Advise on Flying with a One Year Old

Make sure she is sucking on a pacifier or a bottle when the cabin preasurizes so her little ears don't hurt. That is probably the most important tip. I have flown with my 2 youngest when they were very small and never had a problem as long as they could nurse or suck on something.

I took my daughter on her first plane ride at 10 months. I didn't take a carseat though. If you have a carseat, they want you to buy a separate ticket for the kid, unless you're going to put it underneath. I held her on my lap the whole flight. Then when we got to our stop over, we rushed to where our next flight was taking off from, and when it was time to get on the plane, we did. Then, this flight was even longer. Our whole one way trip was 3 1/2 hours long. I brought some of her favorite toys, bottles, snacks, and her favorite blankie and baby. I also had a music player with headphones, and held it to her ear during the flight. Also, if you don't want her ears to pop when the plane takes off or lands(since this tends to make them fussy) you can try what I did. I made sure she was sucking on something, whether it's a bottle, cup, or pacifier, and I had 2 tiny paper cups with damp paper towels in them, and held them over her ears. It kept her ears from popping, and she was quiet the whole flight. She slept most of the time, even the flight back I did the same thing. Hope this helps, have a safe trip.

The air pressure changes in take off and landing sometimes can bother a small child. They allow you to bring in a bottle or a sipper cub when you have a small one. If she had a pacifier that would they help in lieu of a bottle. You might need to keep something like this handy just in case - each child is different. If she has had lots of ear problems before - the benedryl before the flight would be a wise thing. When they get a little older a peice of gum always helps when the pressure in the cabin changes and motion sickness pills if they tend to get car sick on long rides. Her favorie toys are books are good entertainment also.

Congradulations! Take some toys, do not forget formula ( if you use) and dress her in comfortable traveling clothing. We live in San Antonio and every year drive to Louisana to vist our in-laws. After a few trips learned how to travel with little ones. The greatest thing is to be welll prepaired, diapers,wippies,toys, extra clothing,maybe a blanket, and after all that just pray.
God Bless and Good luck

It's great that you're bringing her carseat- it saved me a ton of headaches because I think my daughter just associated the seat with sitting instead of trying to get out and trample me for the whole flight! The only advice I would give you is be prepared to distract, distract, distract. Bring as many things as you can that she hasn't seen before: small books, toys, stickers, play dough, coloring books, etc. I used a plastic play mat on the tray table and let my daughter stick stickers to it over and over again. It also keeps play dough mess to a miniumum. If you can afford it the portable dvd players can also be a lifesaver. Also, don't be afraid to ask for help. In my experience if you are polite the flight attendants and security people are happy to help you. Good luck to you!
C. S.

I'm kind of in the same boat. We flew here from England when my son was 5 months. It was a really long trip (24 hours of travel time) but he was an angel. Now, he turned a year old on the 31st and we are flying the first week in March to see family. He's a different baby. He's walking and very busy. I'm not sure how I will entertain him. I was planning on bringing some board books, some cars, and lots of wagon wheels! Nothing that makes any noise. I don't want to annoy any of the other passengers. Hopefully we will end up with no one sitting next to us or will be able to move so that we don't disturb anyone. We have a one year wellness with the pediatrician next week and I was planning on asking him for some advice.

Goodluck to you. If you get any words of wisdom that you feel might be valuable, please pass them on:)Otherwise, just tell yourself that it will be over before you know it.

Take care,
L.

Hi A..
We have 3 children all under the age of 9. When our Daughter was just a year, she took her first plane trip. We, too, booked her own seat and she sat in her carseat. Our daughter was very comfortable in her carseat and actually slept half the time. The Pediatrician said to give her Benadryl if she became too fussy, but we never had to give it to her. When she was awake she ate and colored. We took along toys and activities that we had never played with or done before, so they were new to her and kept her busy while she figured them out. She did get a little fussy on the way back but luckily we were on a very casual flight (Southwest). It was so cute, the flight attendant walked around with her as she tended to the other passengers. Our daughter loved it!! She met new people and saw everything from a different perspective. While you are switching planes it's best to keep her in a Snuggly. You'll be moving quickly and it's very crowded and busy in the terminals. We took a stroller to roll all of our things, including the carseat and diaper bag. You can check the stroller at the door of the airplane. It'll go with you along the way and will free your hands. You can also take Dum Dum lollipops or have her suck on a bottle during take off and landing. This helped with cabin pressure changes and protected her from feeling it in her ears. I don't know which airline you are flying but don't be afraid to ask the attendants for help. Oh!! Very important; every chance you get, change your daughter's diaper even if it's just a little wet. The teeny bit of wetness will irritate her and she won't want to sit in her carseat.
Take Care and have fun!!
D.

Hi A.,
My husband is in the military also and I have two children. My son was 8 months old the first time he flew in a plane. He is now 22 months old and he has flown 7 times since then. I have found it easy to bring a portable DVD player to occupy him. When I didn't have a DVD player he was younger and I scheduled the flights around his nap time so he slept through it. Other than that I brought his favorite toy for him to have something familiar when he flew. Also bring plenty to drink for the cabin pressure if she is awake. Good Luck and don't worry you will both be fine.

my daugther loved stickers and snacks, so i made sure to bring a lot of each of those when we travel. snacks that take a while to eat (like cheerios or goldfish) are good. i dont know if stickers will be that great for a 1 yr old, since she might try to eat them....but i heard that taking a roll of tape and tearing off long pieces and putting them on your child's pants is a fun activity. then they can take the tape off and put it back on - as long as it comes off easily from other surfaces!
good luck!
A.