https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 27 Apr 2026 03:46:50 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2303533 Sun, 27 Sep 2015 18:52:11 +0000 autumnleaves 2303533@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wrapped some of my LO's cheap toys (plastic blocks, links) in tissue paper and small boxes for him to open and play with. He's 12 months and loves mega blocks now. Also since he loves paper so much I wrote a couple cards for him to take out of envelopes and play with/put in his mouth.<br /> I downloaded some free apps on my iPad for him to possibly play but we ended up leaving the iPad home by accident. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2303418 Sun, 27 Sep 2015 14:17:39 +0000 lamariniere 2303418@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As for jetlag, I find it is worse flying east to west. We flew from Europe to the US this summer and had an 8 hour time difference. It took my LOs 5 solid days to get over the jetlag. Coming back, it took slightly less, especially for my older LO since he got a good night's sleep on the return flight. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2303236 Sun, 27 Sep 2015 07:48:00 +0000 looch 2303236@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Bring an extra bag to collect the garbage and another one of those folding shopping bags to just dump everything that you've taken out during the flight, rather than try to repack everything into your carry ons.</p> <p>I also bring a few extra small bags to "line" the seat back pockets, those things are super dirty and I use them to put water bottles and stuff in. And bring an extra pack of wipes. I never leave my house without them, someone always needs their hands or face wiped, or we use them to clean surfaces. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2303205 Sun, 27 Sep 2015 06:40:46 +0000 Banana330 2303205@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Following.. I'm taking my 10 month old to Australia in feb... Jet lag and the solo flight back are probably my biggest worry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2303188 Sun, 27 Sep 2015 03:45:09 +0000 Mrs.Lilac 2303188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Some great advise here. I can't get a travel boppy in the UK annoyingly and have a feeling a regular boppy will be too wide for the seats so I'm going to make one I think (I'm not very crafty but love the idea of a small one). We are not taking our car seat now as it isn't accepted on the plane so she will probably end up sleeping on me. From reading as many threads as possible, I'm taking</p> <p>- Stickers and post its<br /> - finger puppets and a hand puppet<br /> - books<br /> - mini aquadoodle (but she is too young I think but she might enjoy watching me make the colours appear?!)<br /> - kids magazine so look at them rip apart<br /> - pipe cleaners / fluffy Pom poms other crafty bits I don't care about loosing..</p> <p>I need some other toy ideas though. She is just at an awkward in between age at 11 months unfortunately. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294989 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:25:20 +0000 snowjewelz 2294989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stratosphere: wow thank you for taking the time to write all that. I have SOOO much anxiety surround our upcoming trip *that we havent even booked yet* but now I have hope that maybe we don't give enough credit to our kids! I'll be going to from NY to HK for 2 weeks. Super long flight, 12 hr difference, and DD will be 13 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294896 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 12:35:09 +0000 Jass 2294896@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stratosphere has already given you great advice. ..we took 18 hr flight plus 10 hr road travel with my dd at 11 months and my experience was same as @stratosphere.<br /> We flew with qatar and reserved bassinet before and got front row seat and we hadn't booked seat for her but we got empty seat and that made easy but most of time she was in my lap. Our going flight was few hours after her bedtime but my girl is not a good on go sleeper and is curious little creature so initially she didn't slept but I got 6 hr stretch after lights were out.<br /> Ergo was life saver during transfers and at airport.<br /> Bring snacks, purees. They gave baby food to us on flight too.<br /> As for jet lag we had visa appointments on our arrival so she got a lot of sun exposure for first two days and I had ordered pack n play before our arrival at my in laws. She had never slept in pack n play and we gave her paci for bedtime there. She had alot of sleep debt and was tired from travel and we also stuck with late bedtime like 9 or 10 because of family engagements and in the end it was so worth it as she got to meet our family for first time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294848 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 12:13:19 +0000 stratosphere 2294848@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Lilac: The travel Boppy is just slightly smaller than the regular but it folds up and zips into a puffy half-moon with a carrying strap. It is a bit bulky but very light and for me was totally worth it to bring along just for the flights. That said, she was a lap infant, and you have a seat for yours, so you might not need one at all. </p> <p>You're right, Virgin didn't let us reserve a bulkhead/bassinet in advance, now that I think of it. They "noted it" on our reservation but told us just to show up to the airport early to ensure that other families with infants didn't get the bulkhead seats first. (They don't release them until flight check-in.) We got to the airport about 3 hours early and got bulkhead seats but there were several families in line right behind us who weren't so lucky! So I'd recommend getting there 3.5 hours early to be safe. Maybe 4. On the way back (we flew Virgin into London, took the Eurostar to Paris, then Air France back from Paris) our Uber driver made us late to the airport and we only got there 2 hours in advance and there was only one seat left on any bulkhead row (Air France had "reserved" a bassinet for us, but that only meant one adult seat on the bulkhead row! I don't think there's any consistency among airlines on this, or even at the same airline). So I took the one seat so we'd have a bassinet and then we had to beg, borrow and steal to get someone to switch with my husband so he could sit beside me. </p> <p>The bulkhead seats do recline. Their armrests don't come up, though, as that's where they put the video systems and trays. So that's the one downside to that row, if you want to put the armrests up between all three seats you'll have...but you'll have a car seat in one of them anyway, right? So not a difference there for you. I just found the extra legroom and floor space to be hugely helpful.