Air Travel at 10 Months Old--- Help

I highly recommend a portable DVD player. I know, TV/screen time isn't good, but hey, you're on a plane! I also take a kid size back pack filled with mini toys/color books/travel size aqua-doodle/snacks/books, etc.

Good luck. My she'll sleep some.
B.

I traveled quite a bit with my son at that age and younger, although we never had a flight quite that long. I brought lots of small toys and books. We read and sang songs and I let him tear up the catalog on the plane. (These are marked that you can take them with you.) It's tough, but he generally did okay. Southwest is great because whoever chooses to sit next to you is going to be pretty understanding. He was most entertained when someone behind us or across the aisle would play peek-a-boo with him and make faces. With assigned seating, it's hard to know, but one time I was very uncomfortable having to breastfeed next to a young man, but he ended up talking about his young child and being fine. I was really anxious but my son has done okay and never gotten really fussy or anything, and people on the plane have generally been very nice. Good luck!

I would def. take a binky, it helps with the pressure change. Fly at night if you can. If not bring lots of toys, books and snacks for her. Get online and find songs to sing to her durring the flight. When you get on the plane, ask the flight attendant if the flight is full. If not see if they will let you sit as far back in the plane as possible away from every one. Good luck

My daughter is 2 1/2 and we recently had a long trip as well. They let me take my buggy through security but I had to take her out of it and fold it up to run it through their scanner. Then when we boarded the plane they stowed it underneath. When we got off they gave it back at the gate so I didn't have to wander around without it. That was a huge bonus going through customs... which fortunately you won't need in Alaska.

Anna was so excited that the first flight she didn't sleep a wink... that was 4.5 hours. The second flight was 10.5 hours and she only slept for an hour here and an hour there. If you purchased a seat for your daughter, bring her car seat. Put her in the middle of the two of you. If she is sitting in you're lap, they will give you a crazy looking seat belt for her to strap to your seat belt for landing and take off. I broke up the legs of our flight so we stayed in a hotel over night between flights. That made our journey so much more comfortable.

I am not sure if your daughter has teeth or not, but I gave Anna gummy bears to help with the pressure. If you are nursing or she still uses a bottle that will work too. They should let you guys board first so you can get her settled in. The stewardesses were very helpful, they let us walk up and down the aisles as long as she was holding my hand, and as long as she was happy, some of the passengers would play peek-a-boo with her as we wandered around.

Diapers have to be disposed of by you in the lavatory, the stewardesses are NOT allowed to touch them, and they are not allowed to let you dispose of them in their waste baskets either. They aren't being rude, it's a rule because they handle food. Bring a few plastic grocery bags in your diaper bag to stuff them in. I changed Anna in my lap rather than trying to struggle with the bathroom. If you call the airline ahead, some planes have basinettes in bulkhead for nap time, those work well for changing too. If you are lucky you can sit there and you will be able to use that while you are in flight if your daughter falls asleep.

Quiet toys are much better than noisy ones on a plane. Bring extra snacks, ours ended up not going as far as we had hoped, but the stewardess was extremely generous with her stash. Also you will need extra clothes on the plane for each of you. I ended up wearing almost as much juice as Anna. Plus an extra bag for dirty clothes.

If you are staying in a hotel, ask for a crib... most of them will provide one. If you treat it like an adventure, you're daughter will too, so stay positive!

Have a great trip!

Make sure to bring her a couple of new toys that she has never seen before. That can usally help for a little while. Another idea is bringing a lot of different things with different textures/sounds. The thing that keeps my kids busy the most is actually playing peek-a-boo with whoever is sitting behind you. As long as the people behind you are willing, it keeps my son busy for hours. He peeks between the seats, puts his hand between the seats, peek above the seats and so on. Oh, and bring lots of snacks and a blankie that she can cuddle up to. You can bring a stroller all the way up to just before you actually set foot on the plane which makes it nice. If you bought a seat for your daughter, I would definetely recommend bringing her carseat on the plane. Those are my ideas. Hope it helps, we've traveled a lot on planes with our kids. In fact, in the first 2 years my daughter was around, she had been on a plane 8 times.

We used a great website http://www.momsminivan.com/ when we traveled with our 4 kids across country this summer ;)

Best,
C.

Here's a video about how to change a diaper on an airplane:

http://www.dirtydiaperdiaries.com/2007/05/diaper_change_i...

I had to travel 8 hours with my son when he was 6 weeks old alone. It was exhausting but I did it. It will be a lot easier with your boyfriend because you guys will have 4 arms total. It's totally do-able.

Good luck!

Hi A.,
We took our daughter to Hawaii at 8 months and it being a 6 hour flight I was so freaked out because she had never flown before. We actually bought a portable DVD player for baby Einstein and my husband forgot to charge the battery. We didn't need it anyway she was perfectly happy on the plane there and back and trust me she is a very particular child and will SCREAM if things aren't just so. Just relax and she will do great. Oh, and of course she pooped on the plane but it was easy to change and in the rest rooms there was a changing table. Good luck and have fun!

