Travel tips and activities for a baby/toddler - BY AIR

[Erin M]

There have been quite a few posts on this board from people who have an upcoming trip with their LO.  I've tried to condense the responses from a few different threads into one to provide a good list of things to keep your LO busy on a plane (this could also apply to long car trips, train, etc). 

First off, a few links from sleep boards regarding time changes, etc:

BW tips on Plane Travel (Time changes and traveling tots)
Going on holiday, what about routine? TIPS FOR THE TRAVELING MOMMIES (Tips for traveling mommies from Toddler Sleep)
Any advice for flying with 5 month old? (Advice for flying with a 5 mo from Getting Back on Track)

Ideas for activities are in the posts below. 
Please add any ideas, tips, tricks, things you have learned, etc to this thread.

Please also note that some people have advised giving your child Benadryl, antihistamines, etc in order to help them sleep well on the plane.  Do not do so without speaking to your doctor first.  Also keep in mind that many medicines that may make some children sleepy may have the opposite effect on others and make them hyperactive.  Personally, I do not think it is advisable to try something out for the first time on a plane with limited/no access to medical care.

Happy traveling

[Erin M]

From GG:
I had to fly for 4 hours with a 16.5 mo just this month. I brought along about 4 of his favorite books and some flash cards of animals and did those for a while. I also had some milk and snacks (in our case we had Cheerios, bread, a banana & cherries) and having his tummy happy definitely helped keep him quiet. He also enjoyed opening and closing the shade and looking out the window, as well as looking at and saying "Hi" to the people all around. Since he's such a curious little guy, the newness of the plane occupied him a bit. Oh, and that 2 hour nap certainly helped (the flight had to be scheduled during his nap time and somehow we got him to sleep).

If you add the Baby Einstein videos, you should be golden.

[Erin M]

From Deb:

I had to take Josie to California when she was 15 months - SOLO - and we managed it with a few tricks I picked up here plus a few more I worked out:

I used our jogging stroller - bigger basket underneath for her stuff, and easier to move around. It also meant I could take her jogging when I got to the other end (we were there for a week).

I bought a couple new lift-the-flap books from Target and they kept her occupied for a few minutes at a time, and she liked to look at them later on in the flight. The novelty was the key there.  (Actually, she still likes to look at those books! LOL)

I also got her a travel Magna-Doodle for the trip - again, the novelty was good - and I think I must have picked up one or two other things like that. The fewer parts to fall on the floor, the better!  Crayons = disaster in turbulence.

She and I did a few laps up and down the aisle of the plane during the flight and grinned at passengers.

She did manage a 1-hour nap on the flight, which helped.

DEFINITELY make sure you have enough snacks and drinks!!!!

Oh, and diapers - I found that the airplane bathrooms, while cramped for those of us using the actual toilet, were surprisingly spacious for changing diapers. Good to know when your LO is poopy and it's another 90 minutes till you land!  Just make sure you have a setup in a separate easy-to-grab bag for changing, 'cause there's not a lot of room to put your actual stuff, just your LO! 

HTH!   

[Erin M]

From Marisa's Mom:
I just wanted to add this about bringing LO's favorite toys/books/things .... set them aside for a few days or week before the trip so that LO doesn't get to play/see them ... then LO will be so much more excited when he/she sees her fave things again during the flight.

[Erin M]

From Fiona (Leahsmom):

DD was a bit older when we did our last flight with her, 5 hours. I bought some new books, a small doll in a bag with bottle dodi etc, a toy car- novelty as she didn't have one, and small blackboard with white chalk which was a real life saver. She also got a lot of mileage out of the earphones they give you. Our 5 hour flight was the first of 3 in a day, we travelled for about 13 hours and she never closed her eyes once. Crackers, cheese slices were good too but a small packet of dry cornflakes went down best as a treat. By the way I didn't let her walk up and down the aisles as we will travel a lot and I wanted her to realise that she could only stay in daddys seat :-) or at our feet on the floor, we got bulk head seats so try and request in advance, only exception to the rule was if a member of staff took her for a walk. They also gave us a kiddy goody bag which had a sticker book in it, was brilliant too and she loved it.

[Erin M]

From TDR's Mom:

Make friends with the flight attendants and sometimes they will let you hang out in their area in the back of the plane.  A little more spacious and your dd can stretch her legs a little.

[Erin M]

From me (LOL):

I've found snacks to be the best thing on planes.  Small snacks, so she can pick them up and eat them one by one by one by one by....well, you get the picture.  Gerber fruit puffs have worked really well, also Cheerios, other cereal, goldfish crackers, pretzels, etc. 

[Erin M]

From Kate585:

I have to second Deb on the Magna Doodle.  We got a travel-sized one and Ryan LOVED it!  (It's now in his church/quiet toys bag and usually gets us about 4-7 quiet minutes there   ).  Cars, stuffed animals, books, and (my old stand-by) your cell phone will help, too.  I think we are going to have to invest in the portable DVD for our next trip.  I'd imagine it would be useful in a long car trip, too.

My best advice:  I hope you bought a seat for you lo (instead of being a lap child), b/c I've found that can make all the difference if you want him/her to sleep.  It will be worth any money you have to spend, trust me!!!  If not, I'd recommend gate checking your car seat instead of checking it, b/c if there is an open seat, you can grab it and use the carseat.  (This works for the US's Southwest airlines, anyway).

