The anxiety of having to somehow keep your beautiful pride and joy (or joys) contained in a seat for hours on end. The questions of what should I bring, how much should I bring. How can I avoid a meltdown at 30,000 feet.
Don't worry, flying doesn't have to be so scary, for you or your child.
Here are my tips to surviving the trip.
1. Research your airlines, not all airlines are the same, some of them are better to travel on with children. Find out about the inflight entertainment, whether they have children's meals, what is the weight restrictions on the bassinet seats, are there any other services provided for children?
For instance Air New Zealand's Skycouch (best invention ever)
It is 3 economy seats that you can book together, in simple terms you can pull up the footrests and they become a large space for the kids to play on, even better for bubs to lay flat and sleep on.
2. Once you have chosen your flight - think about packing.
My advice don't pack to much. Make sure whatever you are holding you can hold with a sleepy child as well. Whilst you may have use of the stroller to the gate, they cannot go on the plane and you still need to get from the gate to your chair and back. In the past I have brought my big baby carrier along which are bulky to store so for our last trip I purchased a Suppori Sling which is so compact it fits neatly in my bag.
3. Food.
When travelling with Children, pack their favorite foods, even if you have ordered them a specific child's meal, mistakes can happen. On our last trip there was a mistake with our booking and they didn't have the specific children's meals. Now the thought of letting our 18 month old loose on a plate of rice was to much for me to bear, but thankfully we had plenty of other food for her to eat. The air hostesses were very apologetic, but their apology doesn't feed your child, so be prepared.
Also chewing on food is very helpful for take off and landing.
4. Water
Air travel dries people out and children are no exception, make sure that you give them heaps of water during the trip. We took along our bbox sippy cups as they are non spill,they are weighted so doesn't matter what angle they try and drink from. There is nothing worse than the kids knocking over a glass of water a couple of hours into a long flight (speaking from experience, before we learnt the magic of non spill cups)
5. On the Flight
My advice, don't worry about your normal rules with entertainment, if your kids want to watch back to back entertainment let them. When bringing toys bring toys that won't get lost easily, (ie not Lego) that is open ended that they can play with for ages. We packed our pocket friends for our big kids. Colouring in, books. If they have a DS, iPod let them have it. Just remember though you may end up carrying it and your child so don't pack to much.
6. Clothes
My advice is try to forget fashion and think comfort for you and the kids. We have always got our children to wear trackies, t-shirt and a jumper. It gets hot in the plane so make sure they have layers that can be removed. The nappy change area is tiny and cramped so make sure you children's clothes are easy to change. Pack a change of clothes, and a top for you. There is nothing worse than being covered in food or drink during a flight and not being able to do anything about it.
7. Nappy Change / toilet
Before you get on the plane try and change nappies, take them to the toilet. The airport toilets are so much easier to manoeuvre in than the aeroplane ones. We bought along a bbox nappy wallet, so we didn't have to take a bulky nappy bag into the tiny toilet. It fit 2 nappies and I just refilled. If your child is a bit older it might be worth using nappy pants for the trip as easier to put on kids in the tiny space.
8. Try not to get jealous of the passengers around you getting to sleep, watch movies. Chances are you may not get to, so if travelling with your partner work together. Let one rest / watch tv, whilst the other is on child duty, and visa versa. Your day will come too, maybe not this trip, but it will.
9. Finally the important part - ears. Most people have heard horror stories, they hear the babies scream on take off and landing. My advice try and feed your baby on take off and landing, for our bigger kids we give them a lollipop. (Pack a spare in your bag for the landing).
10. Remember the big picture, yes the flight may be long, it may not be as relaxing, you may be sleep perived but think of the experience on the other end.
10. Remember the big picture, yes the flight may be long, it may not be as relaxing, you may be sleep perived but think of the experience on the other end.
(My disclaimer - each child is different so this is what works for our four kids and hopefully for you too)
