8 Hr Plane Ride W a One Yr Old!!!!

My sister came home to visit over the Holidays with her 16 month old girl. They live in Australia and had over 24 hours of travel each way. It went surprisingly well.
You got some good advice from the last post. You'll want to buys some new toys and books that you know will occupy her attention. My son didn't like coloring at that age but loved interactive books, you'll know best what kind of things she'll like. I know my neice spent a lot of her flight time playing with stickers and animal flashcards.
Snacks are vital to a happy child! Gerber makes some good travel-convinient healthy snacks, like fruit strips and those freeze-dried yogurt things.
Make sure she has something to drink available as much as possible, since dehydration can be a problem on flights.
Good luck!

I highly recommend bringing a portable DVD player with her favorite movies or shows.
*Crayola Color Wonder markers (they only write on Color Wonder paper) and a travel Aqua Doodle are fantastic since you don't have to worry about her drawing all over things.
*Some new books would be fun.
*A new small toy or two would hold her attention.
*Barnes & Noble has books with about 20 magnets that you can rearrange- my boys have 4: dinosaurs, farm animals, under the sea, and around the town.
*An iPod with kid-friendly or soothing music would be handy.
*Be sure to have a variety of snacks on hand also.

Good luck! I traveled a lot with my oldest when he was little. Thank goodness I don't have to do that anymore! =)

Oohhh!
You are going to have so much fun on your vacation!! I have traveled a few times with my kids on planes. Here is what I did and everyone always commmented on how well behaved they were.

I brought along my small transportable DVD player and had Baby Einstein videos, and such. And, I bought a Dora (or Diego) WOW writer. The great thing is it uses water, so you can't get marker anywhere. Just fill up the water in the little brush in the bathroom of the plane. It magically makes pretty, vibrant pictures. It kept my daughter busy for an hour!

ALSO!!!!! No one has mentioned the air pressure!!! Right before you take off have a sippy cup or bottle ready, have her take sips as you take off, so it will help equalize your daughters ears with the surrounding air pressure. If that doesn't work, gently massage her behind the ear!

Have a blast!!
L. Pasley

Dot stickers! On the advice of another mamasource mom, I grabbed a package of brightly colored dot stickers from my office before we left, she LOVED them. we (and the seats) were covered in them, but it intrigued her for a long time. Also, bring cheap little toys, so you are not too concerned about losing them or dropping them. I stocked up on little toys and stuff from the target dollar shelves, anything new is fun. Also, I would for sure buy her own seat and bring her carseat, some kids are just used to sitting still and/or sleeping when they are in a car seat. Think of it as an adventure! Good Luck

I haven't flown that long with a one year old.

However, a friend of mind flew 3 hours with a 1 yr old. She went online to Snapfish or Winkflash and made a picture book of people from the family. I guess he absolutely LOVED it.

You all will do great - the first step is being prepared and that's what you're doing. We went to Kauai with our son when he was 6-8 weeks old. You'll have a lot more fun.

We've flown many times and at different ages. Don't count on sleeping but appreciate it if it happens. My son didn't sleep much on our 8 hour overnight flight (sigh) and about 2 hours during 24 hours of travel the other direction. Too much fun to be had I guess (not with mom and dad that's for sure we were too tired :). I wish you much better luck.

New toys are a must in my book (or toys that have been hidden for a while) - that way you get extra time with the newness factor. Stickers were a big hit with us. A nice passanger did an origami frog and crane that my son loved (so if that is in your skill book...). I got some cheap (and small) books from the local consignment store too. Little cars or planes to zoom around were also a hit. A big hit was a brush/mirror combo that I found at Target. It is travel sized and folds closed and you have to push out the brush when you open it (looks a bit like a compact when closed). A small box to put things in and out of can work too.

Have a great trip!

