Looking for Advice on How to Handle a Long Plane Ride with a Very Active 9 Month

Hi,
A friend flew to London when her son was 9 mths old and brought a stack of old magazines for him to tear up. Should keep him occupied for a little while!
Good luck

Hi there, I've made the trip to IRE with my two older girls while they were infants and beyond, but their younger trips were made at 5 months and 10 months old respectively. And when we take the new girlie in June she will be 7 months. Here are the things that worked before and fingers crossed will work again. 1) If your breastfeeding you know that can magically calm, 2) if your baby still fits in the "bucket" type of car seat, you can stow it in the overhead compartment and then later take it down and use it as a rocky chair, 3) be prepared to walk the aisle, besides that is good for your circulation too. And don't forget you can take the pushchair all the way to the door and they will stow it for you and when you land it will be right there.

I suppose that is not much advice but maybe a pep talk to let you know it can be done and its not too hard. Now I need a pep talk to let me know traveling with the three won't be so bad! All the best - M.

First, assuming you are planning to keep him on your lap, definitely bring a car seat with. If there are extra seats available, they will let you use it. Kids stay much better in car seats usually.

Second, my kids LOVED the Baby Einstein movies. If you have a portable dvd player or computer that plays dvd's definitely bring it!

Then, like everyone else said, lots of snacks, toys, books, food, diapers. Extra diapers and clothes in case you get delayed!

Good luck!
T.

Hi N.,
We flew to Italy with our very active 9 month old (now 10 month old) daughter. Like everyone else has said, bring a few toys, change of clothes for you and your son, and snacks like teething biscuits if he's eating those. We sat in the bulkhead and had the bassinet. Even though she didn't sleep in it much, we used it to hold all her toys and she really enjoyed standing on my lap and pulling her toys out. Kept her busy for quite a while. And other passengers really helped us out (making faces, etc). One mom even gave my daughter a toy!
Enjoy your trip!
I.

Hi Been to Ireland 6 times already with my girl (she is 16mths) to visit my family as I am from there. The plane can be tough alright I always travelled alone too just me & her. The cabin crew and other passengers have always been great. Bring new toys your child hasn't seen before and rely on the cabin crew to mind the child when you need to go to the toilet. GOOD LUCK!!

You may not have as hard of a time as you think, my son when he hears the noise of the engines falls asleeps, just like daddy...I haven't taken trips as long as the one you are about to take but I found that I love the back of the plane for one the white noise of the engine seems to calm my little boy, I tried the front of the plane and it was a no go plus usually people don't like the rear of the cabin so if it isn't a full flight you will have more room back there. I made sure I brought some of his favorite toys and a bunch of airplane friendly toys(noise wise) littler ones that I could switch up often so he didn't get bored with them all at once. I don't know if you have even flown with him before but I was really scared to fly with mine for the first time but once I got past security it wasn't has hard as I thought it would be, he may love flying and not be as much as a handful as you may think now. Try not to stress too much because he will play off of that. I have also lucked out as well and had an extra seat next to me and though the flight attendents don't like it too much I let my little one sit there as I watch and played with him, it also allowed great room for a nap as well so you may think about buying him a seat.

Sorry if this doesn't help much.

I flew with our baby to Germany and he was fine on the way over because those are usually overnight flights when it is time for them to sleep anyway. Let the airline know ahead of time to request a seat in the front row of the cabin as most airlines have bassinets they can strap on to the trays. On the way back, however, it was a day flight and so he was up most of the time. Bring lots of little toys, books, snacks, and don't forget extra changes of clothes! We ended up hanging out by the stewardess area most of the time because he preferred to be up rather than in the seat. What also helps is wearing the baby on the plane, in a baby front carrier or sling. It helps baby rest better and keeps your hands free. Good luck!

Good thing you posted this now because I was going to post something regarding this topic anyway. I just came back from a much shorter flight - only to vegas and back and the way there our 19 month old was great. The way bac she was a nightmare. She was so tired that instead of going to sleep she stayed up crying the entire flight. Most of the ppl on the flight had patience but some ppl. were simply RUDE RUDE RUDE. The guy across was covering his ears and rolling his eyes at me and a mother up a few rows was constantly talking to her kid saying things like "you're doing such a good job..." "You're such a good girl" and then she asked me how old my daughter was and I told her that she is blessed to have a young baby (looked around 11 mons) while flying because when they become mobile they are much harder. And she rolled her eyes at me and made a gesture of "I highly doubt it, I think its the mother..." So I got off the flight quite dissapointed by how ppl. are not very understanding sometimes. I just was wondering if anyone else had such an experience. I was surprised and not too happy by ppl.'s attitude problems. Kids will be kids. They are not to be perfect in a plane ride where they have no where to go and very litttle to do, esp. if they are overtired... Any comments are welcome!