19 hour flight!

[Dawna]

Hi Everyone,

We are trekking back to the US next week with our 9 month old daughter.  Our first flight back home was when she was 3 months old, so she slept most of the time.  I am a little concerned how to keep her entertained for the 8+ hours she may be awake.  

I already have a set of stacking cups, a small puzzle, and a shape sorter for her to play with.  Any other suggestions for entertaining but easy-to-pack toys?

[bumble]

Hi Dawna,
Sorry to get off topic, but there was a thread about photographers for kids and you had mentioned using somebody and were really happy with the pictures.  That thread has been deleted since.

Could you please email me the name and contact no. of that photographer you used?  My email address is bobjune@singnet.com.sg. Thanks a lot!

PS.  It's been a few years and I don't really remember what a 9mth old can do but I had a few baggies of cheerios with me on board a long haul flight and my baby just had a ball putting in and taking out the cheerios of a cup. And when she feels like it, eating it too! Hope that helps.

[Not easy]

Its not easy on a long term flight.  If you can, and if its not too late, book a night flight.  I did that on the way to HK from the UK (13hrs).  He slept for 10 hours and then the other 3hrs were relatively easy.   Take lots of small books, toys with you, and small bags of snacks to munch on.  I read on another post that a portable DVD player is great, but dont know if your child watches DVD's, but its a great idea for future reference.  If you can book a bulk seat so that there is space in front of you so your child can play on the floor(maybe put a blanket on the floor first).  Other than that, just take it as it comes.  Good luck.

[nyc]

Sorry, quick hijack:

Also planning to fly to the US with an 18mo soon and wondering if it's better to do one super long flight or break it up and go via Europe? I figure with the latter he can run around for a while in the middle. But maybe it's best to get it over and done with? Anyone done both options? I have done quite a few 10-12 hour flights with him and no problem but 17 hrs seems just awful...

As for entertainment, I pack a bag of toys books etc, some new, and he generally likes watching TV. Somehow the time passes. We g for lots of walks too.

[long haul]

Hi-
I've done the 19 hour flight with our daughter at age 3 months, 12 months, and we will do it soon at age 22 months.  Although it can be extremely difficult, I prefer this flight.  The seats are larger and the plane has the standing area in the back.  I feel it is best to get the flight over with!!  one problem with the airbus, though, is that  the bassinets are directly in front of the toilets, and the noise of banging doors and flushing toilets kept waking up my daughter when she was three months old!  This time we are getting her her own seat.  But even still. this flight is preferable.  One thing to bring are stickers-you can kill some time with these ( but can't remember  if  our girl would eat stickers at 9 months)!

[Dr Know]

To both: the 18mth and 9mth.  Purchase new, cheapy toys that the child has never seen before and bring them out in stages on the flight.......new things excite, even the packaging.  Then fiddly things like stickers are time-consuming and fun.  For the 18mth I'd say do the flight in one run and allow your child plenty of running around the plane with you in tow.  we did this - just went around and around and around the plane - after a few sessions they get tired and can go and sit and play with their toys.  Then go again a few hours later.

[expat mom]

While we did not travel 19 hrs with ours when they were quite this young, we did take some 6 and 8 hour flights.  When my daughter was 2 we brought a little tea party set and she was happy for hours pouring water into the cups.  Of course lots of walking also.  Try to have your baby a little worn out so they will sleep easier also.

Good luck,

[TravelMum]

I travel quite a bit with my kids back to North America and I prefer to take the SQ 18-hour non-stop to Newark. No need to worry about having to carry a sleeping baby in transit etc., and they can really sleep. The lounge at the back is great, they can mingle and get snacks etc. It's a better rest for mum and dad too.

As for activities, I always find Playdoh works best...

[Dawna]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the replies and advice-we are keeping our fingers crossed for an easy time of it!

[Kentish Girl]

This may horrify you (sorry if it does) but is something we've used for long-haul flights on our Doctor's advice with our two kids aged 7 and 2.  For a mainly night-flight it will send to sleep for hours and during the day it will just make them a bit dozy and therefore happy to stay in their seat.

Our General Practitioner recommeds a dose of Phenergan, which is a short term sedative perfectly suitable for situations such as a long haul flight.

Giving my kids a sedative horrified me but after a recent 13 hour return flight I can say my kids slept for 10 of the 13 hours during the night flight and slept for a few hours during the day flight and spent the rest of the time happily watching movies, reading books or doing puzzles.  My kids are VERY active normally so its worth a shot!

[Note]

Note that Phenergan should only be used on children over 2 yrs old.

[Horrified of London]

I am horrified that you would use drugs to control perfectly healthy children.   Good parenting eh?

You'll get on great here!  Look forward to future posts

[hyper]

Gave one of my kids phenergan before a procedure on the advice of his dentist - never again. Be warned, it can have the opposite effect on some kids and send them bouncing off the walls for hours. Don't try it for the first time on a plane.

[post-its]

Get the little packs of post-its in bright colours, or those little page marker ones which are fluorescent.  They can be stuck all over the place - seats, windows, walls, even on the TV screens without having the difficulty of peeling off stickers at the end of the journey.... some stickers are difficult to get off and the airlines don't like it... with a very young child it's better to have something they can put wherever they like rather than worry about where they're going!

If you're using a basinet (I say this from experience!) it's sometimes an idea to bring those little reins with you - the ones that I child can walk with or you can adapt them to fit to a highchair.  We used them to strap our kids into the basinets when we flew - not only stops them from pulling themselves up or tipping over the edge when you momentarily aren't looking, but they also are good in case of turbulence.

[Turbulence]

To post-its:
Don't you have to take your bub out of the bassinet during turbulence or can you keep them in there if they are strapped in?