Hellobee Boards

Ahhh! I'd be scared too. My LO wasn't a big fan of the Ergo when she got to walking, but she would eventually fall asleep if I put the cover on and bounced her. She eventually got used to that on our trip to Japan and it was relatively straightforward to get her to sleep.

Good luck!!!!

Oh. My. Gosh. Good luck! I seriously thought the 2 1/2 hour flight we did last week was enough! My daughter is 21 months old and she actually slept both ways but I was still exhausted! You are superwoman for doing that long of a flight. They won't let you take the car seat on the plane unless you have a seat for her, if not they make you drop it off before you board for gate check.

Bring lots of snacks, coloring books, new toys shes never seen before, Ipad/DVD player with her favorite shows, lollipops...and benadryl never hurt anyone lol

I do also take a thing of clorox wipes on with me and wipe down the seats, windows, trays, etc since they touch EVERYTHING.

Good luck!

@shopaholic: when do you go? We're leaving in a few days so I can report back! I could have written your post.
We travel A LOT, but LO is just in a very special phase right now, so I know this trip will be unique. It's a 13h flight and I'm almost sure there won't be any empty seats, but a girl can dream. We also have a non-sleeper. He can't sleep if there is any light or sound. This should be fun. In the past, it's been bad, but at least he's been consolable with snacks and toys. Nowadays? Not so much!

@shopaholic: No advice since we've only flown domestic and you're a pro at that already! Good luck and safe travels!! How long are you staying in Taiwan? I am super jealous. My childhood bestie just came back from Taiwan and posted pictures of all the amazing food she ate.

Ok so idk how you'd feel about this, but friends of mine are flying internationally soon and their ped recommended giving their two kids (3y and 16m) Benadryl to make them sleepy on the flights.

@shopaholic: Your K is such a little jetsetter! I think she'll surprise you and do just fine

I had the same problem when I flew with L for a 3.5 hour flight One way we had an empty seat, the way back we did not. The flight with the empty seat that she got to sit in was one million percent better.
The flight where we didn't have an empty seat for her, the flight attendants let me sit in the row with an extra 5" of leg room which made a WORLD of difference! She could actually stand on the floor in front of my legs which helped when she just could not tolerate sitting on my lap anymore.

Really though, all you can do is take deep breaths and know that the flight *will* eventually end!

Oh, and my best distraction tool was NEW snacks, that she'd never had before. That flight was not the time for strawberries and blueberries - it was time for oreos, goldfish and vanilla wafers!

Mr & Mrs Bee have done it many times with their kids. I think they did a blog series.

@shopaholic: Oy! Your LO sounds exactly like my LO! The last time I flew with her was just 3.5 hrs each way, but I was alone with her and it was rough (though, indeed, we did survive). Both flights were red eyes, and while every other kid on the entire plane was passed out, LO was busy as ever! She literally fell asleep on both flights as the plane was back on the ground and taxiing to the gate. I kid you not.

RE: the carseat, I took it to ticketing and they said there was a good chance it could go on, so I took it to the gate. At the gate they said that it looked like the flight was going to be full after all, so I had to check it. There ended up being an empty seat and I got it. I had brought a CARES harness and that worked pretty well to contain her, though she was able to slip down and worm her way out of it once or twice. On the way home, there was an extra seat and they let me bring the carseat on.

I second the suggestion to get a bulkhead if possible, if not, maybe you could pay for seating with extended leg room, if that is an option? I put a blanket down and let LO play at my feet for awhile on the one flight where she had a seat but no carseat.

The things that worked best for her were Curious George on the ipad and snacks.

Oh! I found out the hard way that a) many food service places in the airport close at 9 or 10 and b) the airplanes do not usually have milk. If you're going to be in the airport super early or late, I'd suggest bringing powered milk. I suspect it might be different on an international flight, but who knows. I have a friend who told me the same thing happened to her and she emptied 40 creamers into a bottle, lol.

@shopaholic: Fingers crossed that those seats stay empty!!!

@shopaholic: she fell asleep in it, but only after we'd landed. It did seem to help contain her and the angle was ok. We bought ours, but I think there are sellers on ebay that rent them. Heck, I could probably loan you ours. If you get the travel carseat, would you need it at your destination? I do think she did a little better in her carseat vs. the Cares harness, but if I had a carseat waiting for me at my destination, I probably wouldn't bother with the carseat and would just do the harness. I definitely think the harness is safer than just a belt for a little kid (in case of turbulence), so it is good from that standpoint if you end up not being able to take on your carseat but end up with an extra seat.

ETA: What kind of carseat and stroller do you have? I was traveling alone and I had a Britax B-agile and one of our regular carseats, the Diono Radian RXT. I was able to wedge the Radian into the B-agile seat and then secure it with a bungie cord in a way that allowed LO to still ride in it. It actually worked pretty well. I was able to push LO that way and then pull my suitcase. The Radian worked really well on the plane because it is so narrow.

@CupQuakeWalk: I asked my ped about Benedryl and she said it would be fine to give her some, but that I should test it out beforehand to see how it affected her. I didn't feel like it really made her sleepy, so I didn't give it to her. I've heard it can sometimes cause a paradoxical reaction in some kids where it makes them hyper, so I do think you want to test it out beforehand!

We travel with our LO alot, he's 19mo. We bought a carseat just for traveling...the cosco scenera. Its $40 at Wal-Mart and congress with a bag.
I always call the airline and ask them to block an empty seat, 50% of the time they will do a courtesy block. If they are unable to do it via phone, then I ask at the check in counter, 25% of the time they will block a seat then. If they can't do it, I ask at the gate prior to boarding. Out of about 12 flights, we've only had to hold him once. He is so much better behaved when hes in his carseat.

I reccommend downloading some cartoons to the ipad also.