Okay ladies heres another for you.
We are stationed in Hawaii, and my husband is being deployed to Afghanistan in April. Im planning a couple trips home so I don't go stur crazy on this island and it will just be me & my (she will be about 18 months) on that 9 hour flight to dallas, and then 2 hour flight to Little Rock! She did AMAZING on the move here! The flight attendants LOVED her! Now that she can walk better and is much more mobile than she was when we first got here Im scared its going to be a different story :/ So, ANY advice is welcome!
If she's used to traveling in her car seat, and you can afford to have her own seat on the plane, use the carseat if it's FAA approved. Since they're used to sitting in the seat, it may help. I googled the same subject and there are lots of hints out there as well. Part of the time she'll nap. Hopefully she'll look out the window a lot - shoot for the window seat if you can. Good luck!
HI-if you keep them busy, it doesn't matter if they can walk...
If you can afford it, definitely get her her own seat so she has her own space.
Check out www.happyhealthymom.com
Under newsletters, there is a great one with tons of travel tips.
Good Luck!
new books and toys she hasn't seen before- those usually keep their interest longer. both of you take a lot of breaks from sitting and walk around the plane- especially planes to/from hi are generally bigger so you can do a few laps to stretch her little legs.
are you getting a separate seat for her or will she be on your lap. if her own seat, bring a car seat and that's something that will be comfortable for her. if she will be on your lap, ask a gate agent to see if she can sit you next to an open seat (if the flight is somewhat open of course).
remember, the calmer you are, the calmer your child is. enjoy! it's only as bad as you make it =)
Keep plenty of things ready to keep her busy. A very imaginative "bag of tricks" mom must have. If she minds you well and knows what "no" means, you should be fine. You can walk her up and down the aisle when the seat belt light goes off. Do lots of explaining to her about the rules before you get on the plane. You will make lots of friends walking the aisle. If you can have a disc player on hand for her to watch cartoons or play games that will be a plus as well. She will get you a lot of attention. It will be all good. And your friends will be "wow, how do you travel with her?"... and you'll say "Piece of cake!" :)
Don't worry about traveling with your daughter. Make sure you have 1 bag with goodies and with quiet toys for her to play with and of course a fully charged DVD, if necessary buy a back up battery if the airline does not have to option to plug in the dvd at your seat. The bulk head seats are the best so she can get out of her seat and stretch in a contained area. If at all possible travel at night so she will sleep on the plane. My son is 5 now and we have traveled by plane with him since 6 months old at 3 we went to Europe and he was no problem. Our prays are with you and your family, and may your husband return home safely. L.
