We're thinking about taking our first trip and flight with the LO during the holidays. Anyone have good travel and packing tips out there? Maybe Bee will create a post on this, too? =)
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We're taking our little one, well he will be 1, on his third plane trip over the holidays. We did our first transatlantic flight when he was 6 months, and I learned that for me, he needs to be restrained in a seat. He's a wiggle worm and he isn't a consistent sleeper so if the flight is over 2 hours, we buy a seat and bring a car seat on board. We gate check the stroller and I carry a backpack that has DS's stuff in it (all of his stuff is packed into smaller clear bags so I can see what it is). I also bring my Ergo baby carrier, he likes to be held in there, and fell asleep while we were in the line to clear customs.
Whatever you decide, you just need more time and more patience. The people around you will be totally cool, they usually love babies and have had them too, so they understand.
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@looch - thanks for your reply! did your lo sit in his seat during the whole flight? i am just wondering how i will get my daughter to remain sitting for that long without wanting to run around the plane. she doesn't have a lot of interest in toys. i can keep her entertained for maybe 20 minutes with books. she is 17 months and too big for a baby carrier.
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yes i have a guide in the works for travel tips and toys/gear!
how old is your lo?
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We flew with our daughter a few times at different ages. At six weeks, I nursed her through the flight whenever she got fussy (a total cop-out, but it worked!) I flew a few times with her when she was around a year old, and was walking and wanting to play more.
My biggest suggestion would be to try to make your flight at a time when your child is usually sleeping. The white noise an airplane makes puts them to sleep pretty easily, so if you can get through the trip with them sleeping the whole time, that's the way to go! I co-sleep, so she just snuggled on me and fell asleep and I did a 10pm flight so I knew she would be sleepy. I had another flight during the day and I just brought books, snacks, and a portable DVD player. I lucked out and she took a nap, so it went pretty well.
And I agree with Looch that planning extra time is key! If you're rushed and in a bad mood, your child will be as well. And she's also right about most people being very friendly and helpful. Both of the flights when she was a year were just me and her, and people went out of their way to be helpful by getting my bags down for me and things like that when they saw I had a baby with me.
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@mrs. bee - yay! can't wait for the guide. lo is 17 months.
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The thing is every baby is different...some are lulled to sleep by the sound of the engines, others are stimulated by the commotion in the airport. As an example, I took a night flight back home thinking DS would sleep the entire time, ummm no. He was too interested in all of the people around us and what they were doing. He finally conked out when they turned off the lights on the plane and he slept maybe 2 hours.
As for the seat on the plane and getting them to sit in it, it's kind of like being in a car. DS can scream all he wants, but he's not coming out, especially on take off and landing. Eventually, he calms down, but at some point, they need to stretch, just like adults. I just don't make it a habit to pace the aisles, that seems to annoy people.
I read a great blog article that was written by a flight attendant, it's LONG and probably more than you ever wanted to know:
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We flew for the first time with DD when she was 14 - 15 months. We actually took 4 flights in the course of two weeks, so we got a lot of practice.
We didn't take DD's car seat because I knew she wouldn't sit in it. I knew she'd want to sit on our laps, and she'd cry if we put her in her car seat, so we just skipped the hassle of lugging it through the airport. She did nap a couple times, and a couple times she didn't, so it was kinda hit and miss. We took a whole suitcase full of her favorite toys, books, cds, the laptop, her blankie and bear, a change of clothes for all of us, and diapering stuff. We also wore her in the ergo through the airport, instead of taking her stroller. We took some snacks (you can take sealed baby food and juice through TSA screenings) and bought more once we got through security. One thing we did before we left (which I thought really helped) was to buy a bunch of new, cheap toys and wrap them up in wrapping paper before the flight. Every time DD got restless, we'd break out a new toy, and that kept her attention for 15 - 20 minutes per toy. We also did a few laps around the plane, when she got really restless. Finally, for our last two flights, we let DD pick out some new toys in the airport. Probably her favorite thing was a big plastic tube of animal figurines; she easily spent 45 minutes to an hour taking them out and putting them back in. It was awesome!
Lastly, sometimes babies cry and there's you can really do about it. I was so anxious about DD crying, and when it happened, it wasn't that bad. Sure some people gave us weird looks, and some people came over to ask if she was ok and if they could help, but we just concentrated on getting DD calmed down, and her longest crying jag only lasted about 10 minutes. It wasn't nearly as big of a deal as I thought it would be.
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lots of great tips! we flew from ny to la roundtrip which is a 6 hour flight. i booked the flights so they coincided with charlie's bedtime. the way there he cried 10 min and then passed out the entire flight. i played white noise on my iphone any time he started to stir, and he fell right back asleep. we also got him his own seat (he was 13 months), and i can't imagine holding him the entire time!
on the way back charlie woke up just before we boarded the plane because our flight was so delayed. there was a lot of walking up and down the aisles rocking charlie, but because everyone was asleep, it wasn't that bad. he eventually fell asleep after an hour or so.
i'm definitely timing my flights to coincide with his bedtime the next time we travel. otherwise... plenty of toys/distractions/snacks are always good to have on hand!
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If your child is old enough and you have purchased a seat for her, another option instead of a carseat is a CARES harness. We plan to transition DS to that at age 2 (at that age, the purchase of a seat is mandatory).
I'd also consider what you will do at your destination with respect to travelling in a car. I'd never be comfortable renting a car seat, I'd always want my own.
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@looch - thanks for another great idea! i am working my way through that long blog post you linked to.
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