother with a pushchair, I had an Ergo carrier so I just wore her when I had to.

I didn’t even take the DC on a short haul flight, until they were 4 and 5 years old and could be guaranteed not to annoy other passengers. Crying babies on long flights are pretty grim for everybody, including the poor parent, who can get stressed at knowing they are the focus of disapproval. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, if you’re flying to visit grandparents abroad for example, but I think it’s better not to do it unless you have to. There are plenty of alternative holiday destinations nearer to home, and your baby won’t even remember the holiday when it’s older, so a bit of a waste of an exotic far flung trip.

It’ll be fine at those ages. I took my 10 month old and 3 year old alone on an 8 hour flight last summer. Then my mum picked us up and it was a 4 hour drive. Definitely not fun, but it’s what happens when you live abroad.

I am looking at ways though to avoid the trip this year with a 18m ish old and a 4 year old. Or to get another adult to help me. DD is much more work now she’s on the move.

We did a night flight and both kids slept most of the way. We didn’t have the bulkhead as I figured DD wouldn’t stay in the bassinet anyway. I wore her in a baby carrier a lot, especially on the plane and I had a regular cheap umbrella stroller (I had a double but you won’t need that) Also your 9 year old will not only be easy to manage, but could actually be helpful. We were lucky in that we managed to get 3 seats instead of just the 2 we paid for, so my DS could lie down. DH was with us for the return journey which was during the day and much more difficult as she wouldn’t nap much, but we took turns to carry her round the plane.

Also jet lag is really not fun with little ones!

And my 3 year old may have watched 8 hours straight of paw patrol on the iPad, but he was very well behaved and he’s definitely a “spirited” child. A 9 year old would hopefully be no bother at all

Also take extra upon extra spare outfits and nappies for baby. And a spare set for yourself. Something about flying seems to make for the most explosive nappies!

I took my 6 month DD to Canada and America last year. We took two flights and total journey time was around 11/12 hours. She was amazing throughout the whole trip.

We had an early morning flight going, so I loaded up our IPad with loads of shows on Netflix, took toys and lots of snacks. But I tried to keep DD in a routine as much as possible, eat, play, sleep, which I think helped.

We had a night flight coming home, so when we got on the plane, I put her in PJ's and had a big fleecy blanket and she slept the whole way home.

The time difference didn't seem to bother her either, although me and DH were knackered. Lol!

As for prams, I'd definitely get a cheap stroller. Xx

That could be a nightmare if you have a crawler by then. With an immobile baby, I'd say it'd be fine.

I had a crawler. People do it all the time with a bit of planning, plenty of time at the airport pre flight, late flight, etc., etc., and I had to plan as DD had an anaphylactic response to diary.

As for kids upsetting people, well life happens, DD was absolutely fine but I would like to think I would have sympathy for a family who were travelling if their kids weren’t fine.

Of course you could always charter your own plane if you felt that strongly about it? No?

I've done plenty of long haul with my two (business and first class, I haven't done economy with them). The crawling/cruising stage is the hardest as they want to move all the time. I think around 15 months with mine was the worst as they are on the move but not really open to negotiation, sitting still watching a screen/listening to a story or playing with toys for long periods. It is absolutely do-able though, especially if your older one can behave and entertain themselves.

As for noise and disruption, I was paranoid about this but to be honest most passengers put headphones on as soon as they get on. The kids were absolutely fine anyway, they hardly made a sound and we were vigilant about seeing to them as soon as they made a peep.

Thanks for all the advice , I have done the same flight many times with my older child since she was around 4 years old , but never as a baby , she is very helpful though.

Just hope they have the seats available as not sure would want to be sat in a row with people in front and behind .

I have done it all the time with kids who are now 7 and 2. About to do two flights with a layover totalling 28 hours on Saturday with the toddler. You need planning and preparation but it’s fine. Yes kids do cry but frankly I have been flying long haul for 20 years and I have more stories of disruptive adults than kids.
Top tips: take a night flight. If you can book a seat for the baby. Baby won’t be allowed to sit there for take off, landing and turbulence but it’s a god send. That way once asleep you can put them down. Small bags with lots of little toys. Lots of books. And lots and lots of snacks. Mine were more or less sleeping at night at that age so we would get on. Play. Eat. Read. For a couple of hours and then sleep for about 5-7 hours and we would have a couple of hours before landing.
Also boarding early is not always great. It means having to engage them in a confined space for longer.

I'd fly on a different day in order to get a bulkhead seat, otherwise unless you pay for a seat for your baby you will have him/her on your lap for 10 hours, which would be horrendous!

Otherwise, if you can get the bulkhead seat/bassinet to put your baby in to sleep, go for it - it will be fine. 9-year-olds are pretty good on long-haul flights IME (depends on your DC, of course, but you say she's helpful, so that bodes well).

