Tips for Flying with a 15 Mo

I would buy her a ticket, take her car seat and pop her in it! She is accustomed to riding in the car seat for travel. Keep things close to what she knows. Bring along snacks, get drinks once you get to the airside, have toys she's never seen, I don't know if you allow her to watch tv but you could bring along a portable dvd player.

I would definitely keep her awake without a nap for as long as possible prior to flying so that she will be sleepy and of course have her favorite playthings. Best wishes to you

DVDs and player. That's what we did flying from AZ to DC with my son when he was 18 months. In some ways I must say it was easier then. Now that he's 4-1/2 he is more squirmy and impatient. However, as long as we have the DVDs, he sits for longer periods of time.

I have flown with my 11 mo son by myself then when he was 14 months my husband and I both flew with our son. My little guy was a walker but that was not an issue. I walked him down the aisle once and when he decided that the people were interesting I picked him up and went back to our seat with no problem. If there are two adults have one take your carry-ons on the plane at the announcement for travelers with small children and have the child go on the plane towards the end of boarding. My little guy loved snacks, so during take-off he eat snacks and drank some water. (Sippy cups can go through security full but are tested for bomb making materials - you open the cup and they hold a filter paper over the top.) After about 20 minutes he sleeps for ~1 to 1 1/2 hrs on the plane. After that it was rotating a couple of toys. Make sure to have the favorite blanket on the plane to help make sleeping comfy.

We have 3 kids and have flown with them since they were 3 months old and often. We just took a 5 hour flight to Miami from LAX and then a 2 hour layover and then a 2.5 hour flight to St.Thomas and back a week later.

We flew from CA - NY when our youngest was 8 months old with the other 2, who were 2 and 5. We fly on airlines where everyone has their own TV at each seat. Snacks are important and we fly right around nap time....or just before bedtime. Exhuast her the day she is going to fly and she WILL sleep. Make sure she drinks something on the way down or is alseep...just in case of her ears not equalizing properly. Bring crayons, paper, a few favorite toys....AND LOTS of snacks. Did I mention snacks?

We always fly with them on our laps until we have to pay at 2 years old, but for a flight this long, you may consider getting her a seat with her car seat or just have her in her own seat without her car seat, so she can lie flat.

Two things I did with my 18mo daughter that were VERY helpful:

1> if you can afford it, buy a seat for her. We did this with our first daughter, but not with our second. It was much easier for my first daughter to sit still in her carseat because she knew when she was strapped in the car, there was no wandering around. This also allowed her to comfortably sleep. When our second was 18mo, we didn't buy a seat (financial reasons) and she had a hard time sitting still and it was uncomfortable for us to hold her the whole time as well.

2> Take advantage of early boarding-- they allow families with young children to board before everyone else. But DON'T have your daughter go on early-- have your husband take your bags and board early to get everything settled. You stay in the terminal and let your daughter run around while everyone else boards, then you and your daughter can be the last ones on the plane. This allows her extra time to run around and you won't be jostled as much by everyone else getting settled on the plane.

Good luck-- it's really not as bad as you might think. We brought tons of new dollar-store toys to dole out when our daughter got fidgety, but didn't use half of them because she loved crinkling the prezel bags. ;-) Also, while people who don't have children may not appreciate it if your little one is disruptive, I'm sure there will be PLENTY of "been-there-done-that" sympathetic parents as well.

Here are some ideas to keep your child entertained as well as tips for plannig your trip. I think a red eye would be very tiring.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/550
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/454

I've flown now twice with my son, once when age 12 months, one at 24 months. It was just a 3 hour flight though. Yours is longer.

At 12 months, he DID sleep, as I planned our flight time around his naptime. I nursed him on the way up into the air and he slept in my arms almost the whole trip. WHen he was awake, I had toys, books, snacks, and a mini DVD player with me to keep him occupied. He was not yet walking, so he didn't have a desire to get down and walk. So I would HIGHLY recommend a DVD player with some familiar and also some new Baby Mozart DVDs. I brought his most interactive books that we had (flaps and slides and such).

I was on my own, so had to hold off going to the restroom the whole time. Not fun. If you're flying solo, I'd recommend you get a two-way flight so you can get out and entertain baby and relieve yourself too. I don't know what red-eye flights are. But if you take a one-way trip, then remember that there are no diaper changing tables on the flight. I suggest you get diapers a size bigger than normal so they don't leak if you can't change baby real quick. Bring EXTRA diapers, as sometimes flights make baby's tummy upset and they have blowouts. That being said, bring an extra outfit for baby AND an extra shirt for you just in case.

Travel when he will be napping - choose your flight times carefully. Try not to have much lay over time or flight switches. Take toys he loves and snacks. Choose window seat. Put him in the seat next to the window. Most airlines let kids/pregnant moms etc go in first and sit at a certain spot, so you will quite likely have others in the same area. If you nurse, nurse him before flight begins. Take your umbrella stroller (lightweight and lets you walk him up and down easily in the airport) Good luck.