Questions About Flying

Please don't let this one time ruin you on Mamasource. I always get good advice when I ask a question. I hope you stay and as far as the drugging of your child I think people took that out of context and should have known that is not what you meant. God Bless You and I hope you give us another chance. :)
S.

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First of all, no Christine did not spell appalling correctly. It has 2 p's. Please do not let their negative comments affect you in continuing with Mammasource. It is a great resource. You were just asking a ? that has been asked for years. My children are 26 and 21 and it was not uncommon to give children things like that before flying. My suggestion is to ask your pedi and see what he/she rec. Medications have changed and some children react to them differently. Please don't feel guilty about your ? They should feel guilty about their responses from an honest person asking for advice. Shame on them.

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L., don't be discouraged. We've all at least thought about "druggin'" our kids before a flight (although some of the "SuperMoms" would never admit it). You never want to be the one with the screaming child on the plane. But you know, there's always at least one on just about every plane and if it has to be you, oh well. Be glad that you'll probably never see those people again! Seriously, it may not be as bad as you think. You've gotten great suggestions along with the pompous judgements - you'll learn to weed through them. Mamasource can be a wonderful source of info. And sometimes I just log on for the entertaingment factor alone! Ultimately, it's your kid, your decision. Let us know how it turned out.

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L.,

I am so sorry that some people judged you and gave you rude responses! Christine C's reply was hands down the worst, or should I say 'appauling' (that was her word)! Forget about Christine C! She is so rude, that she just cannot help it (must be some sort of appauling disease that is HER problem, NOT yours)! She also mispelled appauling! LOL!! She criticized you so harshly, yet doesn't even know how to spell!!! So funny! People can be VERY mean on mamasource, but also very nice. Unfortunately, this is what happens sometimes when people ask controversial questions. I'd hate for you to give up on mamasource after only one post. I say try it again, but next time don't ask a controversial question b/c some people don't know how to give tactful replys. Best of luck!

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Hi L.,
When we first started traveling with my son at 4 months we gave him Tyelnol (but have never really used Benadryl anyways). Now at 21 months we don't give him anything. It sounds like you've already booked your flight but I have found it to be helpful to schedule flights during nap time or bed time (when possible). Good luck.

My doctor suggesting it when we were doing a 10 hour flight. However I did not need to do it with 3 hour flights. I just brought favorite toys and kept them distracted.
Goodluck

We never had to use benadryl for my son and he flew all the time--just have a dvd or ipod with pbs shows or similar--the most important thing is to get perscription ear drops for flying from your pediatrician and make sure the baby is drinking or eating while take off and landing to prevent ear pain--have a good trip!

I don't know if you will need to. I have taken my little one on a number of flights (5 or 6). She just turned two, and she is fine with flying. the background noise generally lulls her to sleep for at least part of the flight.
Bring lots of snacks and books or a travel magnadoodle or crayons and paper.
These items kept my little one entertained!

Why do you need Benedryl? I would ask your pedi.

Hi, L.!
I don't recommend that you give your daughter the Benadryl. If you have any concerns about traveling with her, I would check with your pediatrician about what steps to take to insure a safe and comfortable flight for you and your child. My daughter has always been a wonderful traveler much to my relief. I always stress out about it and she always does beautifully. Best wishes:)

You certainly can, but for many older babies and children it causes hyperness rather than drowsiness, so you may regret it. My doctor said that one thing that you can do to try to keep the Benadryl is to give it to them on an EMPTY stomach. He said that if you give it to them on a full stomach it is more likely to cause hyperness. I just don't think you should risk getting the hyperness effect! If I were you I would give your child a regular dose of Motrin to help with any ear pain and just bring lots of drinks and snacks for the child. At that age, he/she will probably fall asleep without the Benadryl. Good luck!

You can give her benadryl. There is infant benadryl out there, I think, but usually you just see children's. You can use the Children's, but you need to get the dosing from your doctor based on age and weight. That being said, if you've never given it to her before, it might not be worth it. Some babies get hyper from it, which would not be fun on a flight. I flew a few months ago and gave it to my daughter, but it did absolutely nothing to slow her down. If you have some time before you fly, then you could experiment, but it might not be so bad. And you will certainly survive. I'm flying out tomorrow night with my 16 month old by myself. It's my 4th time flying with her, 3rd time by myself. If your daughter is really active, try to get a seat near the back and hopefully you'll get an empty seat on your row for her to move around in. A friend of mine flew from Philadelphia to Seattle with a 4 year old, 2 year old and a newborn by herself this summer...I kind of figure if she could survive that, then I can handle going with just one! Good luck. Talk to your doc for a dosing if you really think you want to use the meds.

