I am going to be flying with my 20 month old IN MY LAP! (Call me crazy!) The longest part of my flight will be about 3 hours (2 layovers). Does anyone have any suggestions for entertaining her, possibly making her sleep - is it safe to give partial doses of dramamine to her? Any suggestions will help!
I took a little of everyone's advice here. I brought stickers, color wonder paper and markers - I got the books that already had pictures that you just colored, and she enjoyed having the pictures already on the pages. I also did the straw thing, where you punch holes in the empty container and let her poke straws through - just remember to bring the bottom half of the container! My doctor said NO medicine. I brought books and snacks, sippy cups, and the no spill snack cup from Babies R Us. She was my seat neighbors 'favorite airplane baby' on the way there. She was SO good! On the way back, whew, after my first leg, I was SO tempted to get the dramamine, but didn't, and as soon as I was on the second plane, I wished I had. But I made it through, and waiting at baggage claim a woman walked up to me and said, "I just wanted to commend you on how you handled yourself with your baby. You did a great job." I almost cried, because as much as I wanted to freak out, I didn't! I also got a monkey backpack/leash, but if you do this, PRACTICE BEFORE YOU GO! She wasn't quite sure how it worked, I wasn't completely comfortable with it (the stares you get!), but it worked out okay. If I had it to do all over again though, I definitely would have gotten her her own seat!
bring toys, bring books, bring her food and snacks, travel in the evening when she could be sleeping for most of the flight, bring a dvd player perhaps for movies... best wishes..
stace - 30 year old wm of plenty.
try and make it to where she sleeps thru part or all of it. cut nap time short. wake her up early. then when you get on board try and put her to sleep. let her have some milk, rock her, whatever works to relax her. also bring TONS of finger snacks and books! thats what saved me when i took mine on his first flight! good luck ;)
Try a DVD player and headphones that cover outer ears. It'll keep them entertained and help with ear problems related to flying. Don't try to skip a nap in the hopes that they'll sleep on the plane. Most times, that's what the parents with screaming kids tried. Bring lots of snacks! Kids at that age can't tell the difference between hungry and tired so if he/she starts to get grumpy, give him a snack to tide them over. Children's Tylenol would help them to sleep and help with ear troubles. Children's Benadryl is infamous for knocking kids out, but only if they're not being stimulated. Most of all... take a deep breath and relax yourself. If you're stressed out, so will your child. Remember that most of us have flown with our children, and understand. Those that haven't won't get it no matter how hard you try. Enjoy your trip!
Depending what airlines you are flying with you can ask for the front seat because you have more leg room so you can entertain easier and she can stand or sit and play with her toys instead of being constantly being held. I normally would make sure the baby was tired right before take off so she would drink and fall asleep right before or during take off so when she woke up we were 1/2 way or even almost there so we could play the rest of the time and she was a happy baby. BUT I made sure that I never had layovers and if I did it would be 1 layover at max!
Good Luck!
I'm not quite sure about keeping her entertained in the airport but maybe try to get a window seat on the plane so you can point things out. When I was little my mom used to talk about Care-a-lot and the Care Bears. Say things like 'oh my did you just see Happy Bear? Who do you see?' Because the Care bears live in the clouds so we would have converstations about them. Maybe make it a theme, Care Bear coloring books a small stuffed animal. Another thing is I took my daughter flying when she was 2 weeks old and she did great. Make sure you bring something for her to chew on to help with her ears. In my case I used a bottle. Good luck.
Good luck! I myself have a 20 month old plus a 3 year old and we travel to Indiana about two times a year. I would just suggest to take a lot of snacks, if you have a mini movie player(DVD) I would take that, it has gotten us through a few trips. Baby Einstein's are great! If you do not have a leash I would highly suggest that you get one. They have them at walmart and target for 9.99. I will never go anywhere without them. My kids both have the monkey and love it. It is fun for them and safe at the same time. As for as the dramamine, I am not sure. I would say check with your doctor about that.
Well good luch and have a safe flight!
My suggestion is buy a ticket for the baby and put her in her carseat! She will be more comfortable also, and will probably sleep. Seriously, you are going to be worrrrrrrn out! I fly alone all the time with my 3 yr old(since he was 4 ms old) and 7 month old, but would not do it without seats for them. I have never medicated either of them, but the vibrations of the plane lull them to sleep in their carseats. You probably should ask her doctor. As far as entertaining her, books, small toys that are new to her or she has not seen for a long time are good. It will be verrry difficult to get to the toys or books with her on your lap, though. Good luck!