But get the bulkhead seat. I can't imagine doing such a long flight with a wriggly, cross, exhausted 8-month-old on my lap. The baby won't sleep well in that situation, whereas with a bassinet s/he should.

Re: travel pushchair - I had an umbrella style which reclined - and that worked perfectly. You basically want something that your DC will be able to sleep in if needed (long delay, late departure or arrival, etc). And my other tip is to take more food and changes of clothes than you think you'll need. I was once delayed for 10 hours while taking an overnight flight with my DS when he was 8 months old. I only had enough food for his dinner, as we were due to arrive at our destination at 6am and he usually only had breast milk between those times, so I thought I'd be fine. Big mistake!!! He was starving and the airline had nothing he would eat. It was a total nightmare. After that I always travelled with plenty of food (and of course it never happened again!)

Crying babies on long flights are pretty grim for everybody, including the poor parent, who can get stressed at knowing they are the focus of disapproval

^^ What a load of codswallop. Anyone who tuts disapprovingly can fuck off quite frankly. Do not alter your life to fit in with disapproving shits.

Anyway OP - I have done London to Australia many times with my kids (who are older now) but first time was with a 5 month old baby and again when she was 22 months and then again when DD2 was 12 months and DC1 3 years old. To be honest it is easier when they are smaller and less able to want to run around the aeroplane. Your older DC will be fine and a good help I'd say at that age. My top tip: a range of snacks, comfy clothes and plenty of spares and see if you can get your buggy/pushchair air side and then right up to the plane where they load it in the hold and have it ready to collect when you get off the plane at the other side. It's pretty hard carrying a wriggly baby and bags to the luggage carousel if not (done that too).

I went to Australia and back with my DS at 5 months, at 14 months.

The 14 month was THE WORST! Too old to sleep lots and just lay there or be held, but too young to be entertained by screens. I spent a massive chunk of time walking him up and down the plane and stopping him from grabbing people's remotes from their laps (guys PLEASE stop holding the remotes in your groin area!!! )

At the end of the flight about 1/3 of the people walking past me to get off the flight, so pretty much 1/6 of all of economy (I waited for assistance) said goodbye to DS by name. Sweet but so, so embarrassing....

By comparison 5 months was an absolute doddle. Pre-walking is a breeze.

I think it would be really tough on you. An 8mo will want to move around, there won't be enough room for him keeping him on your lap, etc.

Let's put it this way, I would not want to sit next to a parent holding an 8mo for a 10 hour flight.

Hi OP, I’ve done NZ - Italy/UK every year for the last 3 years, the first time DS was 20 months, then 2.5, then this year DD was 3 months & DS 3.5. And it’s a holiday - we’re not visiting family so no back up at the other end!

Obviously I think it’s worth it. 20 months was the hardest but that was because we didn’t buy DS a seat. Rookie mistake. We walked up & down the aisle a LOT but he did also sleep a lot and the cabin crew was really good about allocating us near a spare seat where possible. Worth paying to travel a good airline - Air NZ and Singapore airlines both very good with kids.

I think between 1 - 18 months would be the hardest as they are big enough to move but not old enough to park in front of the TV for 9 hours.

Travelling with DD at 3 month was a dream - so so easy. She didn’t really sleep in the bassinet but it was handy to put her down in (or to store baby crap in). She was BF’ed so that made life easier.

I would pack lots of snacks - useful distraction & also load up the iPad with any favourite shows (we had a lot of Peppa Pig). We use the Mountain Buggy Nano travel stroller which is great, folds up easily & can fit in the overhead locker if you need to (though we just hand it over at the gate). As long as you are managing your kids and people can see you’re actively working to keep them occupied/distracted during the flight, most people are really kind.

We’ve had some wonderful family holidays together - the kids won’t necessarily remember it but we do.

I admire your bravery, OP. I was supposed to be taking DS (4 months) home with me to see extended family but I just haven’t had the courage yet! I think it probably depends on the baby. I know that there’s no way he’d happily sit on my knee for the duration of a flight and he’s never been one to fall asleep without a screaming fit, so I just can’t face the idea at the moment.

I’m watching this thread with interest, though because I’ve booked a family holiday to Mallorca in September when he’ll be 1 and I guess I’ll really have to bite the bullet and take him to see extended family this year - I can’t avoid it forever! 😂

I came here to write a post asking for long haul flight tips!!

We're taking a loooong journey which includes a 12 hour flight (sandwiched by two shorter flights) which is unfortunately 10am-10pm so the worst timing really. DD is 14 months so @EhlanaofElania you've helped calm the nerves

Anyone else got any magical tips for how to survive?!