Ideas for the Plane

My sister makes these really cute Spy Bags that keep kids entertained for quite a while. She has rave reviews on them as well.

http://www.BumblebeeBaby.etsy.com

Also, finger puppets or sock puppets are super fun! You can make them yourself or get some cute ones here:

http://www.etsy.com/search_results.php?search_type=tag_ti...

And of course an Etch a Sketch.

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If you are going to/ would like to nurse the 8 month old on the plane, get a bebe au lait cover. Makes it so much easier as you will be covered from all angles. Very important on a plane! www.bebeaulait.com

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I think Kathy D. has a great idea. We also traveled with our daughters very early on. The DVD player goes a long way as long as you have headsets. Some other great toys for the trip are playdough, the Etcho Sketch and a mini Light Bright toy.

I like the dollar store idea for the toys. If not, Target also has a lot of "miniature" versions of popular toys/games that are easy to take with you. My daughter had her own backpack for the airplane rides. Along with the items mentioned above, we also made sure we had crayons and plenty of coloring paper.

The first trip I took with my oldest (she was 19 months) I was able to schedule the flight about the same time she normally napped. She passed out on take off and I had to wake her up three hours later when we were landing. Didn't even have to drug her!

Good luck and have a great trip!

Oti
www.shoppingforyourbaby.com

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We always bring a portable DVD player and let our son(4 years old) pick out movies for the plane. We also bring coloring books and snacks that he normally does not get at home. He does pretty good, but it can be difficult to keep them entertained the entire time. Good luck.

I have twin boys and they have been traveling since they were 3 mos. I always go to Big Lots or Dollar Store and get kid toys - thing you don't care if they loose. Coloring books, games, puzzle, etc I put in all in a little back pack but they don't get to look in there until we get on the plane. So it is all new and something to do. :) My boys love it. We went to Cancun and we had cheap lego that I got them. That was the best thing. Just new toys they haven't see always works.

Good luck. Bendryl works too.. Help with the ears popping.

Enjoy your trip.

Sorry this is a long one!

WE jsut did this and it went pretty smooth!
THE PLANE
First if you are bottle feeding, get the ready to drink formula, it is so much easier. The vew finder is AWSOME but if you don't get 2 sharing can be an issue. You can get really cheap small magnadoodles (we found them in the $1 bins at traget. LOTS of snacks! Fruit leathers, gram crakers, goldfish, fruit snacks. Chewing stops the chater or whining. A sticker book. Books that they have never seen. A new barbie or a my little pony or something of the like for each of the girls. We put those type of things in a back pack for my 4 year old to carry. It was his carry on bag. He knew what we had bought and he had to wait an entire week to get to play with any of it. He was so excited to open that bag once we got on the plane. We had our youngest 2 in our laps, but only durring landing and take off otherwise the oldest 2 shared a seat quite well!

THE AIRPORT
Have your youngest in a snuglie or hip hammock or something of the like and your 21 month old in an umbrella stroller. We had a safety harness on our 4 year old just in case he let go of the stroller. A double stroller would have been heaven to use for our oldest 2 but then folding it up for security would have been a pain. A hip hammock for your 21 mo. old would work too since your husband is comming too. Then the 4 year old could be in an unbrella stroller. Space Saver bags. We were able to pack ALL of our stuff for 4 days in one suitcase because of them. That made getting through the airport SO much easier. You can accomplish the same thing with the giant ziplock bags and it is probably cheeper. You put your stuff in them and then sqich out all the air. Do not have the youngest 2 in shoes, The rest of you should only where fip flops/sandals that don't require anything to take of or put on . That will save time going through securtiy. I know it sounds silly but it just seems to take forever and you start to feel bad for the people behind you. My husband had a back pack and I had the diapper bag. Gate check your stroller. Car seats. You can check your carseats in with your luggage or you can gate check them. We chose to gate check them because what would we do if they got lost??? We were able to fit 2 of them in one bag. We got crusties from the attendants at the gates but we figured they were not going to pay for new ones if they were lost and we were not going to be able to leave the airport with out them. Finally Curbside check in is worth the convinece fee! Good Luck!

