Long Flight

Plastic bags and extra clothes...just tee-shirts will be OK ...my infant daughter was well behaved on the flight but threw up all over me....at least i had a change of clothes for HER!

You didn't say where you are flying to but I would suggest the latest flight time as possible. That way, they will all be tired and go to sleep for most of the night. That is what my parents did every two years when we went to England for the summer.

it sounds like you are prepared..maybe get one window seat so that they can look out the plane..chances are they might just sleep through most of the flight..

HI A.
I have a 3 1/2 year old girl and an 8 month old. I have been flying with my 3 year old since she was 18 months about 3-4 times a year. I have found bringing card games like old maid, go fish and others work. Also etch-a-sketch is one of her favorites. She also has "flying books" These are books she can only read on planes. So they are a real treat. If you have the dvd player I have found that if you wait about an hour or two into your flight it works better. That's when they get squirmy. I myself am flying on monday 8 hours with both girls by myself for the first time. i know it is nerve racking. Make sure to bring snacks that they like and snacks that you wouldn't normally give them. (I bring fruit snacks.) Juice boxes or flavored water (capri Sun) are good to bring too. The flight attendants don't always come very fast. Make sure to call your airlines and tell them your situation and the flight attendants when you check in and board. Try to pre-board if possible. It cuts out some of the stress. Well Ihope that helps a little. Let me know how things turned out.

Hello..when I went on a trip with my son I also brought puzzles and coloring books. I did bring play doh on the plane...the little ones so that it didnt make a mess and I could bring a variety of colors because it didnt take up as much room as the big ones would have. Color Wonder makes the coloring books that have "surprise" pictures after you color them and he enjoyed those for most of the flight. Hope some of these hlep and good luck!!!

Hi A. to help your flight I encourage lots of candy and snacks if you allow candy or fruit snacks can go right in your purse, hand help video game if you have it or can afford it, all the childrens movies you have for the 2 yr old one and coloring books or something to write with if thats allowed I havnt flown recently, lets see what else... oh favorite teddy bear or toy if its not too big and thats a bout it, study all your kiddy songs and be ready to sing the abcs a million times GOOD LUCK!
M.

I just traveled alone with my 8 month old son and it was pretty tough, but because your boys are older as long as you keep them entertained you should be fine. Definately check with the airline and make sure that the medications can go on the plane. I think that they have to be perscription, so you might have a hard time with the benedryl in liquid form. Do try to get either really early or really late flights so that hopefully they sleep. You will definately have to get up and down a lot so be prepared. You will get through and have a wonderful trip. Good Luck and have a lot of fun!

To give you a hint for your son with ear problems. I also have multiple ear problems as well. My ear doctor gave me an idea when flying. Get a nasal spray. Use it one hour before take off and one hour before landing. This will ease the pressure on the ear. As a suggestion with toys, why not try something like books, puzzles, or coloring tools. These are all fun, educational and quiet too. Good Luck!

My husband and I are from Monroe Twp, but are currently missionaries in Russia. We have 2 boys now and have flown back and forth with them since my first was 9 mos. I flew alone with my son last year when I was pregnant and he was 2. Not gonna lie to you...it's NOT fun :) BUT, the airline crew is usually very helpful.

One thing that we did with my oldest the last 3 times we went was buy a few small toys (cars, they have playdoh on like a key ring, it's very small, little coloring books with crayons attached, magnadoodle, etc). Periodically when things were getting hairy we would get one out. The last time actually we wrapped them all individually. Target has a section of toys for like $1.99...sometimes they have little miniature games there.

As far as Benedryl...make sure your kids respond to it the way you want them to. I had never given my son Benedryl and tried it for flying but to my DISMAY!!!!!!! it actually made my son HYPER and not drowsy!!!!! That was NOT fun. You can imagine! LOL

Oh, also, I just thought of colorforms...remember those? My son just got one last week and loves it and spent forever playing with it.
Hope it all goes well!

I have flown several times with my children (ages 4 and 2). On our last flight (7 hours), I packed lots of snacks (I used them for when they had to be in their seats at takeoff and landing - it also helped with their ears since they were chewing), gum (only for my 4 year old) and lollipops. I also took along a lot of stickers and plain white paper. This kept both kids entertained for about an hour. Another great thing to take are the Color Wonders markers and coloring books. The markers will only color on the color wonders paper, which is great because then you don't have to be constantly worrying that your kids are coloring on the seats of the plane or the tray table. Good luck!!

My oldest son had ear problems too, I had him chew gum (which he loved cause I never let him do it usually!) I also got them both backpacks and put in toys (averaged 1 per hour) wrapped up. (just cheap things from the dollar store), like army men, travel checkers, etc. They loved it. Every hour they got to open a present and had something new to keep them occupied. I also had gotten travel leggos which were great, they came in their own fanny pack, so they had a place to put them. I also bought books on tape for you youngest (he could not read at the time) so he could look at the pictures and hear the story being read to him. The headphones were great, no one else could hear the story! A good place to shop is Building 19 - they have tons of great books too.

I'm not sure what's allowed, but I bring a diaper bag pretty much full of snacks, and a favorite cup for my son to drink his juice from.

