Tips for Air Travel with 13 Month Old

I have travelled frequently with my son on airplanes since he was born. Several sheets of stickers work well...even if they are a younger child, they love putting stickers on paper or in coloring books you bring, or on the pages of the Sky Mall magazine! Plus, they pack small and light! Oh, and lots of different snacks as already mentioned is a great idea too!

Snacks, snacks, snacks...toys and books she hasn't seen before...pack your carry-on pretty loosely b/c you do not want to have to take everything out to get at the pack of wipes that have sunk to the bottom...do NOT pre-board if she is really active b/c it will just prolong the time you have to keep her contained...

This is the link I pass onto everyone...it's a parenting blog, and in the comments section about traveling with babies are some amazing tips. Good luck!

http://www.askmoxie.org/2007/07/qa-the-annual-s.html#comm

Bring lots of different kinds of snacks, especially new ones they haven't had before. Our 13-month-old (we just flew two weeks ago) also really enjoyed the couple of small pop-up books we brought. He does well in his carseat, but we hadn't bought a ticket for him, but my husband got smart and booked the window and aisle seats of the very last row (figuring the middle seat of the last row would be the last seat anyone would pick, he was right) and it stayed empty so they let us bring our carseat on instead of having to gate check it and so he was able to snooze in his seat. Three weeks prior on a plane trip, but plane was full and we weren't able to bring the seat on and it was much more challenging and he didn't sleep at all until after he was way overtired and screamed for 15 minutes before konking out (he doesn't like to be held when he falls asleep). On that trip though, we were in the back and surrounded on all sides by other families who understood. Have fun!

Hi R.,
I subscribe to the magazine called American Baby. I have gotten so many useful tips from this little magazine! In their Aug. 2008 issue they had some great travel tips in their mom to mom section, pg. 8. Here are a few that might help you:
1. Pack like a pro- keep baby food at the top of a backpack to so it can be examined and put away quickly, bring an umbrella stroller that can be folded up easily and wear slip on shoes.

2. Remain Seated- If you are planning to rent a car, bring your own car seat and check it at the gate. Sometimes borrowed ones are not great quality.

3. Bag of Tricks- Pack surprises for your daughter. Buy up some inexpensive toys and books from the dollar store, wrap each one and put them in a backpack or bag. Let your daughter open one for each hour you are on your flight. It should keep her occupied for awhile.

4.Laugh it off- Above all be prepared for anything and pack a sense of humor!

HTH,
A.

I have traveled many times with both of my children. Now age 7 and 2 and a half. Both of our babies were on planes before they were a month old and each of them already have frequent flier miles! We make several trips per yr. I suggest use different size ziplock bags with the contents marked on the top lip (easy to read & grab) and fill with small books, colors, paper & toys that if they are lost on the trip it is not a big deal. Fill a backpack with these items, and snacks and a sippy cup. I would also have a different group for the flight home packed in your suitcase. Pre-load your iPOD with music she likes and great earphones. Now, we also take a DVD player. Target has a great $1 section.
My best advice is there are 2 kinds of people on your flight, those that have either been in your shoes and understand or those that haven't & don't. Neither opinion matters. Stay cool & calm & know this too shall pass!!
Have fun!
K.

Hi R.,
My daughter and I have flown several times a month starting at birth. She is now 23 months.
Here are some tricks and recommendations from our doctor.
If she has her own seat take a car seat. It does really help. It is huge pain and has to be taken thru security but most airports have family lanes now. Take a new toy or two. Plus I take things and put them away that she loves but has become board with and then bring them out for the trip. Tylenol for the pain because kids have a more difficult time trying to regulate pressure and it can become painful.
Benadryl I have in my bag but have only used once on a really long flight and she was just over it. Check with your doctor on the dose. I do not give enough to make her sleep. Half the dose just made her calm down It comes in single servings and it can with some children make them hyper. You can pack food and bottles for your daughter. At most airports you have to open the containers and they test them. I bring lots of crunchy and snack foods. Relax and it will be over soon. Oh, the last thing. I have seen people handing out juice boxes, sippy cups and other things packed with sugar on planes. Not a good idea. Have a wonderful trip.

We just completed our first plane trip over the holidays. Here are the things I learned:
1. Take more food than toys. They can always play with the food but they can't eat toys.
2. If you take the carseat, the lap tray will not fold down so drawing/coloring is difficult. I heartily suggest taking the carseat for reasons mentioned by others.
3. We planned the trip for over naptime and he didn't fall asleep until the last 30 minnutes of the flight. There were too many interesting things going on and he fought sleep the whole time. So don't count on her sleeping.
4. Let the flight attendants know you are new to flying with your daughter, even though you flew when she was very young. Our flight attendants were VERY helpful with installing the seat, keeping DS entertained, bringing drinks, helping me off the plane with all our stuff.
5. Fruit snacks worked great for take off and landing as they were chewy and created ALOT of saliva, therefore ALOT of swallowing. Age appropriate ones of course.
6. Don't expect to be able to walk the aisle. Our flight had quite a bit of turbulance and we were stuck in our seats for the majority of the flight.
7. Change her diaper right before boarding. It seems like takeoff pushes all the poop out of a baby. There were two of us on the return flight and both children had blow outs of poo with-in 1 hour of takeoff.
8. Make sure you have two changes of cloths in the carry-on because of #7.

