Hi mods- not sure if this is the right place for this thread. It seemed the most appropriate.
As the title says, I am about to take a long haul flight (Brisbane to Glasgow) with dh and dd. DD will be 11 months when we go and just over 1 when we come back. We are going over to spend her first birthday with her Scottish grandparents.
So- I am starting to freak about the flight.I'm not worried about sleep really or crying, she sleeps really well and is not a crying baby usually. But it's the in between sleeping times that have me freaked out. She is such an active baby, she is crawling and standing on her own, she has started taking steps and may even be walking by the time we go. I don't know how to keep her entertained in a confined space for so many hours. She doesn't like to sit still and will only really sit on your lap when she's really tired. Anyone got any tips for how I can keep her entertained and the least annoyance to other passengers?
The other issue I have is a new noise she's started making. It seems she has discovered her upper register! (Yay) So she will squeal really loudly and I don't know if there's a gentle way to discourage it. I thought about trying to do the "shhh" motion. I know she won't know what it means but maybe she'll try copying it? It could turn into a game. Again- any tips would be appreciated..
We did this exact trip with a 14 month old, Brisbane to Singapore to London to Glasgow. Loooooong trip. Bring lots of things to entertain her! Our DD handled it better than we thought though, but she didn't sleep til she got to Glasgow. I'm not kidding. I was hoping she would sleep most of the first flight, but she managed to stay awake more than 36 hours straight.
Don't forget something for her to be chewing on or drinking (bottle) at take off and landing to help with the pressure in her ears. Thats all I have, I have only flown with a 3-4 month old and she slept the whole way. Don't stress about what anyone else is thinking on the plane if DD does make some noise, it can't be helped and you don't want to get stressed trying to keep her too quiet.
Maybe a few new toys to spark her interest and rotate the toys so she does not get bored with them all to quickly.
I did Melbourne to London with a 14 month old, alone.
I was freaking out about it, mainly as I had noone to help me, but she did awesomely!
Flight left at midnight to I tried to keep her awake until we left... She slept most of the flight to KL, then we walked around KL the whole time, then she slept on and off to London...
Tips
1) bring toys wrapped up - so she takes time to unwrap and then play with each toy
2) if you have a longish stop, think about booking into an airport hotel to give your LO a bath and a chance to have her own space (I didn't do this but friends have and highly recommend it)
3) don't try and stick to 'times' that are usual for your LO
4) bring lots of snacks
5) avoid kids meals on planes, they are incredibly high in sugar and will make kids hyper
6) walk around the plane whenever she wants to get up
7) relax, kids pick up on your stress
8) it's only 24hrs...
9) the snorer or farter on the plane will no apologize for disturbing the plane for hours and hours on end... You should not feel obliged to if she is unsettled, she is a child and you are doing your best
10) ask if you can exchange your 'baby seat' for an actual seat when checking in. I gave up our bassinet seat, which is highly sort after because of leg room, (she was too long for the bassinet anyway) and was given an actual seat for her...this meant we could spread out a bit more.
I hardly slept the whole flight as I didn't want to miss anything with her and watched her when she slept... Toilet stops forme were very hard, so I stopped drinking!!!
take shifts if you can, but if she wants Mummy and it's daddy's turn, too bad... It's your turn again or vice versa!
Good luck try not to worry, it will be fine, if not - its only 24 hrs and you will never see the other passengers again
Try not to stress. All will be ok. Or it will be the worst 24 hours in your life. Either way you know it's gotta end lol! Who r u flying? Do you have the cot?
We flew Sydney to London return at Xmas (plus 3 hr drive to airport & back on Sydney side) when DS was 7 months and then one-way to London in July at 14 months.
Our DS is not great at going to sleep but he got tired & slept well on the plane. As Sammijane suggested an extra seat is great (bassinett is good if baby is small enough) but take some dark fabric to drape across seats to keep lights off your sleeping baby. We suspended some black fabric from back of our seat to inside of tray on seat in front - this really helped DS to sleep longer.
Dont worry too much about other passengers - they are usually plugged into the entertainment system so wont be bothered with baby noises.
We ran up & down the isles with our mobile baby & made loads of friends....everyone loves babies!!! Lots of people on the plane will have been in our position at one point in time & will be very understanding.
We found the biggest problem wasn't DS getting sleep but us. I'm not sure how to address this one but a big sleep when you arrive will help.
Long haul flight with an 11 month old
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