3-hour flight with a baby (1 year old) - easy or crazy?

[CJ2008]

On a scale of 1-10 how complicated is taking a 3-hour flight with a 1-year-old?

Our friends are thinking of coming to see us for 3-4 days but they are talking about how complicated it would be to bring all the things the baby needs, and are even thinking they''d have to ship some stuff before they get here.

So I was wondering, for any of you out there who have taken similar trips, how complicated you found it, and/if there''s anything that we as hosts can do to make them more comfortable.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Scale? Maybe a 2.

Dh and I took our 7 month old on a two hour plane ride and it was really easy. No stress at all! We gave him baby tylenol to help him sleep. Normally we NEVER did that unless he was teething, but in the case of the plane ride, we thought it would help, and it did.

Your friends don't even need to bring that many items (clothes/blankets) as long as you have a washing machine! Also, are they renting a car? Car rental agencies have car seats they can rent. On our last trip to CA, we rented two booster seats.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Okay, my daughter has been on 12 flights at various ages (she is currently 14 months). I think it REALLY depends on your kid. My girl is miss Independent. She started crawling/walking very young and loves to be free. She hates being confined in a stroller/shopping cart etc...Her first flight she was 3-4 months and it was the easiest. As she gets older I DO think it is harder. She doesn''t sleep as much and gets bored easier. We are flying in April (she will be 17 months) and I AM nervous. Our last flight was in August, I flew alone, the plane was 3 hours delayed and she couldn''t fall asleep. It was very stressful. I haven''t flown since b/c of it. The older they are the more complicated (for baby and toddler years) IMHO.

Here are some tips for your friend. Buy a new toy to give to her/him on the plane. Have a paci/bottle/sipi for the baby to drink on take-off/landing (though my DD ears NEVER hurt her). Have lots of snacks, bring a blanket, books (whatever baby loves). I am also going to get a cup of ice (hopefully that will be AT LEAST 30 mins of fun). Keep all this in a smaller, plastic bag (not your diaper bag). We also have a portable DVD that WILL be running! Try to get the bulk head row for extra room. Some airplanes have changing tables in rest room but many do not. Just be quick about it. GATE CHECK the car seat and stroller. I am not sure I would ship stuff. Do you know anyone with a pack ''n play you can borrow?

 

[westjenn]

We recently took our 1 yr old (and 7 yr old) on a 14 hour flight.. It was challenging and I wouldn't recommend it. Ideally, for such a long trip I would have liked to have waited until she was a couple of years older.. But, I think a 3 hour flight wouldn't be that difficult as long as you have things to entertain the baby. If the baby is mobile then the parents should be expecting to take many many trips walking up and down the aisles!

One of the things that was most challenging for me was changing her diaper (smelly ones.....) There's no room in the bathrooms and the only option you have is to do it in your seat...
We sent a box of stuff ahead of us via Fedex-- and took only the things we absolutely needed for the duration of the flight.


I would give it a 4, for a 3 hour flight..

 

[Burk]

My daughter will be one next week and is very similar to Tacori''s DD....wants to walk and explore everything and always be moving. We just got back from going out to lunch with my family and THAT was work and we were only there maybe an hour. I agree with everything Tacori posted, it''s not impossible, but if their child is as active as Tacori''s and mine it may be challenging!

 

[Fly Girl]

Young babies are easy to travel with (about a 2, if 10 is extremely complicated), mainly because they stay put. Once the kid starts running around, it''s more challenging. Needless to say, best to book a direct flight, so no plane changes. For all those young parents who think that they should wait until the child is about 2 or 3 before taking an airline flight, I say take a trip before the child starts walking. So much easier.

 

[simplysplendid]

It is much easier before they can walk. I took my 15 month old (that was more than a year ago) to a trip where the first was a 5 hour flight, followed by a 2 hour then a return journey of about 8 hours. In between we had to wait in airports as well as travel by car from the airport to the hotel. The travelling is the easy part. It is the stay at the hotel that is difficult as my little boy was curious about the new environment and was crawling everywhere. We had to try to babyproof the place as much as we can.

Also, if you child tends to be cranky in a new environment, it may be challenging.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Date: 1/11/2009 4:35:21 PM
Author: Burk
My daughter will be one next week and is very similar to Tacori''s DD....wants to walk and explore everything and always be moving. We just got back from going out to lunch with my family and THAT was work and we were only there maybe an hour. I agree with everything Tacori posted, it''s not impossible, but if their child is as active as Tacori''s and mine it may be challenging!