</p> <p>We didn't bring a car seat because we only did train/Tube/Metro travel once in Europe except for the taxi rides to/from the airports. In London we found a car service with car seats (that said, it showed up incorrectly installed so I had to quickly reinstall it correctly before I let our driver leave the parking area!). In Paris we didn't look too hard and just took an Uber van (we had SOOO much stuff) and took our chances. I was sweating bullets that whole ride to CDG with baby strapped to my chest in the Ergo, we were sitting rear facing, me with a seatbelt strapped into the van's rear-facing bench, my theory being that if we got into a collision, the major force would send her head back into my chest that way. </p> <p>As for jet lag, we had no problem at all with it in Europe. We arrived around 11am London time and she slept in the van on the drive from LHR into town. Then we put her in the stroller while it was sunny out and went for a long walk in our neighborhood (we got an AirBnB in Notting Hill) and I think the sun exposure during her new daytime hours helps a TON. We tried to keep her up until her normal afternoon nap time (in the new time zone) but when they're super tired you just gotta roll with it. Then we all stayed up as long as possible that first night and I think we all got to bed around 10pm local time. She adjusted within two days, but that said, we never fully adjusted her to European time. We found it far better to make her new bedtime 10:30-11pm so we could all go out to dinner together some nights (plus it was June so it stayed light until 10pm anyway!). She then would sleep in until 9am, later some mornings. It was heaven. I don't know how we got so lucky (she is not typically a great sleeper at home) but we were pinching ourselves! That said, we did re-sleep train the first night there and I think it made all the difference (we do a method that's worked super well for her that allows five minutes of crying, then brief check-in/hugs/love, then another five minutes, repeat until asleep.) </p> <p>We brought our Bjorn travel crib and she hadn't slept in it for months at home but she loved it on the trip. There was also a heat wave while we were there and I think she kind of liked sleeping in the heat, too. (Where we live it is kind of chilly year-round, so she only rarely sleeps without a sleepsack.)</p> <p>On the way back home the jetlag was worse. It took probably 10 days to readjust entirely (we were in Europe for 2.5 weeks). But it was so worth it. I honestly look back on that trip as the best thing we have done since LO was born--and I almost chickened out and didn't do it due to thinking it was going to be too hard!</p> <p>We brought an umbrella stroller along with the Ergo and would just put the Ergo in the basket for every day out and then switch her back and forth between them if she was struggling napping or got fussy in one. We'd collapse the stroller for going on the Tube or Metro and put her in the Ergo for that, which tended to be too crowded for strollers, not to mention Paris has no escalators on the Metro so it's all about the Ergo. Sometimes she'd nap in the Ergo, sometimes in the stroller (which she NEVER does at home - but I think the bumpy cobbled streets, esp in the Marais in Paris, put her right to sleep!). </p> <p>I was astonished at how adaptable she was and how much she loved all the new sights, sounds, smells and tastes. I think 11 months was the perfect age to have taken a big trip like that. She was "switched on" enough to really take stuff in (she pointed at all the sculptures in the V&amp;A in London! And she loved Picasso's crazy sculptures at the Picasso museum in Paris--pointing at them insistently like "Can you believe this??") but she wasn't walking yet, so she was content to ride around in the stroller and Ergo with periodic breaks in parks to stretch her legs and practice standing and cruising (around the stroller or a bench, etc.). She is walking everywhere now, so it would have been a different trip with less museum time for Mom and Dad, if we'd gone now. But I still strongly believe that travel with kids/babies is awesome and you'll likely be pleasantly surprised at how it goes. </p> <p>That said, we did choose London/Paris as our first major trip destination because they are so safe, easy to get around, and we already knew them both quite well (we lived in London for a few years a decade ago and we visited Paris many times during those years, but it had been a long time since we'd been to either city so it was amazing to go back, this time with a BABY!)</p> <p>Good luck, you've got this - the fact you're here researching means you'll do great. Please come back and update us after the trip!! Would be great to share any other tips you come up with for future mamas doing research (I found these threads SO HELPFUL when I was trip planning and doing searches on HB). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294795 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 11:40:49 +0000 misolee 2294795@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I totally concur with the travel boppy. We used a regular boppy at home so I debated back and forth for a long time about purchasing a travel one. Best purchase ever. On our return flight, she fell asleep breastfeeding on the travel boppy and underneath a cover. I was so tired I fell asleep too and we slept like that for a good 3 hours. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294698 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 10:05:17 +0000 snowjewelz 2294698@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stratosphere: That's me right now! I can't even get motivated to plan our trip b/c I'm just dreading it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294682 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:54:39 +0000 snowjewelz 2294682@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What about jetlag? Anyone have tips for that? