Travelling with an infant : tips?

[Squiddley]

We're off on a long haul on 16 March, travelling with our 11 month old daughter for the first time. We'd originally planned to leave it till the end of the year, but were made a fare offer we couldn't refuse :)

So...apart from "leave her at home" does anyone have any tips for lessening the pain? I know how annoying "other peoples'" kids/babies can be, but the shoe's on the other foot now!

We plan to try and keep her occupied during climb/descent and if possible, give her a drink to help with the ears, but other than that, just "normal" playing and attention...

No way we'll be trying to sedate her, but will try to follow the established eat/drink/sleep routine. The biggest concern is about body clocks and jet lag...does it affect babies as with adults, or do their frequent sleeps avoid it? We're only there for a week.

It's a trip we're looking forward to but not. Everything crossable is!

Cheers.

[prunehead]

I'm racking my head to help here, because although I know it's almost as hard on the parents of young babies as it is on those who are misfortunate to be seated nearby them, it is sometimes unavoidable to take infants on aircraft.

I guess those who I often feel most sorry for is the infant it's self, as they seem to be most upset on landing, and this I think may be at least partly due to sinus blockages due excessive mucus etc. As an adult I have experienced this a few times myself, and the mind blowing pain that goes with it is something that an infant coldn't begin to handle.

I hope this isn't something you come across, and good luck!!

cu

[I'd rather]

Squiddly, just a thought, but how about posting your question on the Cabin Crew forum as well? This must be a situation they deal with all the time and they might have a few tricks of the trade to pass on.

[Evanelpus]

Squiddly

When my son was 6 months old (he's now 18!) we went to South Africa for a holiday with friends.

He was as happy as a sandboy the whole time maybe we were just lucky. We even took 6 domestic legs within SA and that never bothered him either.

However we did give him some slugs of Calpol now and again and I'm sure this helped.

Good luck

[Squiddley]

Thanks for the empathy fellas :)

I did think of cross-posting onto the CC forum, but to be honest I was worried about being given the "what-not-to-dos" : from friends and colleagues who do or have done CC work, they find that most pax want them to babysit or clean up after them. Quite the opposite in our case, but point taken !

Nothing ventured....

RGDS/Sq

[RATBOY]

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).]

[Squiddley]

Thanks a bundle Ratboy!

Sage words there and much appreciated. Chances are we'll have three seats on the bulkhead, which will be great for room to play. The plan as it stands is to have a separate bag/sack full of favourite toys and blankets, as well as a good supply of drinks/milk etc. I've no idea what a BBML consists of, probably jars and stuff, but we'll plan to self-cater.

Fortunately she's a happy soul and doesn't get the hump over much at all, except at bed time when she's sleepy. With a 2315 departure though it'll be well after bed time so with any luck it'll be lights out very quickly.

Thanks again for your trouble ;)
Sq

[ExSimGuy]

Last time I took my daughter with me on a long flight (SYD-SFO-PHL) I had to sedate her with Merlot or Cabernet prior to the trip to the airport, a couple more on arrival at the airport, and several G&Ts when she got fractious during the 20-odd-hour trip.

This may of course not be relevant to your situation, Squid, as she's 30 and a trolley-dolley herself :)

Have a good trip - good luck to Mum, Dad and Sprog ;)

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What Goes Around . . . . .
. . often makes a better landing

[Squiddley]

ESG

Swapsies? ;)

[ExSimGuy]

No chance mate - I waited a long time till mine could buy the beer for me :)

I just heard from her via ICQ that she and her boyfriend were having a good laugh at my post - them she explained to him that it was her Dad's post and that I was talking about her !

[RATBOY]

Squiddley:

Shared your Q and my A with wife and she reminded me about Ziplock bags. Don't know what they call them there but we make liberal use of these plastic bags that have a interlocking plastic affair at the opening so that you can seal them by pressing them together a la zipper. When they are sealed they seal in liquid (leaky bottles) and "aromas" too. Can never have too many.

Sounds like a good departure time, maybe you'll get 8 or 10 hours of sleep right off, but don't bet on it. My oldest (now 15 y o, gee time flies) used Bacardi Dark PuertoRican Rum on her gums for teething...also sedates, and if they're not asleep they don't care. Hasn't really been needed on the others, though some Johnnie Walker Black was used on the middle one's gums, didn't need anything for the little Siberian.

[Squiddley]

Again, thank you Ratboy and Mrs. We get through more zipper bags than we ought to and you're right - they are great! I've been directed to www.flyingwithkids.com (http://www.flyingwithkids.com) which has lots of handy tips. Glad others have been there, seen it done it - and have the website to show!

Unfortunately I'm only a cat-napper on flights, and we're over the hurdle teething wise - bad timing ;) I hope Jack Daniels does the trick. Between you and ESG we'll all be floating by the time we arrive - might make the sparrow's chuff ETA more bearable!

BRGDS/Sq

[caqtas air]

Know how you feel Sim Boy. On my last trip as a pax my daughter was working in c/c and one son s/o. My daughter patted me on the head every time she walked past, held back the drinks, (you knew what your like dad) (mum said not to give you to much). So gave up and went up to the flight deck, where I was confronted with all that glass. (I flew the classic) so had to contend with son instructing father (silly old bastard) about the 400. Give those days when I was the boss and the kids took some notice of me. Back to original question. My wife and I travelled with SIX of the little sprogs. We found: always bring their favorite toy, they sleep better. Keep the sweet stuff to the mininum: If they are going to throw up you can be sure it will be over a paying PAX. Take em into the toilet for a wash (both ends) they get hot and sticky which leads to tantrums. Bring books, if they are at that age, ALWAYS take safe childrens seditive/ calming, tablets ( panadol etc) because if ever they are going to teeth,get the measles, chickenpox etc, they ALWAYS get it either when you are about to leave, or as the a/c is on pushback. (Guy has come out in big sores daddy). Let them have a bit of a walk around but hang onto em tight. Ask for a stiff scotch and soda, in fact see if you can get them to leave the bottle there, thats even better. If you take this advice you will survive. Have a good trip.

[Goldie]

Take the dog as well! check the kid in at freight and the dog onboard, less problems all round!

[bogcleaner]

We did GLW-MIA with our 10 week old daughter last month, reserve the cot, reserve the bulkhead seats and get ready to dodge the sh*t when trying to change them in a 747-400 toilet in light turbulance!

[blind freddy]

If the baby is going to have its own seat, take its car seat on the plane! Its a brilliant idea, the baby is used to its own baby seat, and seems to settle a lot quicker.
i have been cross pacific with our younguns', and they were better rested than us!!

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I smell something fishy!!

[Squiddley]

Thank you folks for the tips. I've found out that BA have infant seats designed by Britax, and we can borrow one once we arrive so that's covered. The little one should fit without any cramping in the skycot too. Bulkhead seats aren't a problem fortunately as we've paid "proper" fare this time round.

It the flight's not chocka we'll be able to spread out a bit. The next thing to sort out is meals, but we'll self-cater anyway to ensure what's offered is to her liking. Dilemma: chicken of fish " :)

Thanks again!
TTFN

[Jumbo Jockey]

My little chap was about a year old when we took him Gatwick to Antigua, not realising that he had the beginnings of an ear infection which hadn't shown any symptoms yet. The poor little thing screamed non-stop for hours, only calmed down in the end by a lady a few rows away who gave us some "chamomilla" tablets to give him. This worked really brilliantly, so just in case, you might want to arm yourself with some! It's a homeopathic product, available from Boots.

Have fun!