flying with a 1 year old?

Question

I'm due to do a long haul flight when my baby is 1 year old - has anyone got any advice on this. Is it safe to fly with a young baby? what do you do with regards to feeding? Keeping things sterile? And travelling the other end - car seats...take one with us?

Answer 1

Definitely bring the car seat. Your child is accustomed to sitting in it and will accept it when you buckle up (for long stretches of time).

It's no less safe than for you (except the air might irritate your child - there's little you can do for that except maybe a little saline spray in the nose, which in itself is uncomfortable).

Resist the urge to walk around, for as long as possible (once your child realizes that you can get up it will be very hard to keep her seated).

The world is not sterile. Don't worry about it. Just no sucking on the shoes.

Do not get on the plane if your child is congested, especially if your child is prone to ear infections. Your child's ears will become very painful.

The Tylenol mentioned above is a good idea - especially if your child is tightly wound. It will do no harm and should help.

And a crying child on the plane sucks. You should feel uncomfortable. But that said, there is little you can do except take some stints (with your child!) in the toilet until the crying stops. . .gross but helpful.

Another thing, in the airports carry your child in a backpack. Don't use a stroller in the airport. It is hard to get around. With your child in a backpack your hands are free, you can easily ride an escalator, your child can see what is going on, and you can go into news stands.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You didn't say how long of a flight, but I would talk to the baby's doctor before flying and ask him because he will know the specifics of your childs health. Usually it is safe to fly with a baby. The flight attendants will help you with bottles and such. Call the airline before you go and tell them you are flying with a baby and what do they recommend? And you will either have to pack a car seat, mail one in advance of purchase one when you arrive. All are good options depending on your situation. And be warned that the baby will cry. I would advise asking the doctor for something to make the baby sleep more than usual. The baby will be more comfortable, you will be less stressed and the other passengers will be thankful. Benedryl always made my children sleep and I would give them one when we started on a long car trip. They would sleep the entire way and when they woke up we were there and they were happy and I was happy. They are all healthy and happy grown ups now, so I guess it did not hurt them. Good luck and have a safe trip.

Answer 3

I had to fly with my 10 month old, it was actually ok. Esp, if you are flying with someone else to give you a hand. I was very lucky, she slept most of the way. It was about a 3 and half hour flight. I actually just got her up a little earlier, and with all the stimulation with going to the airport, and waiting around, ect. by the time we were actually in the air she was pooped.
As far as being safe, I felt much safer traveling with her, than all the times I flew by my self. More people are always looking out for you, I think.
As far as feedings and food, depends what you baby is currently doing. Always pack their absolute favs, minus anything with alot of sugar. There little minds are going to be racing as it is. lol
And as far as liquids, 100% fruit juices, and the dietary supplements, they have out that are for the kids. skip the milk based products, they can be easily spoiled. As far as a car seat goes, have someone on the other end have one ready for you. Or if you are renting a car, ask the car place. They will usually accomidate you. Some of the newer cars you rent have the car seat built right in. Hope this helps! And relax, it'll be ok!

Answer 4

I have done this with a one year old, being prepared is number one. Check your carseat if you aren't paying for the child's own seat, a carseat doesn't count as luggage so you can still take as many suitcases. I would suggest a small umbrella style stroller or a light-weight, easily foldable one. You can roll the child down the ramp to the airplane door and drop the stroller there, the airline will put it in an easy access place so you can get it right when you step off the plane. Pack a backpack for the child, forget yourself, you won't need any magazines or headphones, trust me. Pack soft toys, non-noisy, books, cheerios, baby fruit snacks, etc. As for bottles I packed 6 bottles, just incase, each filled with water. I packed formula in a tupperware 4 chambered formula holder. premeasured for the ammount of water packed. If your baby is on milk, I would call the airline to see if milk will be available on your flight...if not use a small cooler bag with ice packs and pack a few bottles with milk. You may also want to pack a small travel bottle with a little dishsoap in case you need to wash a bottle in the bathroom. Also dress the baby and yourself very comfortable in colorful patterns if possible you will get spilled. dribbled, or spit up on. Keep em snacking, and entertained with new toys and relax, it's not that bad.

