Going on a Plane with 5 Month Old for 5 1/2 Hour Flight

I just went on a 3 1/2 hour plane flight with my five month old. I would agree with the sucking on a bottle or pacifier during takeoff or and landing. My daughter was asleep when the plane took off and she didn't even wake up until we were an hour and a half into the flight. On the return flight, she cried for about 10 minutes when we took off. She couldn't get her ears to pop. Everyone around us seemed to be sympathetic. I ended up giving her some infant tylenol and she finally calmed down and fell asleep. So I would recommend taking the infant tylenol along just in case.

My doctor had me give my son (at 5 months before a flight from LA to Hawaii) a pediacare decongestent to prevent any inner ear discomfort. Bonus side effect, they get drowsy. I did the decongestent 30 minutes prior to take off, bottle at take off, another dose 30 prior to landing and bottle at landing. He was a total angel (relaxed, but not drugged) and when we were getting off the plane everyone said what a great baby we had. Give it a shot.

Yikes! I can certainly sympathize with your anxiety. As a mother of two boys, I've learned to just let it be and not apologize for my children, my parenting, their crying, and even their tantrums. So, here is some advice . . . Let go and enjoy the trip. Chances are your child will not be asleep or non-fussy for the whole 5 and a half hours. If you are breastfeeding, doing so will be helpful (similar to the bottle advice). What comforts your baby? You might find that rocking your baby for a while to put him to sleep for a portion of the flight will work. Are there any toys he enjoys? Books? Take pictures of family member that your child likes to play with, pictures of home, any familiar sights to him and put them in a photo album to "read" and look at during the flight. Also, discuss the trip with your husband so you both are not frustrated and you can tag-team with your baby. So, you rest while your husband watches baby and vice-versa. Above all, enjoy your time together and remember that children are blessings. . . have fun!

i took my daughter on a flight when she was 4 mths.....try to get a night time flight, or see if you can keep him awake before the flight so he's tired...thats about all i can think of...my daughter slept the whole time.