Seriously! And not EVERYONE likes kids. DD has gotten mean looks from adults (when she wonders into their "space" or if she "flirts" with them).

 

[Burk]

Date: 1/11/2009 5:15:32 PM
Author: Fly Girl
Young babies are easy to travel with (about a 2, if 10 is extremely complicated), mainly because they stay put. Once the kid starts running around, it''s more challenging. Needless to say, best to book a direct flight, so no plane changes. For all those young parents who think that they should wait until the child is about 2 or 3 before taking an airline flight, I say take a trip before the child starts walking. So much easier.

Depending on the kid, a one year old could be running around. I know my nearly one-year-old daughter is running around!

 

[swingirl]

Benadryl helps to get them drowsy. Then they can comfortably sleep and not have any issues with their ears not popping. A 3-hour flight shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure about all the things you think you need to take along. I see people with strollers all the time. Car seats can be rented. Anything else you can go without for a short time.

Another trick is to run them around the airport (if they are of that age) to poop them out. Too many parents try to keep the child strapped into a stroller until they get on the plane. I say get them out of the stroller, walk around and tire out those legs!!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Benadryl does nothing to my DD.

 

[swingirl]

Well, if drugs don''t work you''ll have to try the running around trick!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/11/2009 8:23:16 PM
Author: swingirl
Benadryl helps to get them drowsy. Then they can comfortably sleep and not have any issues with their ears not popping. A 3-hour flight shouldn''t be a problem. I''m not sure about all the things you think you need to take along. I see people with strollers all the time. Car seats can be rented. Anything else you can go without for a short time.

Another trick is to run them around the airport (if they are of that age) to poop them out. Too many parents try to keep the child strapped into a stroller until they get on the plane. I say get them out of the stroller, walk around and tire out those legs!!

Don''t try benadryl on a plane if you don''t know what it does to your kid. It may make them drowsy. Or it may do the opposite and make them totally hyper. Honestly, I''d think of other things to try before that one.

 

[swingirl]

Good point. You shouldn't try anything for the first time when taking a trip. But an antihistamine is an option if it makes you drowsy.

I don't know what is recommended for 1 year olds. Maybe they are too young for any of that. Okay, skip what I said for the little ones.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 1/11/2009 6:38:36 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Seriously! And not EVERYONE likes kids. DD has gotten mean looks from adults (when she wonders into their ''space'' or if she ''flirts'' with them).

Who could give your cutie mean looks?!! Honestly, some people are horrible. I never give kids mean looks and I''m not even a baby person! And I''ve been on many plane rides with little kids.

Only one was horrible and it was obviously the mom''s fault. She WOULD NOT make her kid put his seat belt on. The kid was screaming and crying and the mom just didn''t make him put the seat belt on for some reason. The flight attendant didn''t know what to do! We finally took off with the kid not buckled in.

 

[MrsG]

I have been taking my daughter on 4 to 6 12 hour flights per year since she was 16 months old and many times we had layovers. I think that the first few were the easiest because she sat in my lap. Once she turned 2 and had to be in her own seat for take off and landing it became more difficult. I brought a lot of snacks, toys and books to keep her occupied. I also tried to book later flights and kept her up before them so that she would sleep on the plane. We took walks up and down the isle if she became restless or cranky. I always checked the car seat and also bought a lighter umbrella type stroller just for traveling. Also, if I traveled alone I never brought a purse and kept my wallet/passport in the diaper bag. That way I always had only one carry on item.

When my daughter turned 3 it became much harder traveling with her, as she got bored easier. We had to haul a backpack full of toys to keep her busy.

 

[puffy]

i took my son on a 5 hour flight when he was one and i was by myself with him. he was waking by the time we went to hawaii so he kept wanting to walk in the aisles or climb on the seats and tables. but that said, he was relatively good on the flight. he didn''t cry or scream or get in the way.
i had lots of snacks for him, new toys that i hadn''t given him yet, and a bunch of stuff of mine that i let him play with.
it really depends on the kid. i''m sure that the flight with DS could have went easier if he wasn''t so darn curious and if he was able to sit still for more than 10 minutes. but i already expected that, so i expected the worse and was prepared for even worse than that.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

thing 2 0f 2, we were at Trader Joe''s and Tessa was "flirting" with the couple waiting behind us. She was smiling, "talking", try so hard to get their attention. They seriously were GLARING at her.

I am the FIRST to admit my kid can be annoying but she really was being charming. Heart of stone. Haha.