Squid:
A little practical what to do advice on the strength of having 3 kids and having flown them on 3hr domestic U.S. jet legs, transcontinental N. America and one flight of 2 legs with 36 hr layover in between half way around the world.
1. Get him/her their own seat if you can. Delta from Moscow to JFK had basanets (sp?) available for several bulkhead seats that would let your kid sleep better if he/she is not too big (which is better for all concerned)
2. the going up and going down part is the worst for ear blockage etc. because the eustacian (sp?) tubes are not a big as they could be relative to the stuff that backs up in them. We found pacifier, bottle, thumb or some other sucking action would do it. Use Dr. recommended decongestants if needed or just saline solution nose spray. It sounds harsh but when they yell the kind of take care of the problem for themselves too.
3. Hydration. Keep him/her in drink (mom and dad too for that matter) anything that they like and bring your own if the favorite is not on the usual airline stock.
4. Occupation. A few stuffed toys and some toys that have some action to them that will all (mostly) fit in a rucksack to keep him/her occupied. Still expect to spend a lot of time walking around the cabin (weather permitting), bouncing on knee, pointing out the sights, making faces, and anything else you can think of. Feeding and changing eat up some time also. In some cases the other pax or crew if they want to can provide some entertainment (intentional or not). For goodness sake don't forget the favorite blanket/cuddly toy/etc.
5. we found it worked best for mom and dad to trade the baby minding so that the adults also had some " crew rest " time.
6.Jet Lag. Little kids, our long hauls were when the kids were 6mos old, did not seem to have a big or different jet lag problem than adults. Some people seem to be more sensitive than others to this, and babys are no exception. I would bet that in a 12 to 16 hour flight you will get 2 naps or one good long sleep out of it barring a very noisy/crowded cabin that wakes the baby up. We flew with between 20 and 30 kids on the Delta flight from Moscow to JFK and some childern just curled up and went to sleep and a few seemed to yell most of the way. Just observe your child, you know them best and know what they start doing when they get sleepy. When they do get sleepy do your best to do the usual going to bed routine and get what sleep you can.
7.Good luck. Two adults and only one baby. Piece of cake, you have him/her outnumbered 2:1.
[This message has been edited by RATBOY (edited 12 February 2001).]