The best piece of advice I can give is to make sure you have plenty of snacks, a sippy cup to suck when the pressure in the cabin changes and can make the ears hurt and if you have a portable dvd player or a hand held player called Video Now with a few disks (both the player and disks available at Toys R Us or Target) It is so worth the money, one of best purchases I ever made. My son takes his everywhere...grocery store, car and it keeps him entertained when he has to wait or stay in a seat for long periods. Would stay away from giving dramamine since it is a drug and could affect child adversely and you have no way to stop the plane if something happened. Hope you have a great trip.
S.
Well, there are always toys and books to help entertain the little one. My husband and I have traveled with our daughter quite a bit already though and the ONE thing that REALLY works is a portable dvd player! As far as the sleeping thing goes...if he/she generally falls asleep in the car (and most of them do) then don't worry about it to much. The turbulence will help put him/her to sleep.
I'd ask the pedi about the dramamine. My sister in law gives her son benedryl when they travel. I've never done that though because I know it can sometimes have the opposite effect on children. Not a risk I was willing to take!
Have fun on your trip and good luck to you. :)
I recommend the Color Wonder books and markers. Also the magnetic coloring boards and anything else that won't make a mess. We travel a lot with our children and both of these things work wonders. You can also take play-doh in a ziploc and play with it in the bag. We take our playdoh out, but that is obviously up to you. Just keep her occupied. We have never taken car seats on the plane and it always works out that there is an extra seat next to us for them to sit on. I do not recommend giving her any medications, but definitely check with your pediatrician.
Hi. I have a couple family members who work for airlines, so I will let you in on a couple secrets... You do NOT have to buy her an extra seat. Most times when the person who checks you in at the counter sees that you are travelling with a child, they will "block" the seat next to you so that you can have room for the baby (unless the flight is absolutely sold out, or the person is just being a jerk) so I would definitely say to take your carseat and stroller through security with you. That way, when you get out to the gate, if it is full, then you can do what is called "gate checking" which is where you keep the carseat and stroller up until you actually step foot on the plane, then they have it right there available for you when you get off too. I think that this would be the best idea, especially since you have two layovers (good luck with those). Your baby isn't going to want to be held for three flights and two layovers, so if you can't bring her normal striller, then I would definitely try to bring at least an umbrella stoller that you can put her in during the layovers. And the stroller and carseat doesn't count as your carry-ons since they are "necessary baby safety items".
Wow, I just meant to jot you a quick little note. I have TONS more info for you. If you would like to hear it, just send me an e-mail to ____@____.com
Good luck and I hope I helped some.
PLEASE let me know how your trip goes and what did and didn't work for you. We are traviling in November and I am already starting to stress out about it. I will have a 3 year old and almost a 1 year old (in lap)
GOOD LUCK and please keep in touch
A.
www.romance2nite.com
My husband and I took a trip that was about 2 1/2 hours with our daughter in our lap. She wasn't a happy camper, but I was able to walk her up and down the aisle when she got fussy. Remember to bring little snacks and something for baby to drink during take off and landing to help with popping of the eardrum. During our wait, we walked around and let her walked to help wear her out. Have a safe trip!
Hi J....We travel with my husband's work so we are on the road alot. Our son is 2 1/2 now and I've used benadryl for those long trips.That's what was recommended by my son's pediatrician.
I flew with my 20 month old twins this summer, one was a lap baby. Here are a few ideas that we used.
* Use a paper punch and punch holes in the top of a butter container and cut straws for your child to poke through the holes.
* Cut a whole in the top of a butter container and let them push through cotton balls and pull them out.
* STickers
* Office Max has painting books with really vibrant colors that only require water. My girls didn't use the brushes just fingers dipped in water. (from a water bottle.)
*Headphones and Wiggles CDs
*Books
*A scrapbook with pictures of family, my girls like to point out the different family members ( a brag book from the dollar store works great too!)
* big crayons and paper
* We also had a laptop that was good for about 30 minutes of a kid friendly DVD.
Hope this helps!!!
I also will be flying next month with my 20 month old son and a friend recommended giving him a dose of benadryl 1 hr prior to the flight to help with the change in elevation and help with his ears. It may or may not make her drowsy.
As far as entertaining her on the flight I suggest a few of her favorite books, her favorite toy and or a portable dvd player if you have one.
As for the dramamine I don't believe it is safe to give to children. You may want to ask your Pediatrician.
Good luck and have a safe flight.