When my daughter was small I used to make 'airplane bags'for her use on the plane. We would shop to pick out things that were cheap, fun, and unusual (wiki stix, small hand held game where you put the ball through the pinball machine by manuevering the game up and down, small fun coloring book with tiny pack of crayons, etc) all 'dollar store items. We'd put them in a paper bag and the day of flight as soon as we were airborne she got to open the bag and begin to play with those airplane goodies. We also make a big deal out of shopping for chewy 'airplane candy' and she got to chew that just as soon as we were taxi-ing down the runway. (this was to keep her ears open so no in-flight ear pain). I also gave her a tiny dose of Benadryl to dry up any fluid that might be in the ears so it wouldn't be forced into her eardrums upon take-off. (this was recommended by our pediatrician) we did it each time we flew and never had ear trouble of any kind.

My daughter is 18 now and still remembers her airplane candy and her airplane bags full of goodies.

Another great thing is to buy a 'Viewfinder' for the first trip with just one set of slides, and on each subsequent trip, buy a new set of slides to be viewed on the trip. I know it sounds old-fashioned, but years from now technology is going to change and a dvd and player probably won't be able to be used, but a viewfinder - well, even 20 years later you can still click it and look back upon all those shows and movies that you enjoyed as a child. Great fun! K. d.

Once you're on the plane, surprise the kids with some brand new books and toys (be sure they're quiet toys for the sake of the passengers around you) -- this way they'll stay entertained for a while, at least. Also, have snacks for them-- you may have to buy them in the airport after you go through the security gates-- double check the airline rules online. Make sure to bring gum, pacifiers and baby bottles-- the sucking and chewing action will help clear the pressure in their ears due to the high altitude (yawning also helps)-- I've always heard that this is the number one reason kids begin to cry on a plane. Have a great trip-- sounds like you'll have your hands full!

We bought my daughter a Dora magnet set that kept her occupied the whole time on our flight. She is 2. My toddler also seems to like them (we did not buy them for her, but she wanted them anyway). Other things I did with my toddler was sticker art. She loves stickers. She put them on the windows too. It was cute---not easy to get off, but I did.

I made sure these were things they had not seen in a while and only got them out once we were in flight.

We have a 15 month old and her first flight was when she was 8 months old and have had several since them. Be sure to have a bottle (breast milk/formula for babies is allowed) so have it prepared ahead of time as water still isn't allowed through security. She slept most of the way once fed. Now that she is older and mobile it's a bit more challenging keeping her occupied but we bring books and toys along with snacks. Don't be affraid to let her play "Peek a boo" with your neighbors as the other passengers generally initiate it and it is another way to occupy. I haven't had the experience of traveling with 2 and 4 year olds personally but I've seen others and paper, pencils, and colors really seem to hold their attention. I've also seen it where parents rotate the seating around mid-flight to give the kids a change...switch the window seat and who sits next to/or with Mom and Dad. Good Luck!

Crayola has some great products. We bought the pads with the magic markers that mark only on the paper and the magic finger paints too and this kept my daughter occupied even during a delay on the runway because of weather. I also noticed that some referred to Benadryl and I'm not one for drugging my child just to get them to sleep or sit still but I asked my pediatrician what I could use if my daughter gets motion sickness and he said the Benadryl is great for that. I would also bring your double stroller, I just bought a cheap umbrella one that folds up compactly that I can take all the way to the gate. I also prepared my daughter about what to expect on the plane (noise, sitting in your seat, bumpiness etc) by checking out some kids books at the library about plane rides. Good luck!! I leave next week with my 4 year old and 1 year old and have been trying to prepare myself too, especially since my husband is flying out the next day and I am 5 months pregnant.