Airplane Travel with 14 mo old - Advice?

Heather - posted on 02/04/2010

I flew with my son last month when he was 13 months old. I gave him his bottle during take off so his ears wouldn't pop and then when we were landing I gave him a sucker. His bottle put him to sleep and he slept for the majority of the 3 hour fight. If u are in a row of seats that are all occupied be sure to ask to be moved if there are 2 empty seats side by side. (That just gives u some extra room to streach out.) When he woke up he had so much fun looking out the window and reading his favourite stories. It wasn't bad at all.
On the flight home it was a totally different story. My son was sick and they wouldn't let us fly. (They fear that the pressure will hurt their ears too much if they are sick.) So make sure ur baby is feeling well

Nermeen - posted on 02/03/2010

Don't panic. Buy some new toys and bring them out on the plane...they love new things plus some old favorites. I also had a portable dvd player and some books. BTW we walked up and down the isles endlessly as my son said hello to every passenger.

Beatriz - posted on 02/02/2010

My baby first traveled when she was 8 months, and she did pretty good. Take a stroller cause u will need it. I didn't take mine cause I thought that maybe they wouldn't let me take it. When I got there I seen that everyone had them and i had to carry her everywhere. BIG MISTAKE! take alot of snacks and extra clothing. My baby threw up when we were almost landing. Take toys and that's about it. It wont be that bad.

Renee - posted on 02/02/2010

Make sure you have at least one new toy or book, as well as old favorites. Also, if you have a portable dvd player that would pass time, too. I always travel with lots of snacks. You never quite know what they may want. On take off and landing, make sure he drinks or eats something to help with popping ears. Start talking to him a few weeks prior and describing what you are going to do, where you are going and the behavior you expect. Be very positive and he will be, too! :)

Racheal - posted on 01/31/2010

We had to fly at Christmas, and made sure we booked flights in the early morning, so by the time took off our little one was asleep, you may find the vibrations work just like being in the car and they go straight off to sleep. otherwise as said earlier, lots of food and toys. We found that walking the aisles worked well too as they get interaction with other passengers....just watch for the ones who clearly aren't interested in your little one :) We were really stressed about flying wth him but were really impressed with how well he did....good luck and happy flying

Jennifer - posted on 01/31/2010

I've done quite a bit of travel with my kids at all different ages. I am taking my 14 month old, 4 and 6 year olds on a 24 hour plane journey to Australia in a few weeks. It will be hard, but so worth it when we get there. A few tips I have from past journeys: bring lots of food, medicine, a small pillow, blanket, and extra supplies, such as diapers and clothes for you and baby (you never know when there could be a delay). Although toys are good, they can get dirty or lost, so I find a long list of lap / finger games are essential (peekaboo, itsy bitsy spider, this little piggy, round and round the garden, etc..). When picking your seat, don't sit too near to the bathrooms (you may have lots of traffic or people hanging out by your seat which makes naps hard), and avoid the emergency exit rows as the armrests don't go up on most of those seats. Don't be afraid to ask the flight attendants for help or to take your child so you can have a 5 minute break. Check your stoller at the gate, but when you get off the plane, be sure to find out where to pick up your stroller - they may bring it right back to the plane door for you. When boarding, don't rush on when they call for families to pre-baord as that just means more time stuck on the plane. And definately get your child to suck or sip or chew on take off and landing. Have fun!

Jaclyn - posted on 01/30/2010

Dear Melissa,

I have travelled 3 hrs on one plane got off waitin 40mins got on another plane that went for 40 mins...i had my 2 yr old at the time and my one year old. Lots of toys and drawing things. If he watches tv a little portable DVD player comes in handy. And Food lol lots of Food. but don't stress out i'm sure he'll be just fine.

Louise - posted on 01/29/2010

I have to fly every couple of months with my daughter as we live in Kuwait but our family are in the UK. It can be hard but toys, paper and crayons,books, snacks, milk all help! I also just invested in a portable DVD player for her to watch her favourite DVD as there is nothing suitable on inflight for her. As we have two flights to take each way and a couple of hours between flights I also let her walk as much as possible to tire her out, that includes walking up and down the aisles!! I would say if you make it an exciting adventure for them you will have less trouble flying with them when they are a bit older.

Christa - posted on 01/27/2010

I just flew with my 14 mo daughter for the time a few weeks ago. One of things that worked the best for the almost 3 hour flight was a FP Doodle Pro (got it at target for about $6). http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp... She could scribble as much as she wanted and with a quick slide it disappeared. She also liked it when I would draw little pictures for her. I love the fact that the little "pen" is attached and can't be thrown. She loved it and because it is about the size of her small board books it fit right in her diaper bag and kept her occupied when we went out to dinner. I also took little snack bags of her favorite cereal, other finger food, 2 small board books, her stuffed monkey and her favorite blanket. On the trip back because the return flight was falling right during lunch. We made her a grilled cheese sandwich, cut it into bit size pieces, wrapped it in saran wrap and feed it to her right before we boarded the plane. It worked out great. On both flights my daughter fell asleep for about an hour in my lap. Since I was traveling alone with my daughter I also gate checked her stroller , it was great to have it while we went through the airport. ( I highly recommend this even if you are traveling with someone else.) Hope you have a great trip.

Cathy - posted on 01/27/2010

We are getting on a plane next week with our 14 month old daughter. I am planning on bringing her favorite teddy bear, A LOT of snacks, toys and my Ergo baby carrier if she gets really fussy. We traveled with her when she was 10 months old and she did pretty well. I will also have a change of clothes for her and me in the carry on and some teething tablets and worst case some tylenol or motrin.

Chrystal - posted on 01/27/2010

When I flew with my son, I brought a lot of small foods to keeps him busy (raisins, cheerios etc) and also to keep him swallowing ( which helps the little ones with the ear popping) feed your little one on both take off and landing something from a bottle or cup so he is consistently swallowing.

Bring toys that can either be clipped to him or wont roll away if dropped ( or thrown;) )

Books are good too.

I always put my son in comfy clothes and be sure i bring extra. ( i just throw in an emergency sleeper) And maybe an extra top for yourself, I t is hard to get them fed as cleanly as possible when they are on your lap. I hope this helps, I have traveled quite a bit with my son and although it is stressfull it always turns out just fine.

Oh and you can also "skycheck" a stroller ( they will let you bring it right up to the airplane, then give it to you right when you get off) It is helpfull if you have to have a stop over at the airport.