SIB
Do you think I should buy an extra seat for my super energetic 17 months old on the flight from San Francisco to New York? We are flying redeye to NY and coming back in the middle of the day... Do you know if we can take a Toddler car seat ( not the baby car seats) on the plane? How do you make a toddler comfortable on a long flight?
Answer
We flew across Australia (not quite as far as NY - SFO) with the two of us (hubby and me), with a 3 1/2 and a 16 month old. We didn't buy a separate seat for the 16 month old. We took turns holding her. The keys are: don't let them nap beforehand (so they're sleepy), plenty of snacks, and simple, hard-to-lose toys like bright picture books. I don't remember great problems. (Though I think we were even lucky enough to get a spare empty seat to use on one flight).
If you're going without a second adult, it might be harder, but that's what we did.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you, but I don't know why you'd take a toddler seat. If she hasn't got her own seat, there's no room. If she does, well a 17 month old can sit in a normal plane seat OK anyway.
We flew across Australia (not quite as far as NY - SFO) with the two of us (hubby and me), with a 3 1/2 and a 16 month old. We didn't buy a separate seat for the 16 month old. We took turns holding her. The keys are: don't let them nap beforehand (so they're sleepy), plenty of snacks, and simple, hard-to-lose toys like bright picture books. I don't remember great problems. (Though I think we were even lucky enough to get a spare empty seat to use on one flight).
If you're going without a second adult, it might be harder, but that's what we did.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you, but I don't know why you'd take a toddler seat. If she hasn't got her own seat, there's no room. If she does, well a 17 month old can sit in a normal plane seat OK anyway.
Traveling on airplane with 5 week old daughter?
Q. Hi everybody. Im thinking of traveling to Australia on a plane ex New Zealand with my 5week old daughter. I just want to know what will I need to take onboard with me.
It will be a 3 1/2 hour flight. Thanks
It will be a 3 1/2 hour flight. Thanks
Answer
I'll repost an answer I gave a few months back to someone flying with a 4-month-old. I'm in the U.S., so your mileage may vary (har har) but hopefully some of this will help.
You need patience and good humor. An infant is a much better flying companion than, say, a toddler, because the infant isn't going to get up and run around.
Stuff to do:
Bring some hard toys that you can clean off easy. Get something like Target's paci-wipes, they clean dropped pacifiers and hard toys. Toys that are loud are probably a bad idea, but rattles are okay if they don't make too much noise. Bring plenty--and I mean plenty--of pacifiers, and invest in a couple of those straps you can loop onto the paci and clip onto baby's clothes. Baby stores and Target should have them but I've also found them in larger Asian marketplaces.
Diapers:
The rule of thumb is one diaper per hour of the flight and a large package of wipes. However, since bad things can happen with layovers, you probably want to bring more. You can use the wipes in a pinch to clean other areas of yourself and your baby besides her bottom.
Food:
You CAN bring powdered formula, just pack it in a big ziplock bag and be prepared to whip it out during security checks so they can dust the outside of the can for explosives. They didn't even open my container. I would bring it in the original labeled container as opposed to like a tupperware. They are not allowed to force you to drink any; if someone tries, report them to their superiors. You can also bring your own water to mix the formula; again pack it in a big ziplock and have it handy to whip out for dusting. Baby juice--same thing.
I'd bring a full container of formula, a brand new one if possible, because you never know if things go wrong with layovers and you need food for another day or so.
Clothes:
I put my baby in a long-sleeve shirt and pants with feet. This way, she didn't have socks to lose yet her feet were covered, and they were easy to just pull off as opposed to unsnapping all those snaps in sleepers. I also brought 3 extra outfits, several bibs, several burp cloths, a couple cheap washcloths I was willing to toss if need be, a jacket for my baby, and a couple hats in case it was cold in there. You never know what they'll spit up all over. :D I also brought two blankets I didn't mind losing.
Medicine:
The baby's ears will hurt upon takeoff and landing. Landing can take up to an hour, so be prepared for a long time of ear-popping. At those times, keep your baby swallowing, whether it's with formula, a little bit of juice (I know it's not recommended overall, but a half ounce while traveling is not going to hurt your baby, it didn't hurt mine and it kept her hydrated in the dry cabin) or water. Also, pacifiers help tremendously with the ears; the sucking helps break up the pressure.
Bring the infant painkiller of your choice. I gave her the Tylenol while sitting at the gate; this way, if her ears started hurting, the pain was mitigated. I don't like to give drugs to my baby, but she has had so little that I thought some preventative medicine was the only kind thing to do. Tylenol tends to put her to sleep so that was a bonus. Dunno about baby benadryl, not sure if that's safe to give a 4-mo-old.