When we traveled with my son when he was young we used to fill his little Ninja Turtle Suitcase (it was kind of back pack size and handy to put amusements in) with all new stuff such as stickers, coloring books, Hot Wheels etc. Any small interesting things that would keep him occupied. He could not open the little suitcase until he was on the plane so that everything was new and interesting. He always had fun with his new things. Just thought this might help a little.

Ok - you know your boys. Break up the flights with layovers (cheaper fares that way too). I find that one stop works well for us - from east to west, the short flight is first and then the long flight - lets my little one get his excitement out on the short flight and he slept from Atlanta to Seattle. If you think that your boys will need more of a break, you can make it two stop overs. These let them get their yaya's out - most airports have kiddie areas, but not on every concourse. So sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts. Think about how long you think they can hang with a movie (2 hrs. vs 5 hrs kind of thing) and toys and know that the little one should sleep for some of the longer flight.

That said, I went to 3 different dollar stores AND a couple of the smaller, well thought out toy stores and bought a bag of goodies (the parent teacher store in Latham is very cool, too) - ideas inc.

a miniwhat'sitcalled thing that you can squeeze the trigger on a letter and make signs for things, mini etch-a-sketch, mini-ball pump, different kinds of magnets, silly putty (much easier to clean up than play dough), for the older some maze books, invisible ink thingees, for the little dude color wonder markers and paper, a small zip purse with tiny animals inside, finger puppets, a small wooden puzzle where the pieces move around on the puzzle but don't come off (for me bending over to retrieve stuff is nasty on airplanes. I avoid that!), self inking stamps (doesn't really matter if it says June 1 1907, they loved it!), pipe cleaners, write on wipe off boards (the ones with paint on water are VERY cool - I found a Thomas one at a toy store for about $3.99). my daughter loved a carbon copy notebook - loooooved seeing her writing on the carbon page...that was a good 20 min by itself!

Your 6 yo is old enough to bring his own backpack with a leap frog, a walkman, some coloring books, legos, whatever his thing is. I think that helps a lot. Just having the older one carry some of their own stuff helps lol!For the younger one, interesting snacks are cool - those bachmans long thin pretzal sticks are fun, string cheese (if he can eat dairy), diced peaches, dried apple rings, etc. are all fun. The airline we took (Delta) was ok - nothing special. They were great about giving us all the water and drinks we wanted (this was when you weren't even allowed to bring airport water on board).

You can bring all the food you want, but no outside drinks. Now you can buy drinks inside the airport to bring on board, but ASK AT YOUR GATE if they have to be sealed to get on the airplane. They won't let diaper creams, antiseptic gel, hand/body lotion etc. through security. Kind of a drag, but not unmanagable.

Have a great trip!

I HAVE FLOWN ALONE WITH MY TWO GIRLS.. GAMEBOY IS GOOD DVD PLAYER,IPODS, TRAVEL GAMES, COLORING BOOKS AND CRAYONS, DECK OF CARDS, BOOKS OR MAGAZINES TO READ. SNACKS, GUM HELPS WITH THE POPPING OF THE EARS..DONT BE NERVOUSE THEY ARE VERY NICE WITH CHILDREN ON THE PLANES. aS FAR AS THERE MEDICAL CONDITIONS AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THERE MEDICINE THEY SHOULD BE FINE BUT I WOULD CHECK INTO THAT WITH THE AIRLINES CAUSE THEY ARE GETTING REALLY BAD WITH WHAT YOU CAN AND CANT BRING ON THE PLANES NOW. GOOD LUCK

crayons and a coloring book, books and magazines to read a maybe fall asleep. Toys...can i suggest small toys that don't make noise so you won't disturb your neighbors and two sets of headphones for your portable dvd. maybe pack a small back pack for each with their own belongings and toys that they can carry and feel like a big boy. also plenty of snacks. it can get expensive in the airports. good luck

I can't top most of these suggestions. But I just took a trip with my three, after the new carry-on rules were set. I found this really cool "Crayola" foam clay. It was a lot less messy than "Play-Doh", and I got through the check points with no problem.

I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but, don't hesitate to get up with them. I'm assuming by the 10 hour flight that it's overseas. In which case the planes have 2 aisles. Take them for a little tour every little while. Maybe to the loo, even if they're not potty trained. The best way to avoid stress is to be prepared to work your tush off keeping them entertained. As long as you go into it knowing that, you'll be fine.

Usually, if kids are bored, they get crabby because they don't know what to do with themselves. Thet's where you come in. Always have something up your sleeve(and I mean that litteraly). Best Regards...K.

I have flown with my daughter (2) several times since she was born. I would doublecheck with your doctor before giving them benadryl. Given the health issues, it may be better not to. Also, it could overaggitate them and make them harder to deal with.

The portable DVD player is a great idea. Just remember to bring along headphones, because not everyone appreciates Elmo the way they do!!

Also, don't take anything you don't want to spend 10 hours picking up. With my daughter, I bring puzzles (with the boards) and magnets. They also make aquadoodles that change colors with only water. When they dry, they can be used again.

If you are using a car seat, the lap tray may not come down the whole way, so don't play a lot of activities around that.

Reading books are good to have as well as any handheld games (for your older one).

The best thing to do is pack them as "surprises". Wrap them and let them open one at a time at certain intervals. This way they have something to look forward to. Even if you wrap a pack of gum or some candy. Let them choose from a "surprise bag" what they want to open.

Good luck!!