I traveled with my child yearly to and from Spain and the US since she was 20 days old so I know the tension you are feeling. When she was small I used cloth books - 2 is enough (can squash them up if necessary), NO balls (can be thrown) and found 1 or 2 small blowup toys (had w animals) and 2 favorite toys - try to find new things she hasn´t seen before and one or two familiar toys. But the best of all was that I used body massage on her for every plane trip we did. She relaxed and slept much easier. Foot massage and head massage are wonders. It also relaxes the Mom. I would be careful about moving her into first class if she is cranky as the other passengers won´t appreciate that but I know you will be too worried about her causing disturbances anyway. Also be sure to give her something to suck on going up and down - whatever your doctor says to protect her ears. Remember, Have a GREAT trip. Children feel their parents´ nervousness. RELAX

My kids have both always been super-intrigued just by the whole plane experience--so getting to the airport, checking in, going through security and racing around at the gate are really fun for them. We don't break out the "stash" until well into the plane ride. We have never done 8 hours on a plane (four is our max) but we frequently do a 9 hour car ride with our two kids (4 and 1). On a plane, sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a lot. We walk the aisles when we can, before the kids get cranky. We take our time and wait in line for bathrooms, if for no other reason than it's a new perspective. If you're flying at night, we've had great luck keeping kids up late and then they sleep on the plane--we did a lot of redeyes when we lived in Seattle and flew into the Cities, and while we were exhausted, we just dumped the kids w/ grandma and grandpa and took a short nap--and the good flight was definitely worth it. My son really likes books, and new things are always a go. We have actually hoarded the surprises from kids' meals to dole out on car rides. My 1 yo won't watch movies, but we bought him the Veggie Tales Silly Songs DVD for Christmas, and it bought us almost 1 90 minutes in the car one stormy night this Christmas! He also is really soothed by CDs in the car. We doled out M and M's to him as well...like 1 M & M every...5? minutes when he was cranky. Yep, it's totally catering to him when he's whiny, but geez, we were whiny too, and we understood the necessity of a 9 hour drive. A small pack of M and M's lasted us all the way home and back--almost 20 hours of driving. We also eat in the car and use stops for exercise. Make sure you bring things that are fun and easy to eat, slowly. Apple slices, raisins, dried fruit that takes a while to gum (I'm thinking mangoes)...things like that. Oh, and my 15 mo just discovered suckers (thanks, big brother!) and man, it takes him like an hour to eat one! So yeah, it's awful food, but it takes a while for him to eat and really occupies him because he's so intrigued. When my first and I were road tripping alone through the midwest, I bought a bunch of smallish, cheapish toys for him to have in the car...and when I could tell a fuss was coming on, I handed him a new toy--we don't have a close by dollar store, but I've heard that can be wonderful. Tape! Tape is great for kids. And post it notes. Hm, I think those are all my tricks! My kids really love traveling and my oldest, who flew a lot more in his baby-hood, really misses flying--so it doesn't have to be an awful experience! Have fun in Hawaii.

I would suggest to give her some benadryl right before you leave. Also, bring a pacifier, bottle or sippy cup for her to suck on during take offs and landings. That will help with her ears. Also, if she will watch kids movies a portable DVD can be a lifesaver. I would also try to get her plenty tired before take off. We walked around my daughter at the airport before take offs and lay overs.

Surprisingly, our son normally sleeps for at least 1/2 of any flight we take. Probably like being in the car. We have been flying with him since he was 3 months old. I will tell you that the one time I let him get up with me to go to the restroom turned out to be a bad idea because then he wanted to walk around the plane, which I wouldn't allow. I would leave walking the aisles to a very last resort and tell her it's like being in a car and you have to stay seated with your belt etc... Kids do seem fascinated by being on a plane, so for the most part, I think we as parents worry too much about it for fear that they will disrupt other passengers, but don't worry, she'll do just fine :) I would bring several new fun toys like others have mentioned. A good one for us has been color forms. (they are almost like window clings - they look like stickers but you can move them around on the pages.) They are in book aisles at toy stores, etc... and movies w/ snacks!

Have fun! Wish I was going to HI right now too!