14 Month Old & Flying to Germany

The most important thing is to make sure he is drinking on take off & landing. I always planned it so my baby would be thirsty/hungry at take off & landing. Don't give him it to early or he'll drink it all before assending. Wait until just after leaving the ground.
I also took little snack bags with different healthy bitesize snacks. That way when he gets fussy you can pull out something 'new'. The same with small toys. My granddaughter is now 14 mos & loves to color so bring lots a paper & a small box of crayons.
You also can give him medicine that makes him tired. Only you know which ones do that. Benedryl works for some & works opposite for others. When my son was two our pedi gave us a rx of the stuff they give kids for surgery. Well it worked opposite & he was a raving maniac. It was awful. So try the medicine out before the trip to make sure it works and only use it if all else fails. I wish you the best of luck.
Aufeidersein !

BENADRYL. when we fly, and we do often, we give our toddler a small amount of benadryl to take the edge off and make him sleepy. For a very long flight, make sure you have some type of pain relief for your child's ears. Because we fly so often our pedestrian told us to make sure we give him Tylenol or mortin to ease the pain of the pressure in his ears.

My husband is French, and we go there often. My daughter has a laid back temperment, so this advice may not be enough if your son is more active.

We got a perscription for ear drops from the doctor the first time we took the trip. We put them in her ears while we were waiting for the plane to load (for the take off), and again about 20 minutes before landing... to avoid ear aches when the pressure is greatest. They are oily and messy and she didn't like them. Later trips, we didn't use the drops and didn't see any difference. We just make sure she was sucking on a bottle of water or milk, and as she's gotten older now... chewing gum.

As for the really long time during the flight... we let her sleep as much as possible, and I brought out new activities she'd never seen before. She likes little simple crafts... those invisible ink books, little dolls, etc. Also the planes have a great selection now on the Screens in the headrests, but you could always bring a portable DVD player and use it until its battery runs out.

I never walked her up and down the aisles much as she didn't need it and I didn't want her to get used to that. But... we played real hard during any plane transfers at the airports to give her a stretch.

We brought snacks, but found she didn't "dig in" on the plane... so we keep it to a simple package of candy now and a bottle of water.

Good luck... my girl is the best traveler ever... she's always wanting to take a trip somewhere. I wish that for you.

-M.

Talk to your pediatrician about meds - not every child responds well to benedryl. It hypes up my children. Take something to suck on for take-off and landing to help with the ears - a sippy cup will do the trick. You probably can rent car seats if you need them and most hotels will provide you with a crib or something like that.

If you haven't purchased a separate seat for your little one, I would strongly suggest doing so. That way, you can put him in his car seat for the long plane ride. My son did so much better flying even short distances at that age (just walking/wanting to be mobile) than he did being a "lap" child on the flight. Most kids are pretty comfortable in their car seats, so it might make it easier on both of you.

Also, a portable dvd player is great if he likes to watch videos. Just be sure to buy a power adapter that works on the plane. Books & snacks, too! Before any trip (car or plane) I usually buy a new toy or two at the dollar store. Something small, but something new also helps keep them occupied! Have a fun trip!