I know this is alot but someone told me most of this before I flew and I found it very helpful. Our departure flight went fantastic, the return flight was not good. I think he had gas because he kept saying tummy owww. So maybe add taking gas drops to the above list.

Good Luck!

I just traveled to Texas with a 12 month old by myself AND had a long layover. The one thing that absolutely saved me was requesting the "bulkhead seats" directly behind first class (and the window seat within this row). These are the seats that have a wall in front of them. You can put a blanket on the floor, let your little one play on the floor, and block the entrance to the aisle with your feet. They have a little room to stretch, stand, and move around with very few headaches on your part.

*If you request these seats at the ticket counter where you check your luggage and they tell you something about not allowing infants in these seats, ask again at the gate and they'll let you have them. * I learned this the hard way too :)

The other advice I have is to check and see what the airport regulations are for each airport that you're flying out of. In Dallas, they wanted to open every jar of sealed baby food that I had in my diaper bag! I had to beg the TSA agent not to do it. Airports don't sell baby food on-site, I had a long day of flying ahead of me, and I did not want them to spoil or spill. Luckily, she bent the rules for me. They did test every single bottle of breastmilk I had on me though... Moms get pretty harsh treatment!

Flying isn't as horrible as people may think. The biggest problem little kids have is the pressure in their ears on take off and landing. I am not a fan of drugs and don't really like giving my kids them so I am not going to give that advice. I will tell you that keeping my kids occupied with toys and reading them their favorite book is what helped with all of my children when flying. Snacking on stuff they can chew on is also something you want to put in your diaper bag too.

K. C

Bring her carseat right on the plane and strap her in like you would in the car. That way its like a car ride, she won't fuss as much. Bring snacks, a drink, and a few small toys for her to play with. But if you bring her carseat on the plane, she will probably konk out shortly after takeoff.

We have flown many times with our daughter, most recently over Christmas. I would agree with most of the comments that others have made. I would also add that a small DVD player is great to have! We took it on our last flight and only used it when our daughter started to get really fussy (and the lady in front of us asked if we wanted to borrow her DVD player and a Sesame video!) She was content to watch is quietly for a long time. I also brought some brand new books, a new coloring book and new crayons, and lots of snacks! When she started to get a little antsy I'd pull out something new. It doesn't hurt to have a change of clothes for you as well as for your daughter. (My husband managed to spill a whole glass of water on my lap and my daughter's jacket, but I didn't have anything to change into!) Be careful not to overpack your carry on. We have a backpack diaper bag that holds a lot and it is easy to overpack it and then it doesn't fit under the seat in front of me. It is a huge inconvenience to have to put it in the overhead compartment

You are allowed to bring food and beverages through security for babies. You shouldn't have any problems with bringing baby food or small bottles of juice (like Gerber juices) or breastmilk/formula through security. Just be sure your baby food and bottles of juice are in the original containers (preferably unopened) and in the required ziploc bag. I don't think you can bring any liquid through in sippy cups so plan on buying water, juice, or milk after you go through security. We always try to buy extras to take on the plane with us because the beverage service isn't that great on the planes. It might not hurt to check what the TSA website (tsa.gov) says about bringing those things through security. Print it out and have it with you if anyone at a security check tries to make it difficult.

A friend of mine always takes a box of good chocolate to share with those around her if her son is really disruptive!

Honestly, this was probably the hardest time of air travel for us, too. We found it was helpful to keep our son awake for as much as possible--the trip to the airport, and definitely the time through security and checking in (he actually loved that part, even as a baby) and then let him run around at the gate. We lived in WA and flew the redeye from Seattle to Mps frequently. Then he'd get on the plane and snooze. I would strongly encourage you to try to time his naptime so that she is awake for the takeoff and landing, since those are somewhat interesting, and then sleeps through the travel part. If you can wait to eat, eat on the plane, as that takes up time. An ounce of prevention--we did walking around BEFORE the kids got cranky. More recently, we've been yelled at for standing and just hanging out pretty much anywhere on the plane, so you might want to check with flight attendants to get suggestions. If you're nursing, I'd say don't be afraid to nurse a TON; spoiling her for this time is probably worth your sanity; it's really hard to have a cranky baby on a plane. Take your time with things--don't feel like you need to rush at a diaper change if your baby is fairly happy about it. Try to find allies near you--if there is a nice grandmother ahead of you, let your daughter play peek a boo. Other children are fascinating, and their parents will be happy to have them occupied, too. We've found it helpful to board LAST; yes, we're getting settled later, but really, we didn't WANT to be settled fast and then sit around ;it was fine to still be settling small children while they were doing the safety talk. Wear her out physically before getting on the plane. Dole out small treats (we did M & M's for a 10 hour car ride w/ our 15 month old) at large intervals. Our 15 month old is into crayons; that's something that needs to be well-supervised, but hey, you're right there! I think the best thing I've learned about flying is from watching a family of 5 with three kids under 6--they were TOTALLY devoted to making the trip work for their kids. They did not read, or sleep; even their carryons were mostly for their kids, not themselves. They had snacks that were relatively healthy but also treats and the two parents switched off kids so the kids weren't "bored" by the same parent for four hours. Our 15 month old is and has been really soothed by music--we have dozens of kids' CDs and we listen to them in the car (we put 36 hours in in the car this holiday season) and they work remarkably well. If you get into the habit of listening to music to soothe, it might help when she's on the plane. Good luck; my 4 1/2 year old really misses flying, so it needn't be something to totally dread--he loved it!