We are going to San Francisco in September for a weeding (6 hr flight) LO will be 11 mos and it will be his first time flying. We have the option of flying back on a redeye or a daytime flight. His bedtime right now is around 9 and he STTN (for the most part). Help! I am nervous (terrified might be a beeter word) about flying with him and cant decide whether flying redeye is a good idea. What would you bees do? Any other tips from seasoned travellers with LOs?? Thanks!
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I wouldn't do a red eye if the flight is only 6 hours.
I've flown many times with my kids (solo and with my DH) and we usually schedule around nap time.
There's no guarantee your LO will sleep well on the flight home, and a melt down in the middle of the night while other passengers are trying to sleep would be really miserable. -
I wouldn't do a redeye for a 6 hour flight either. we did a redeye to the UK, which went really great because she slept the whole time, but with 6 hours, you'd have an ugly wake-up, or an ugly time keeping up baby!
Don't worry too much about flying! We fly all the time and have had great experiences all around! I find it much easier than driving because LO has face to face cuddle time, and some ability to move around, eat, etc.
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Agree with others and vote no red eye. We flew from Seattle to Mobile, AL when LO was 8 months and again at 16 months and she did fine on the all day flights with connections. We flew out early in the morning and she fell asleep the second half of the flight and in the stroller at the airport. Mostly she was so alert and interested in all the airport and plane activity so I couldn't imagine trying to get her to sleep right away
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i would not do a red eye. i'm already a mess on red eyes and NO way would i want to deal with a kiddo on one. especially a kiddo that may or may not sleep. because either way, you're not sleeping.
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How long will you be in SF for? Your kid will probably be slightly jetlagged and if you are only there for a few days before flying back, his sleep will likely be messed up anyways.
I personally would do the red eye. I feel like there is more of a chance for him to sleep on a red eye and I would rather deal with that than him going crazy bonkers on a day flight.
We flew east coast to Hawaii when DS was 11 months and it was exhausting to deal with the wake up time during the day flight on the way there. We had better luck with the red eyes on the way back. Granted, the flights were longer, but we had connections both ways so the trip was broken up.
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We are planning to do a red-eye next month for a 6 hour flight... It just happened to be the one available flight option that worked best with our schedule and budget for the trip. But also, my kids are at pretty good ages to travel and have done generally well on past trips, so I think we'll be ok. They also don't really nap during the day much anyway (except my newborn who naps a lot!).
You know your LO best... If he is generally a good sleeper (vs napper) and pretty flexible I'd say to go for it, especially if the red eye is more beneficial for you in regards to other factors like schedule and budget. Otherwise, maybe since it's his first flight, try to schedule one around his nap.
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@chopsuey: @Rockies11: @sandy: @birdofafeather: @lamariniere: @SAHM0811: thanks all! I think I'm convinced that a redeye might not be the best idea for our first flight. I definitely don't want to deal with a meltdown on a plane full of people trying to sleep.
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Also agree no on the red-eye for all the same reasons pp listed above. DH also had a great point about red-eye. No matter if LO rests or not on the flight, YOU probably won't get any/much rest, and they you'll have to be up to do the whole day as normal.
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@Jellyfish: doing that same flight (6ish hours from the East Coast) in September too. We opted against the red eye and chose a flight that leaves around 5:30pm so that LO could *possibly* settle in enough for his typical 7:30ish bedtime. Who knows how it will work out. I also anxious about it as LO (21 months old) has not done so well on previous, albeit shorter, flights. Good luck with whatever you choose!
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I too would opt to skip a red eye!
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YES to redeye! LO was a little over a year when we flew cross country and redeye flight worked out really well. He slept the entire flight (5 hrs) and so did I. His bedtime is usually 7 pm and he ended up napping on the way to the airport. He woke up when we got to the airport but conked out once we took off. He was a little tired when we got there but took an earlier nap the next day.
Flight back was early morning and he did not nap so I had to keep him entertained the entire flight.
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We did around 10 red eye flights from west to east coast until LO was around 14 months. She always slept and it really helped her acclimate to the time change. Only problem is I can never sleep on planes lol but if you can and you think he would sleep, go for it!
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