Don't worry about you lo eating too much.  Keep that food and milk coming.     Erin gave a good list of munchies.  Gerber also makes freeze dried apples, corn, and bananas and strawberries.  This is real fruit with no added sugar, so it's a good way to sneak in some "real" fruits and veggies without being messy AND they take a long time to pick up and eat, which is a real bonus. 

Good luck!!!   

[Erin M]

From mari:

I flew 13 hours to San Diego with Nathan when he was 20 months and I took lots of jigsaws and shape sorter things (the wooden ones that you fit the pictures into) and plenty of books and some pencils and paper (he loved to doodle.  He was a good boy and only slept for 45 mins the wholde flight.  I was alone as I went to visit hubby woring there.  It is difficult but I would advise getting a seat near to cabin crew and toilet too as when LO sleeps you can at least use the loo and ask cabin crew to keep an eye!

[Erin M]

From mrsrobbo:

Hi!
I recently flew from Calgary to the UK with just my little man. It was ok, hard because there isnt a lot of space on the plane and he didnt have his own seat (next time i would definately pay for one). Check in as early as you can asnd try and get an empty seat next to you that way you can put her down. It was hard to eat anything, even when i got him to sleep just because of the space. I didnt even bother trying when he was awake. Keep a small bag under your seat with everything oyu will need for her, that way you dont have to keep getting up and down. Keep a few toys some snacks juice that kind of thing. People have complained about their babies ears hurting during take off and landing, we have flown 5 times with him now and its  never been a problem, but if you can get her to suck at a juice cup or something that should prevent it.
The biggest thing is not to stress out, she will probably get wingy and moaning because she will want to be getting about, dont worry about what other passengers think, i didnt, at the end of the day she is a baby, its what they do!

[Erin M]

From rebecaq:

I just got home from a similar trip to yours, about 13 hours of traveling and I'll tell you what got me through....

A portable DVD player and an arsenal of Baby Einsteins!!!

[Erin M]

From TDR's mom:

We recently flew from East Coast USA to West Coast Canada with our VERY ACTIVE 1 year old.  Most people advise you to board early.  From my experience...I would NOT recommend doing that.  We found it gave ds more time to sit and get agitated (more time to annoy everyone around us).  On the trip back home, one of us would board early and the other would wait as long as possible before boarding with DS.  This gave him time to roam freely in the airport and not be cramped up in the airplane. 

Also, make friends with the flight attendants, because they will do everything they can to make you and your lo more comfortable. 

Good Luck.

HTH!

[Erin M]

From andrea21:

Hi...

For the past 4 years i have flown from Australia to Europe with my DD and this year with my DD and DS.They are roughly around 24 plus hours,so quite long.

I always fly by myself so I would reccommend boarding first.
Order a bassinet if your little one is OK for the weight.
Order a child's meal if they are on to normal food
you can get medicine to help them to sleep for the flight.
Have lots of snacks
Don't take too many toys.
When your little one is awake,go to the back of the plane and let them crawl,walk around.
And if you have the one with the TV on the back of the screen,go to the games part and let them play with the controls,fills in time.


Hope this is some help,at this stage I have a flight back at the end of Oct when my DS will be 10.5months,but could be looking at going as early as one month time which I wont look forward to as he is 8months now and crawling and standing up and starting to take steps so wouldn't be looking forward to that flight.

Ooh yeah and try to sleep when they sleep...

[Erin M]

From AnnaK's mom:

I made a trip with DD from Budapest - Milan - Miami - El Salvador (about 18 hours if you add flight delays and waiting time at the airports) about 2 months ago (and I am planning to back home to Budapest on Sept. 4th and take the same route) and just like you, I started panicking from the moment I decided to make the trip.

I didn't have a seat for DD, so she had to be on my lap, and the nice people from the airline gave us a seat in one of the middle rows  (not the first one where you have a tiny bigger space) and the cabin crew were less than helpful, but let me tell you that happily we survived 

What really, really helped me is that I asked our Ped to prescribe us a med that would make DD drowsy, so I had intervals of 1.45hour sleep and 1.45 awake (sort of). Also, the people sitting around us were more than understanding - they were helping me to pick up stuff that DD dropped and even offered to hold her so I could eat or go to the toilet. The Lady sitting next to me was an angel, singing and playing with AnnaK, so don't worry about the people around you... they might suprise you and be totally helpful. Also, think that there is always a lady with a crying baby. If it turns out to be you, then don't worry - you are not the first one and you won't certainly be the last one   

I took lots of books that I knew DD liked and bought new ones so DD had something new to "discover". I took DD's favourite snacks and lots of bottles (DD is always comforted by her bottles). I've also heard from other moms in this site that taking a DVD player with you is a life saver, but unfortunately, we didn't have the cash to buy one.

I asked about the bassinet and I was told that they only give it to younger babies (there is a weight limit) and I was also told that with the seats that don't have any rows in front (I think there are the ones that either have the kitchen in front or the ones next to emergency exits)  there is the restriction that you cannot have anything on the floor blocking the emergency exit (in case you are on those) so you might want to think about that.

Something that helped me a lot in the airports is that I didn't take a stroller to push DD around and I rather used a sling and it was worth it! Going through security was way easier and we had plenty of mobility.

[Erin M]

From sleeplessinseattle:

i quickly looked at the responses...but, my mother-in-law was a nanny and took numerous long flights with young kids. she would take various tape rolls (masking, colored tapes like blue painters tape or black electical tape) and the kids would create designs and shapes etc. on the tray table in front of the seat.  she said they loved it and would spend hours making varous tape "pictures" ...then they would ball it all up at the end and start over.  have fun!