My husbands an airline pilot so we travel all the time. My son started flying at 3 months old and we have been on several trips that are 8+ hours. My #1 suggestion would be getting infant Benadryl! As with any medication you should first consult with your doctor. If you do choose to use Benadryl be sure to do a trial run with your child. This is very important because sometimes children will have the opposite effect and become very hyper. Also give your child a bottle or pacifier during the takeoff and landing because the change in altitude will build pressure in their ears and the sucking will release that pressure. Bring plenty of baby food, liquids, and Benadryl(just present it at security and have in a clear plastic bag you can have as much food and liquids as you need for the flight and keep the Benadryl in its original container.) When my child flew on my lap I would just wear a Baby Bjorn plus it made getting on and off the plane so simple "now that he's 14 months old I really miss being able to strap him to me it made flying so much more simple." Last but not least bring a blanket and change of clothes. I hope this helps!

I have done this more times than I care to remember. 18hours with two. Still- Have a bt ready for take off or nurse the her. You always hear babies scream at take off cuss of the pressure to their ears. As adults we know to swallow but they don't. I would put off a feeding if you can for as long as you can so that she will feed at the lift off. Also put her in comfy clothes.

If it is around nap time you may be able to put that off and she could fall asleep as well. Little fav. snacks if you can and maybe a fav. toy one that you can play together.
If she does get fussy- don't worry and don't apologize to on lookers if you get a dirt look. Most people are helpful or give the all knowing better you than me look.

My son is a great traveler. I think Emmalee will do better than you are anticipating. I usually bring interesting little toys that only come out when we travel. Bring all kinds of favorite snacks/food. Books, if she likes them. Hold off on her bottle until take off/landing so the sucking motion helps her ears. If you can, try to keep her active before the flight so that she'll sleep on the plane. For a long flight I would bring a sling...that's a long time to hold a baby in your arms. I hope this helps. Good Luck! L.

Hi A.... I travel a lot with my little girl to CA and Seattle.. the flight to Seattle is 3 1/2 hours... When my little one was 10 mo. old I gave her a little of childresn benadryl just before the plane took off.. that way it would kick in by the time the flight was on its way. I know some people think it's not OK to give a baby that, but it helped her sleep on the flight. I didn't have to worry about her ears hearting her, her crying, and people looking st you funny. (I really didn't care about people looking though, babies are gonna cry). It worked for me and my husband. And like the other moms said you can bring quite toys and bottles, ets.. but if nothing works I would try the bebadryl. I hope your flight goes well!!

Bring a protable DVD player w/ his/her favorite movies (this worked WONDERS for us). They are only about $100 and you will get your $$$ worth! Snacks, and juice, and lots of books. You will be FINE!

My son is 10 months and he has flown twice just wonderfully! Last flight we were stuck on the runway for 4 hours due to a lovely monsoon in Phx! It was hard for him to sleep with the excitement of people all around, that may be a problem for your daughter, not sure. I would recommend a pacifier or bottle for take off and landing to help with the ears. If my son gets fussy, he will gladly take a snack to calm him down so take plenty of those! Favorite books and toys are always helpful, but my son loved to play with the safety card in the seat pocket. I always take a portable DVD player along too, but he didn't have much interest during our flight nightmare! You always want to be prepared as you never know what will happen with air travel. Bring plenty of formula/breast milk, food, etc as we got on our plane at 7pm and didn't get off until 3am! Good luck, I am sure she will surprise you!

A.,
I have actually done that exact trip w/ a 7 mo baby. My suggestion is bring a few favorite quiet toy (everyone else will thank you for queit toys) and a couple of books. Even a photo book with pictures of who you are going to visit so that the faces are somewhat familiar when you get there. I tried to make sure that my baby was tired when we got on the plane...no sleeping on the way to the airport. She slept most of the trip. The flight attendant will usually warm a bottle for you as well if that is how she likes her bottles.

One thing I wish I had done...pack at least an extra shirt for you in your carry-on, if not a whole outfit; as well as a couple of outfits for your baby.

I'm surprised only one person mentioned a sling. That was a godsend for me when my daughter outgrew the snuggly. We flew back and forth to AK 8 times from birth to 18 mos and the snuggly and sling were the best investment (next to the portable DVD) for those long journeys. You can't use them for take-off and landing, but they sure are handy walking down the aisle. Do her a favor and give her benadryl. My doctor strongly recommended it and the one time I forgot, she hollered for 45 minutes until it kicked in. Their little ears need help. Her favorite was sucking on a big round (and messy) sucker for take-off and landing when she was awake. And they are right about the extra clothes for yourself. Good Luck and enjoy Alaska. It's a beautiful place!

Sucking and chewing items will help minimize the screaming from pressure in the ears. A decongestant may help even more. Also, it isn't unheard of (and is really OK in my book--sometimes!) to give your baby children's benadryl plus some children's ibuprofen. They will sleep through a lot of the plane ride and so can you! Not textbook nor super-mama oriented advice, but it will help if you decide to do it.

Start putting some of her favorite, smaller, quiet toys and books away now. Then one by one, as she needs a new distraction on the flight, she will be thrilled to see her toys again. Then while you are in Alaska, put them away again for the return flight.

Bring along larger, noisy toys for the time while you are in Alaska. Grandparents don't often have toys for every age.

Keep her active in the airport so she will get tired.