Answer 5

I just flew over the weekend with my 1 year old and she did fine. Of course at that time you couldn't bring juice on the flight, only milk but when the flight attendants came around I got juice for us to share. One thing I did which really helped was that we got to the airport pretty early and I let her run around before the flight. 5 minutes after take off she was out and slept the entire flight. Make sure you bring plenty of diapers and wipes as for some reason my daughter leaked right through the diapers on 3 of the 4 flights. Not sure if it was a pressure situation or what but she never leaks through normally. Make sure you change your baby right before the flight as the bathrooms on the planes are extremely small. You will have to sit on the toilet and lay your child across your lap for any diaper changes. Not at all fun!

I took her favorite stuffed animal and snack food for her. I didn't bother with the car seat as I am 5 months pregnant and didn't want to have to carry it from flight to flight. I rented one at the car rental company so she was safe in the car.

Best of luck!

Answer 6

You will have to bring a car seat with you, you can put your baby in the car seat on the plane. You could hold the baby in your lap at that age, but if it's a long flight, that's a long time to be holding the baby. Buy, that extra seat, and bring the carseat. I also wouldn't trust any rental carseats either, you never know with them. Well, with the new rules with security you can't bring any liquids through security unless it is for a baby (breastmilk or formula), if you breast feed, you can bring that, if you formula feed, you can bring the pre-mixed formula, but you can't bring your own bottled water to mix with the powder. so i reccommmend getting the pre mixed that come in there owm little jars. You can't bring your own juice for the baby, it has to be breatmilk or formula. You'll have to buy juice in the airport and water it down. As for keeping things sterile, bring wet wipes with you, your baby will be fine flying, a car seat is definetly the safest way for youbaby to travel, flying or driving. You just have to make sure your car seat is FAA approved. You can find out by looking at the side of the carseat, it should be said in 2 different spots and in 2 different ways saying the car seat is approved for air travel.

Answer 7

I have done this with my child. You don't have to bring a car seat for the plane ride. However, I brought mine because I needed it for the rental car. You just hold ur baby during the flight. I would bring drinks for the baby as ur babies ears might hurt him or her. That way he or she can drink during the flight. Bring a warm blanket because it is cold on planes. Some babies just sleep the whole time. You can breastfeed while flying if you do this. It really isn't very bad. Check with ur airline about the car seat thing.

Answer 8

I did a trans-atlantic flight when my son was 9 months. It's actually not that bad. Yes, take your car seat, look on the sides where the labels are and make sure that it says on there somewhere that it's good for flights. Take plenty of snacks and juice for him. Take his favorite things. My son was his favorite blanket, his favorite book and his favorite cuddly toy. Then take somethings that he's never seen before, new toys that he hasn't played with. Also, they need to stretch their legs, so don't feel bad that you're walking up and down the aisle. You'll get stares from some people, but who cares. They would be more upset if he/she was screaming the whole way. Also, if he/she starts to cry, don't feel bad either. Kids do that. What do you expect, they have sit in their seat the whole time. Also, bring something to suck on for when the plane takes off and when it lands, that's when the air pressure is released and could hurt their ears. Good luck!!!

Answer 9

your baby will be fine but try to arrange flights round a bout the babies normal sleep pattern if possible, car seats are available from all good hire companies on request but its beat to reserve one just in case,
sterile facilities are available on most planes and i have never experienced any problems at all during flights despite flying hundreds of times with my kids, comfort blanket and fav toy is a must,
the pressure in a plane actually helps babies sleep better for some reason , so you stop worrying and enjoy your journey,
hope your going somewhere nice like Scotland
x

Answer 10

I'd take a car seat, you might have to pay extra, check w/the airline.
Also bring a surprise bag. What i did was went to the dollar store and purchased toys and beads, and a small photo frame. Also if she likes cartoons, bring your laptop and dvds.
And to be very serious, I dont medicate my children often, but tylonol, a half hour from flight. It will relax her / and she might sleep threw the whole thing.