Baby carrier:
I brought mine; was a lifesaver. I kept her strapped into it during takeoff and landing in case I had to get off the plane quickly (takeoff and landing are the most dangerous times). Getting her on and off the plane with my hands free to grab my bags was worth the carrier's weight in gold. I recommend Fischer Price's version; it's about 1/3 to 1/4 cheaper than the Bjorn and the baby's weight is supported by your hips--no back problems at all, and I have a bad back.
Extra bags:
Pack as light as you can of course, but that's hard with a baby. You may have to talk to your carrier re: bringing an extra bag for the baby, but if you show up at the gate with 3 bags, one of which is a diaper bag, I think most people should understand.
Checking stroller:
You can bring your stroller to the gate; they will check it at no charge for you once you get close to taking off.
Gotta echo the person who said to stay calm--it makes a huge difference!! Can't think of anything else; good luck with your flight!
I'll repost an answer I gave a few months back to someone flying with a 4-month-old. I'm in the U.S., so your mileage may vary (har har) but hopefully some of this will help.
You need patience and good humor. An infant is a much better flying companion than, say, a toddler, because the infant isn't going to get up and run around.
Stuff to do:
Bring some hard toys that you can clean off easy. Get something like Target's paci-wipes, they clean dropped pacifiers and hard toys. Toys that are loud are probably a bad idea, but rattles are okay if they don't make too much noise. Bring plenty--and I mean plenty--of pacifiers, and invest in a couple of those straps you can loop onto the paci and clip onto baby's clothes. Baby stores and Target should have them but I've also found them in larger Asian marketplaces.
Diapers:
The rule of thumb is one diaper per hour of the flight and a large package of wipes. However, since bad things can happen with layovers, you probably want to bring more. You can use the wipes in a pinch to clean other areas of yourself and your baby besides her bottom.
Food:
You CAN bring powdered formula, just pack it in a big ziplock bag and be prepared to whip it out during security checks so they can dust the outside of the can for explosives. They didn't even open my container. I would bring it in the original labeled container as opposed to like a tupperware. They are not allowed to force you to drink any; if someone tries, report them to their superiors. You can also bring your own water to mix the formula; again pack it in a big ziplock and have it handy to whip out for dusting. Baby juice--same thing.
I'd bring a full container of formula, a brand new one if possible, because you never know if things go wrong with layovers and you need food for another day or so.
Clothes:
I put my baby in a long-sleeve shirt and pants with feet. This way, she didn't have socks to lose yet her feet were covered, and they were easy to just pull off as opposed to unsnapping all those snaps in sleepers. I also brought 3 extra outfits, several bibs, several burp cloths, a couple cheap washcloths I was willing to toss if need be, a jacket for my baby, and a couple hats in case it was cold in there. You never know what they'll spit up all over. :D I also brought two blankets I didn't mind losing.
Medicine:
The baby's ears will hurt upon takeoff and landing. Landing can take up to an hour, so be prepared for a long time of ear-popping. At those times, keep your baby swallowing, whether it's with formula, a little bit of juice (I know it's not recommended overall, but a half ounce while traveling is not going to hurt your baby, it didn't hurt mine and it kept her hydrated in the dry cabin) or water. Also, pacifiers help tremendously with the ears; the sucking helps break up the pressure.
Bring the infant painkiller of your choice. I gave her the Tylenol while sitting at the gate; this way, if her ears started hurting, the pain was mitigated. I don't like to give drugs to my baby, but she has had so little that I thought some preventative medicine was the only kind thing to do. Tylenol tends to put her to sleep so that was a bonus. Dunno about baby benadryl, not sure if that's safe to give a 4-mo-old.
Baby carrier:
I brought mine; was a lifesaver. I kept her strapped into it during takeoff and landing in case I had to get off the plane quickly (takeoff and landing are the most dangerous times). Getting her on and off the plane with my hands free to grab my bags was worth the carrier's weight in gold. I recommend Fischer Price's version; it's about 1/3 to 1/4 cheaper than the Bjorn and the baby's weight is supported by your hips--no back problems at all, and I have a bad back.
Extra bags:
Pack as light as you can of course, but that's hard with a baby. You may have to talk to your carrier re: bringing an extra bag for the baby, but if you show up at the gate with 3 bags, one of which is a diaper bag, I think most people should understand.
Checking stroller:
You can bring your stroller to the gate; they will check it at no charge for you once you get close to taking off.
Gotta echo the person who said to stay calm--it makes a huge difference!! Can't think of anything else; good luck with your flight!
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