My First Flight with My 9 Month old....help!

I traveled with my daughter since she was 3 weeks old but they were only 1 hr and 20 min flights. When she was 2 we went to Kauai and it was going to be a 6 hr flight. I was pretty scared. After talking to her pediatrician, he told me to give her a teaspoon of Benadryl. I took his advise and she slept 5 of the 6 hours. It was great.

I flew several times from Hawaii to California and back by myself when my daughter was a baby, only half as long of a flight, but still challenging! Lol
I always bought new toys and brought them out one at a time when she got bored. Crayons and paper/coloring books are good. Also pack double what you think you will need...twice as many wipes, diapers, formula powder, snacks, etc. And pack a complete change of clothes (maybe even an extra shirt for you just in case). Take baby tylonol and orajel. You never know when you will have a sick baby on your hands, or teething! And I say pack double because you never know when you will have a delayed flight or just be stuck on the tarmac for awhile. And don't forget to factor in the hours before the flight and after you've landed.
A lot of airlines will let you gate check your stroller and it doesn't count against your checked bags limit. As for bags, I always used a large diaper bag plus backpack as my carry on and personal item. Plenty of space and leaves your hands free to push the stroller or carry your baby.
Hope this helps and good luck!

I've flown with my 3yr old from England to Seattle numerous time since the age of 4 months. I'd definitely ask for a "bulk head" seat. Many times they have travel cots that affix to the wall in front of your seat where the child can sleep. If not, the bulk head area still gives you plenty of room to let the child play on the floor on a blanket.

Buy a new toy - something small and even cheap, just make sure it's something they hasn't played with before, or much. This sometimes keeps their attention more than even an old favorite toy.

Take snacks! At that age I would hand out one 'cheerio' at a time instead of handing her a bag of something. It seems to keep her attention focused longer, if even for 10 min instead of 5min.

Above all, just relax. If you're frustrated and tense, the child will sense that. Don't worry about looks from passengers if the baby cries, all babies cry.

Have a great trip. In any case I'm sure it will be memorable! Also, we're traveling again from England to Seattle, with connecting flights and now have a 3yr old and 1yr old - I'll be thinking of you when we are mid-air and wondering how your flight went!!

J.

Buy your kid a seat: worth every penny to not have a kid climbing all over you or trying to escape.

I grab little toys for the kids for the flight. Cheap things that I know can occupy my kids for a while. When they get bored with something, I take it away and give them something else for a while. My daughter is almost 4, so a portable DVD player has saved me so many times. I know your daughter is only 9mo. so I'm not sure how much that might help. I'd also get her a seat of her own, though I find it isn't very difficult to find an empty seat or even a row of them for you and your daughter, as long as the plane isn't full of course. I've even been offered the back row that employees usually get. The flight attendants always seem to be very sweet about helping people out with children (and the ones that sit next to them) when they can. I brought my son's car seat on the plane and that helped lots with giving him a place to rest when he finally went to sleep. Good luck!!

have flown from Sweden to Chicago with 2 children by myself.. It's probably not the best 10 (in my case 9 hours) of you life but it's time. I would do an infant request with your airline to make sure you get the bulk head seats for a little more leg room. Then pack pleanty of toys and snacks for them to enjoy. Get up and walk around with your little one as much as possible. see if you can get an empty seat next to you for that extra room. Just have pleanty of things to change out so that she doesnt get too bored maybe even a few new things she has never seen before. Take a blankie or something that she likes to sleep with hopefully she will sleep for you awhile. If you have not paid for a seat make sure you bring food for her because they will not provide that for you (most airlines) I don't know who you are flying with I am guessing Lufthansa or SAS/United if so they are pretty good about saftey with giving you a seat belt to hook on to yours and her own life vest. If it is other American based companies they are not as good and you may want to look into purchasing a flight harness. Plus if you are bringing your car seat there are thing you can purchase that attaches wheels to it and a handle so you can attach her to her car seat and wheel her around in the airport without having to take an extra buggy. Call you airline to find out what is allowed to bring. I know with SAS you are allowed to bring a buggy and a car seat, plus one smaller checked back and a carry on with anything you may need for her during the flight. I don't know if regulations have changed since I flew this summer.