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294679 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 09:52:54 +0000 snowjewelz 2294679@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Lilac: We're planning on flying 16 hours when K is 13 months too :shocked: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294390 Fri, 18 Sep 2015 04:08:48 +0000 Mrs.Lilac 2294390@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stratosphere: thanks for those tips. how did your LO cope with the time difference? I'm conerned about that too! I have an ergo and il look into a travel boppy. Are they smaller or do you mean you just took the normal sized one? We are flying at 12pm outbound and red eye return so it's the first flight that might be tricky. We are also going Virgin. They told me I couldn't get the bulkhead seats in advance and it is just first come first serve?! Also, one last question, uv heard hoses seats don't recline. Is that true? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294083 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 19:14:16 +0000 stratosphere 2294083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>First- don't stress too much! We just flew 10/11-hours to Europe and back (from CA) in June with my then-11 month old and it was awesome! I stressed and planned so much in advance and in the end she was so easy (and not typically an easy baby). Maybe some of the planning helped...<br /> Must-have was an Ergo to get on/off the plane (and just generally around Europe - especially in some museums where they didn't allow our stroller). We held her as a lap infant and made sure to reserve a bassinet in advance. Virgin Atlantic had a horrible bassinet that was basically useless (two huge seatbelt straps across either end of the bassinet right over where the baby's head goes...so totally freaked out baby and she wouldn't go back to sleep there when placed in it). Air France (on the way back) had an AWESOME bassinet and baby slept like a rock in it.</p> <p>It was hugely helpful to schedule the flights during times when baby was more liable to sleep.</p> <p>Make sure you get bulkhead seats if possible, as baby can use the extra leg room to play on the floor between you and hubby's legs. I brought tons of new things and some of those indestructables books she'd never seen before. I also brought stickers but never even got to those. She mostly entertained herself with the cups and utensils and straws the flight attendants brought.</p> <p>I had never shown her any screen time at that point and didn't see the need to start just for our trip, and so she never needed it on the flight.</p> <p>For the flight with the crappy bassinet I nursed her to sleep on a travel Boppy pillow in my lap (SOOO good for travel - we don't even use a Boppy at home but they are amazing for LO to sleep on your lap and save your arms on the plane) and she snoozed under the nursing cover for hours (nursing cover helped block out the ambiant light that remains from being near exits/bathrooms even when they turn out most of the lights). Since it was an overnight flight I then transferred her to my husband so I could get a few hours of sleep myself, and she slept snuggled against his chest, so cute. Something about the white noise of the plane and maybe the subtle motion really knocked her out.</p> <p>We had lots of interesting snacks (puffs, happy creamies, little yogis, Tiny Fruits, some pouches) but she also loved the bits of our airplane food meals we cut up and shared with her. She also loved people watching everyone around us and trying to make friends (even though she's not normally friendly at all...I'm convince she just LOVES to fly or something!)</p> <p>On the flight back she LOVED having another young toddler seated on the bulkhead row with us and they spent the flight smiling and waving at each other and he kept doing a funny dance trying to impress her. It was beyond precious.</p> <p>Try not to stress too much. I probably did several hours of googling "Flying with 11 month old" and "best toys for flying with 11 month old" etc. and found lots of tips on various blogs, including this one. </p> <p>Mostly, have a GREAT time! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294014 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 17:41:28 +0000 birdofafeather 2294014@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Change of clothes for yourself/DH. Our first flight with our DD, she threw up all over me (after never having motion sickness before) and several times after. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2294000 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 17:28:25 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2294000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh and our flight has a layover (no direct flights to where we are going from our location) but it's 12h total </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293999 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 17:26:10 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2293999@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Lilac: thanks for posting this! In exactly 2 mo we will be on route to South America with a 10 almost 11 month old! I need to start my planning now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293930 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 15:57:12 +0000 Mrs.Lilac 2293930@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks ladies, some great ideas here (il pick up some craft supplies and paper cups for sure! She loves straws so il add that to my list!). Any more tips? Keep them coming ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293417 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 09:31:24 +0000 misolee 2293417@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We went on a 14 hour flight with my 11 month old couple of years ago and I was really stressed about how she will handle it but it went better than expected. </p> <p>My husband had her in the ergo and walked her around to sleep which she did easily. It also helped on our flight they had certain time periods where lights were dimmed so passengers could sleep to. </p> <p>Even though she fit too tight for the airplane bassinet seat, we asked for it and they gave it to us which meant we sat in the first row where there were plenty of additional space. We would stick her in the bassinet when she fell asleep. Because of the extra leg room, I put a blanket on the floor of our seats and gave her some toys and she was content to "crawl" around and stand up within that space.