How to survive 10 hour flight with toddler and newborn??

[Justlostmybagel]

This is still quite a way off, but I'm stressed about it already.

We'll be making an international move next year, my dh and I, our toddler (she'll be a couple of months off two) and we'll also have an 8 week(ish) old baby. It'll be about a 10 hour flight, possibly a layover and a second short flight too.

I just need all the tips and tricks to get through this. I'm mostly worried about keeping our toddler reasonably cooperative throughout the journey. I don't want to be on the receiving end of death glares from other passengers 😬.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that the new baby will be as easy as our first and will just eat and sleep for the majority of time.

How do we make this as stress-free as possible??

When you “off two’ do you mean over or under. If under, pay for a seat for her.

You just have to realise that your only job is to keep the toddler happy and entertained. You’ll be fine.

Oops, sorry. She'll be 22 months. We're definitely planning on getting her a seat! I can't imagine having her sat on us for that many hours.

Took our 28 month old and 4 month old to and from the US last year.
Toddler was travel sick so the way back we were careful about what she ate and when. Lots of toys, sticker books, ipad and unlimited screen time. We had several tantrums but it’s just part and parcel of the experience. staff were lovely as were other passengers.

I've done 6 flights alone with my 16 month old so far, including four 13 hour flights plus layover followed by short flight. My tips:

• 8 week old will be fine. Bring a baby carrier, you will bounce him a lot and you need your hands. I was breastfeeding though so not sure what you need to do re formula.
• flying business makes an enormous difference. Truly. You get fast track security. The lounge has loads of food and a wonderful quiet play area so the airport part is super easy and relaxed. The staff on board makes A LOT of effort with you. You have a lot of personal space on the plane. Toddler can lie down and sleep next to your husband, they don't need a separate seat if they're under 2.

I flew premium economy once with my baby and never again. The staff couldn't give a fuck, we had no space, were a total pain in the arse, my back was killing me at the end. It was hell.

Business is a total game changer. Although I say this assuming you are flying 8 hours + and your business class has lie down seats. If it's a short flight and seats don't go flat, then not worth it so much.

• tips for the toddler:

1. Snacks, snacks, snacks. Bananas, whatever he loves. Mine ate 3x more than he ate at home! Constantly eating and drinking.

1. Toys, stickers, and books. A few new, some old. I hide all his favourite toys the week before we go so when we get on the plane he's excited to see them again.
2. Pack with military precision. You need to know with your eyes closed which pocket has the banana, which pocket has the spinny toy etc.
3. He was an angel, every time, even now at 16 months. There was so much new stuff, he loved it. So don't stress too much.

I live abroad in a British overseas territory and everyone here has to do a lot of long haul flying with babies and toddlers. Once you get your head around it, it's totally fine.

Depending on which way you're heading, jet lag could be a bitch. My baby adapted really well to jet lag when he was little but not so much now he's older.

Download all the ms Rachel etc onto your phone/ipad whatever. Bring loads of snacks. I seen advice from someone about buying toys like fidget spinner type things that you can suction to the window tray etc so that they don’t fall off and you’re not constantly picking them up. Also seen someone who tied string around the toys so they could just pull them from the ground. Lots of airports have kids play areas so fire out your toddler there at layover or before flight. My last long flight was about 11 hours in the air plus layover and all the other passengers were really nice tbh but the staff were really grumpy. Flight before that the staff were amazing. It will be ok it’s only one day you can do it! You can also consider getting a car seat for the newborn. I flew with mine at 5 weeks and she slept the whole 3 hour flight in the car seat and I used on that clipped onto my travel pram.