Some children get hyper with benedryl. You might not want to give it to her. We flew to Hawaii with our 15 month old and he did great, no medicine involved. Bring a few totally new toys, never ever seen by her.

I agree with L. whole heartedly, don't give up on Mamasource. Just be careful how you word things people(this includes responders too, right?). You mentioned that your daughter had no allergies, but you want to give her an allergy medicine. I guess people will respond strongly though even though it is not theirs to judge.

In Christine's defense however, she did spell apalling correctly. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appalling

My daughter has flown several times (she is three years old) and we have never had any issues with her. We have never given her Benadryl to fly but my husband jokes about it all of the time. While on vacation my daughter had a serious reaction to a mosquito bite and the doctor suggested Benadryl. When we saw the bottle we could not help but laugh because there is a new warning that reads "DO NOT GIVE TO YOUR CHILD TO CAUSE DROWSINESS". I don't know if there is a medical reason not to give it to them cause drowsiness but I wouldn't do it. Maybe your little one will surprise you. I would recommend bringing a sippy cup on the plane, that will help with his/her ears popping. If you have purchased a seat for the baby I would recommend bringing your car seat that always helps my daughter on flights, then she thinks she can't get out(like a car ride). Also be the last people to board the plane that way you are on the plane for the least amount of time. We normally let my husband board, he gets everything settled (the sippy out, snacks in arms reach, car seat put in, etc..) then my daughter and I run around in the terminal to get out all of her energy. We are usually the last two to board =)

good luck

If she has a favorite show I would record some episodes on DVD and bring a DVD player. It really helped keep my twin boys happy and occupied while we were flying. They wouldn't use the ear phones but were entertained even with the volume off or at a low level to not bother other passengers.

I wouldn't drug my child, just for convenience. My baby has flown many times, including a 15 hour flight at about your daughter's age. The first flight was at 6 months. My kiddo is EXTREMELY active. Surviving a flight with a baby or toddler is all about preparation. Book the flight around her sleep schedule. If she doesn't have her own seat, look into getting her a Baby B'air to strap her to you. If you encounter turbulence, it will make it much easier on you. Keep her ears from hurting by having her drink or suck on something upon take off and landing. Bring lots of snacks and distractions, such as: books you can read to her, brand new toys she has never seen, bring her favorite stuffed animal, toy or blanket for familiar comfort. You are not necessarily going to be able to sleep and have all the freedom you might have without her, but she will be comforted, feel secure and will not be experimented upon with unnecessary drugs.

I would'nt. We flew many times with our little ones and just gave a bottle during take off and landing. Worked like a charm. Although I did put something really good like sweet tea or koolaid in the bottle. LOL good luck.

Why do you want to medicate your child for no reason? My children started flying at 3 months and 6 weeks and I never had to give either of them anything. You can take it with you if your child gets stuffy on the plane but do not give medication just to make it easier on you. If you teach them early to just take drugs for every little thing you are starting them on a life of thinking you need drugs to make it thru every little crisis. If you do not think your child will sleep on the plane take snacks and plenty of things to keep him/her occupied and content. A pacifier of lollipop to suck on if there is ear pain is a great idea. Mine were both frequent flyers before they were 1 and always did very well. Relax and enjoy the trip, if you are nervous they will be too. Good luck.

ask your pediatrician about the correct dosage- and be aware of flight restrictions carrying liquid Benedryl (if you carry a big jar of it you'll have to throw it out at security). I found that when I tried that with my child it made her hyper- so our flight was more difficult. You may want to test it out before your trip. My daughter was only 6 months old and she went 14 hours wide awake due to the medicene, it was terrible!

I did find that taking new books and a stash of new toys from the dollar general store was truly handy. I also put kids music and shows on my zune and let her listen to that. Most of the time people on planes are understanding though (just like here on the internet) you'll run into a judgemental creep occasionally. Hang in there- it'll likely be easier than you imagine, and if not you will have a wonderful story to irritate your child with when she is older. A sippy cup or bottle times just at take off and landing is great too- but be aware that you'll have to get the water/ juice or whatever you need AFTER you go though security- so have a clean sippy or bottle handy and plan enough time to stop and purchase what you need. (They do allow already made formula to go through though)

Hi L.,

I know of two mothers who gave their 1 year old kids Benadryl and it had the opposite effect! The second time one of them went away they used Motrin and that worked well. It's hard if you baby is on a schedule but you could try to keep him awake so that he will sleep when he gets on board the plane. Also give him Motrin about an 45 min before getting on the plane and this will at least calm him down and help fall asleep.