</p> <p>Also, random stuff is what she was into at this time more so than the ipad. I picked up an extra starbucks cup at the airport and she played with it for a good 30 minutes! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293403 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 09:27:49 +0000 erinbaderin 2293403@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We took our 14 month old to England, which is not quite as far (about 8 hours) but did many of the things other people have suggested. The bassinet especially is super helpful to give them someplace to lie down. New books and toys, and B liked watching a cartoon on the seat-back tv plus Sesame St on the iPad. Lots of walking up and down the aisle, lots of snacks, and some new books/toys to pull out when everything else starts to fail. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293154 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 07:37:25 +0000 peachykeen 2293154@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did this with our (then) 9 month old in June. It was way easier than we thought! And we didn't even have a seat for her - she was a lap infant. She slept in the Ergo carrier on my husband during the flight over and did watch one cartoon over and over (without sound) on the in-flight entertainment screen. Actually, her favorite thing to do was just check out the other people on the flight, especially a little 2 year old sitting near us that she kept smiling &amp; waving at. Good luck with your travels! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293114 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 06:50:29 +0000 JennyPenny 2293114@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just got back from a transatlantic trip with my 13 month old. We had a ipad with videos and a few apps (one called Monsters) was his favorite. Snacks were a major help. I also brought s bunch of random craft supplies - puff balls, pipe cleaners, ribbon, fabric scraps, etc. He'd never really seen such things and loved them. Bonus of not caring if they get lost in the seats. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293085 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 05:51:49 +0000 Pumuckl 2293085@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Lilac: At 11 months old she'll probably still sleep some on the plane. I don't know if she is on one or two naps but at 12pm you could try to not let her nap before that and then have her sleep on the plane. In my experience airplane naps are often quite long because of the whitenoise and vibration. Also even though you breastfeed if she uses a paci def. bring it onboard. I BF both my kids but always used a paci at take off and landing. At 11 months you can still ask the airline upfront to sit you in the infant row which should give you additional space and the possibilty to get a bassinet. So even if she has der own seat somewhere to lay down might help. Also bring lots and lots of different snacks. If she's walking bring her shoes and you can walk up and down the aisles a bit. Also a carrier to board and de-board has always helped in our case.</p> <p>ETA: And bring lots of diapers and changes of clothes for all, something about the different airpressure seems to make them prone to blow-outs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293080 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 05:35:03 +0000 lamariniere 2293080@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Lilac: we did a lot of "practice" screen time with our younger LO in the lead up to our trip this summer. It took awhile, but she finally became interested, and now she's a little too interested in screen time. :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293068 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 02:22:47 +0000 Mrs.Lilac 2293068@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The return is a night flight but outbound is at 12pm! She isn't into cartoons at all which worries me. I'm trying to get her to like it a little but she won't sit and watch anything mainly because it never really shown them to her before. We have a month before I go so il keep showing them and hope she starts to like watch them. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293065 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 02:07:04 +0000 wheres_c 2293065@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Book a night flight if you can. Make sure you take lots of snacks and load a tablet up with cartoons! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293063 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 01:52:47 +0000 lamariniere 2293063@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've done several long hauls with our kiddos. Is it a night flight? If you are lucky, she'll sleep! I would bring some sort of blanket to kind of make a tent to block some of the light while she's sleeping since they don't usually turn off the lights until a few hours into the flight. I recommend packing lots of new and different snacks. At her age, she might not be that into screen time, but she could be distracted for a little while watching videos. Most transatlantic flights these days have personal entertainment in the seat back, I wouldn't even bother with trying headphones at her age though. Maybe a few packs of stickers? When my daughter was that age she liked sticking them to herself or I would stick them to her hands/clothes and she would try to get them off. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-long-haul-flight-with-11-month-old#post-2293061 Thu, 17 Sep 2015 01:24:30 +0000 Mrs.Lilac 2293061@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm going on a trans Atlantic flight with my 11 month old. It's an 11 hour flight!! Does anyone have any tips and ideas to help me entertain her and enable a smooth flights? What toys should I take? She has her own seat and I'm with my husband. This will be her first flight (I breastfeed so that will help take off and landing) but I am dreading it!!! </p>