I'm sure I am forgetting something so if you have any specific questions I have flown a few times now with little ones internationally so just send me a message and I can try to answer.

Good luck I am sure it sounds more of a challenge than it actually is going to be. I was always amazed of how well it went.

Ok, first, take a deep breath. I just flew with my 9 month old and for me, the anxiety of the flight was worse than the flight itself. The only thing you can do is prepare as best you can, then cross your fingers or pray - whichever floats your boat. That being said, here are some things I've learned over the years with flying with kids (older kids are 11,9 and 8 and all have flown many times)

I whole heartedly agree with the extras. I always bring extra clothes for myself, too. One good spit-up or explosive diarrhea and you're wearing it for hours.

For me, it was hard to give my daughter something to drink while take-off and landing because she had just had a bottle before boarding. I had a licorice stick in my carry-on that I ended up letting her gnaw on so that she was swallowing (releasing pressure in her ears). I would suggest taking something like that, but finding something healthier that she could chew on. I don't normally let my 9 month old eat licorice! LOL!

The other thing I do on flights is to get some of those plastic chain links and attach toys to those. I learned early on that it's no fun becoming a contortionaist trying to retrieve toys from the floor of an airplane - not to mention the germs!! This way you can at least hang on to one end or find something to attach them to. For toys that don't have a place to attach the links, I took heavy duty packing tape and made a "loop" on the toy so I could attach the link.
Speaking of germs, have Clorox wipes and wipe down the area around you. I was pretty nervous about all the touching going on when my baby was exploring. The last thing you want is to get to where you're going and have to deal with a cold on top of it all.

Yes, buy new toys. New things she hasn't seen that will be new to her. I used to try to shy away from anything that would make any kind of noise. However, would the people around you rather hear a soft lullaby from a toy or a screaming child? You can give them that choice if there are complaints. Besides, that's what earphones are for. They are, what, $5?

When my kids were toddlers, I would wrap their new toys-like a birthday or Christmas! For a 9 month old, she may enjoy "getting" to the toy. Of course, the paper may go straight to her mouth, but it may burn up some time while she is unwrapping.

Plenty of snacks and drinks. I've always had great experiences with the flight attentdants. They are usually accomadating and will get you water, juice, etc. if you need it for the baby. I would try to get as much with you as possible. I know this is difficult with the liquids rule, so this is why the attendants are usually willing to help out with that.

I also would absolutely try to get the bulkhead. If it's a 10 hr. flight, I'm going to assume the plane is larger than the domestic planes. If so, I'd still try to plead your case before/when checking in.

I took bubble gum for my older kids and ended up entertaining my 9 month old for a long time, blowing bubbles and popping them just before she touched it. *Be prepared for her to be faster than expected, making sure the wipes are accessible! LOL!

Books are great-especially the ones that have texture to them. Touch and feel horses, farm animals, beach, etc.

I would agree that having a seat for your baby would be ideal. However, I realize that may not be possible. In addition to being able to put her down in her seat while she's awake to play with her, you'd also have a place to put her when she's sleeping. I held my daughter through her nap on our return flight. I was grateful she was sleeping, but it was VERY difficult to hold her at an angle that her head wasn't sticking out into the aisle, therefore getting bumped every time someone walked by. Not to mention the beverage cart. Her legs were in the seat next to me, but that was ok, since my 8 yr. old was sitting there. I also had to wrap her blanket around her head, to cover her ears, so that all the loud pilot/attendant announcements didn't wake her. up. But, my daughter is a light sleeper. You may not have that problem.

I'm sure you already thought of this, but having a stroller (small, unbrella type) to get her to the gate is a must.

This is what I've come up with for now. Basically, the bottom line is you will do your best. I really have never had anyone on a flight get upset with our children. My kids fly really well, but most the time, there are parents, granparents and other kids on the flight that are more than happy to entertain kids when your efforts are getting old. I know there are horror stories out there, but like I've said, I've flown a dozen or more times with kids of all ages and remembering to breathe is the first step. If you are anxious and stressed out, your daughter will feed off of that. It is a long flight, but if you take out the 4 or more hours she will be sleeping, it gets easier to think about.
The best of luck to you!!