Good Luck!

My first and ONLY question is why would you want to drug your child?

I will get a flight that's near nap time and then try and get the child to sleep (yeah I know fat chance sometime but it does work out for me).

I personally, am never ok with giving a kid anything he doesn't need...

Even if it irritates some passengers.

I wouldn't. Sometimes it can have the opposite effect and wind them up! You'll be fine. Just bring plenty of toys and snacks/drinks to entertain her. Feed her or make her drink on the way up and on the way down to adjust her ears. Take a change of clothes for her AND YOU...just in case. Sometimes it's easier to board early and get settled or have your companion get things situated (snacks and drink easily accessible in seat back pocket) while you wait with the baby until the last minute to board. I use a backpack as one of my carry-on bags (that way my hands are free to carry baby or pull luggage) with 3 main compartments: one with diaper changing supplies including antibacterial wipes in a large ziplock bag, one with snacks and toys, and one for the portable DVD player and videos if that will keep the baby occupied...they may be too young yet for that. Hope this helps! My kids always do well on the plane with this method. Hope yours does too! good luck

Benedryl isn't labeled for children under 6, I just checked this on Saturday. I wanted to give some to my daughter (5) to help the itching from a ton of mosquito bites she got and was scratching at. I didn't buy it.

Check with your Dr regarding dosage. It depends on weight; however, I will tell you that many children do not experience sleepiness as a side effect. Mine doesn't. Sometimes it's the complete opposite effect for some kids.

It sounds like you're just trying to get her to sleep during the flight, which I totally understand btw. Hopefully, your flight was timed during a nap to even further reinforce the sleep thing. I found with my son that he would nurse and pass out on flights at that age. There was something about the roar of the engines -- it's kind of like a car ride.

Personally, I against "drugging" kids before flying, and you have to be careful because, it can also cause the reverse, and make them more wired. Good luck!

Don't know about the benedryl question, but I would be cautious about giving her something new and untried for the first time when she will be in pressurized cabin. However, if she still uses (or ever did) a pacifier, the act of sucking will keep her ears clear and the pressure equalized.
Check with your pediatrician about the benedryl thing. Or you could try yawning in front of her, and since yawning is 'catching', she might also yawn, and that too will keep the pressure equal. Bring along a bag of little toys, and books, to keep her entertained and distracted.

my son took his first flight at 6 months and i gave him benedryl. Our pediatrician recommended it. I had the pharmasist tell us the recommended amount. We are flying next Friday and he's 15 months now. He'll be getting benedryl again.

Good luck with your flight.

I just returned yesterday from a trip to Seattle with my 3 month old and we made sure she was eating during departure and landing. Also kept it handy for when she needed it in between. It went really well. Good luck! My 10 tear old however!! Could of used something to knock her out, or at least her tweenie attitude anyway! LOL!!

My daughter is 14 and we have flown a LOT since she was an infant.

I've never given her Benedryl. She was the type of baby to fall asleep in the car withing minutes. The same thing happened in planes. She would normally be asleep before takeoff. That always worked for us.

I do want to point out....that your question does not justify some of the very rude responses you have received. I am not judging you if you do choose to use benedryl..you asked for opinions and got them, however, some of the responses are uncalled for.

I didn't read all the other responses, so I maybe repeating. But make sure if you are going to give benadryl for the flight, you try it out before hand. It can have an adverse reaction or she can have an allergic reaction and you don't want any problems on the flight. Also remember the trick of having her suck on something during take off and landing. That is the worst time for their ears to pop.

Dear L.,
This is just my thoughts,but I wouldn't give her anything.Why give a child some kind of drug when they don't need it.I don't think she will have any trouble flying.Hope this helps,and good luck.
J. G.

My 32 yr old and I flew when he was 11 months. Just keep a full bottle handy so he can suck on it as the air pressure fluctuates and he should be fine. His little ears will be ok.

It truly is a personal choice to give your child benadryl before a flight. Keep in mind that it may have the reverse effect, meaning it might make her more active rather than make her sleepy.

One thing that we have done on all of our flights is give our child eardrops (that were prescribed by her pediatrician). The eardrops numb the eardrum to help prevent the pain caused by the changes in pressure. That has definitely helped our daughter.

Good luck!

We gave it to our 8m old on the flight to Hawaii and it worked great. Our Pedi said it was okay. They sell it in little individualized doses which are very convenient.