Long Haul Flight with 11 month old Post Reply

[pieinthesky14]

Hi
I am travelling from London to NZ with my 11 month old.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve - but any ideas on how to keep sane (both of us) would be fabulous.

Someone has recently mentioned Medised. To be honest - not sure about giving something to force sleep (if thats what it does)- but anyone heard of natural remedies?

Thanks

A

[mcsk]

Hi,

I travel long haul (26 hours) frequently and observed the following by other mothers:

-snacks
-toys/books
-Neverending walking up and down aircraft which is to be honest good for your circulation too
-if there are other children, playing with them
-taking him/her to 'meet' passengers (only willing ones though)
-rehydrate him/her a lot
-iPad with cartoons and child games ( children like to touch screen, even though they cant play the game yet)

For you:

-listening to music
-Red Bull/coke if you are fading
-an au pair/nanny if you can afford to take one with you?!

I personally oppose medication/forced sleep but can appreciate why some might resort to using it.

Hope you will manage without any remedies!

[ESA]

One of my blog articles covers flying with your baby and there's hopefully some tips in there to help you

http://thebabycarecompany.blogspot.co.u ... -some.html

whilst this was aimed at shorter/first flights it'll hopefully still be useful.

As your baby is 11 months old, I'd make sure you bring lots of snacks and also a good variety of new toys he hasn't seen before.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Eilish, The Baby Care Company

[pieinthesky14]

Thanks for your replies. I read somewhere the other day that a long haul flight is like labour. It will be painful but will go quicker than you thought... hmmm! Did make me chuckle though.

Thanks again.

[leslos]

Hi I have done this with my little one. I would recommend giving them a bottle on take off and landing as helps their ears. Also sends my son to sleep on take off.
Take new toys and wrap them up in different types of paper as they like playing with the paper. Lots and lots of snacks.
Don't rely on any airline food take your own. My son ate snacks and drank milk only refused the pasta etc I had bought along.
An iPad - put kids apps, favourite cartoons and interactive books on it.
I would also plan when on the flight you want them to sleep as per their normal routine. Put them in pyjamas then so know it is sleep time.
Pack one hand luggage with all the things you def need for the flight - food, toys, some nappies and keep that by your feet and then pack extras in another bag which can go in the overhead locker. In this I would put spare clothes for all of you. My son was in his third outfit by the time we arrived.
I also don't pre board the plane before the other passengers as just longer to keep them in a small space.
Good luck it is hard but worth it when you get there.

[KiwiAmanda]

I have made the trip to NZ twice, most recently when my daughter was 6 months old (one leg by myself), and we found it pretty painless as she either slept in the bassinet for hours on end or sat in our laps and charmed the people around us. If your baby is generally ok being entertained on your knee then chances are that's how they'll behave on the plane. My only advice is don't pack a massive carry on bag full of 'in case' items as it's a hassle to lug about and you don't use most of it. Just have the basics, which for the baby was food, nappies, wipes, sleeping bag and babygros (extra of these as the air pressure can bring on explosive poos!!)

I'm now about to attempt the trip in a few weeks with a 21 month old and a 3 month old, possibly by myself one leg so any advice for me would be greatfully received as well (and yes, I've been told the experience with a toddler is worse than childbirth so I know I'm mad to even contemplate it!!)

[number28]

As already mentioned, something for baby to suck on take off/landing to avoid ear pain with pressure changes. Tubes of baby purée when you squeeze the neck a bit work well. Means kid needs to suck harder.
I don't know what Medised is, but some people try antihistamines to encourage sleep, BUT - these can have the opposite effect at altitude, ie child is wired and can't sleep, so really is a gamble not worth taking in my opinion.
Use a small playmat/towel on the plane floor as a 'homebase', so kids tend to sit and play.
Try to get bulkhead seat or bassinet, the extra playroom is gold. And your kid won't be kicking the seat in front, good for everyone's temper.
Reconfirm the bassinet, and check in early. I've heard tales of confirmed bassinets disappearing.
I disagree about windowseat to breastfeed- with an 11 month old, you'll probably need an aisle seat to have enough room for child's legs - but beware of trolleys in the aisle.

'natural' remedies are only chemicals that haven't been rigorously tested and approved for therapeutic use, so be careful. Paracetamol (calpol) can help kids sleep, and isn't dangerous at correct doses.

[busyMouse]

I just recently flew to NZ with a two and a half year old and a five year old, without any help - mad I know, but it actually went very well. Perhaps because I was expecting the worst! And we went all the way to Wellington!
I would second the ipad comment, it was a life saver - or perhaps 11 months is too young to really be very interested in an ipad? My husband loaded ours with kid's activities and favourite cartoons and my two year old was very happy to be allowed to sit on it for hours at a time. I also collected loads of little toys and activities, wind up toys etc and handed them out at crucial moments during the flight.
The flights I booked just happened to be more or less night flights which helped a lot I think. By the time we got on the plane and settled in, had some dinner, watched some tv or played on the ipad or whatever it was time to go to sleep, and both of them didn't sleep too terribly (although honestly I barely slept a wink).
Something else that really helped me was stopping in LA for 24 hours or so. It made SUCH a difference being able to get off the plane and go to a hotel nearby (barely five minutes drive). The kids could run around a bit, which they were very happy about, and take a bath, eat some proper food and we all slept together in a king size bed and got a pretty good night's sleep before getting back on the plane the next day. It did eat into our holiday time of course but I think it was well worth it.
We flew Air New Zealand (who were fantastic by the way) and sadly there was no way we could afford business class but by booking three economy seats you can request a 'sky couch' for a couple of hundred pounds extra (to book it for all four flights). It basically means the foot rests of those three seats come up to make the whole three seats and footrests one continuous flat surface - much, much easier to lie down on with your little one.
When I booked it with our three economy seats there was an option to book four seats as part of the sky couch, which didn't cost that much more than paying for three seats, so possibly if you're booking two economy seats you might be able to book a three seat sky couch for not much more? Worth looking into anyway. Even booking yourself three seats might be cheaper than business class - that is if you can afford it of course.
Keep a blanket and change of clothes (for you too!) handy for mishaps.
And finally, I packed extremely light, just a backpack, a buggy and a couple of carry ons and it really made life easier.
Good luck! It probably won't be as bad as you think it's going to be and it's so, so worth it. We had such an amazing time and have memories we'll cherish forever.

[mummyjen]

Hi
Did the same when daughter was around 7 months - definitely try to get a bulkhead seat - more room. At 11 months probably too big for bassinet, but worth a try.
My top tip would be lots of nappies - something strange happened to my daughter and we went through loads of nappies on each journey... Even having to raid the airline emergency stores.
We went via Hong Kong and the staff made such a fuss of our daughter it was amazing - whisked through queues. The flight was a BA/ Cathay code share and on the HK/ NZ leg the crew arranged for people to move (without us asking) to give us more room. Great service.

[pieinthesky14]

Thanks so much for all your useful advice. Fantastic