Flying overseas with 15 month old, crazy idea??

[mumma100]

Ok, so i survived flying to the UK (on my own!!!) with my 5 month old and it wasnt that bad. Im now considering going back early next year to see family, my son will be 15 months old. Has anyone flown overseas with a baby of the same age?? Im guessing it was prob easier this time around as he wasnt crawling/walking and didnt need that much entertaining but was still needing to be fed every 3 hours and not sleeping for more than 5 hours which was tough, so im hoping that at 15 months even though he will need more entertainment he will hopefully sleep longer! I dunno! has anyone got any advice? is it a crazy idea?!

[pinkbella]

Watching this thread as dd will be 16 months in July when we fly 20hrs to NY!!

[Pregnor]

We did perth to kl at 14 months, it wasnt too bad. Make sure you get a bassinet seat so you get some more room for playing. Ds slept a lot on the way there.
The way home was horrible, it was a midnight flight and ds was over tired and then there was a fight and a very drunk passenger on the plane so it took them ages to dim the lights, but then he eventually slept. The winning toy? I pod. He sat and plugged and unplugged the headphones for over an hour!

[pinkbella]

Watching this thread as dd will be 16 months in July when we fly 20hrs to NY!!

[mumma100]

[QUOTE=Pregnor;5811346]. Make sure you get a bassinet seat so you get some more room for playing.

Can you still get allocated a bassinet when bubs is 15 months old? The one i had on Qantas just fitted my 5 month old when he was sleeping in it, but i guess you can sit them in it to play?

[Kitty10]

Hi Ladies

I travelled with my DD to Europe when she was 20 months old, and it was fairly good (worth the holiday at least!) but was also quiet challenging. I was told she couldn't have a bassinet above 10kgs (I think).

We had spare seats next to us on the way over which was great, on the way home for the first leg she was allowed to sleep on the floor (perfect) but on the last 7 hours home she wasn't allowed on the floor and screamed/cried for a lot of that flight - it was the middle of the night.

So let me think of tips:
- yes, iphone is WONDERFUL. download some kids apps and they can play with it at really low volume.
- check if your flights will have individual TV screens. We took a little DVD player which made a heap of difference to her entertainment, there really wasn't much she could watch on the plane TV.
- I wrapped up a bunch of little presents and she unwrapped them throughout the flight. Things like: $2 teaset from kmart, fingerpuppets, packet of paperclips, small thing of playdough, stickers, stickers and more stickers, colour books, magnetic scene/game thing
- Also, some legs of the flight were great, they provided babymeals/nappies and everything, other legs we hardly got anything. So pack lots of snacks. And UHT milk.
- For the first time in her life she was allowed a lollipop on take off and landing. Great distraction when they absolutely have to stay in their seat for the first 20 mins or so during take off.
- Getting her to sleep was hard work. She didn't sleep at all on the way to Europe, but she likes a bed, not a lap to sleep on. But she was happy to just watch TV and we had a spare seat so it was okay.


Hope this helps!

[Pregnor]

Well they said there was a 10kg limit and he was prob 11, i put him in anyway and it was a little squishy but he fit. But the most important bit of the bassinet seats is they are the bulkhead seats so you get way more room, plus with the airline we were on they dont sell the rest of the row, so ds could sit in the seat next to me as well

[Misschief]

Hahahahaha they booked DS a bassinette seat and I told them not to. He's 16.5kg and 92cm tall. No way will he fit in them, but the travel agent didn't listen. I now am going to have to have my son on my lap for the entire flight to Amsterdam

We're leaving in 12 days and I am getting more and more anxious each day we get closer to take off. I keep telling myself "What the heck was I thinking???!!! Surely I can't handle my 16 month old hyper active DS all on my own?!"

Sooooo, I am taking a doodlepad along for him to draw on on, a DVD player with In The Nightgarden and my peadiatrician has given me the "go ahead" to get some Phenergan to help him sleep.
The travel agent has requested kids meals on all flights, so I am only packing a bare minimum of snacks and perhaps 9 nappies in total. Im praying to God that doesn't decided to suddenly do 4 poo's in 1 day. I'll be in serious trouble if he does.
You officially are allowed to take 7 kilo's of handluggage on board. If you have a bassinette seat, you can not take another 7 kilo's for your child. BUT they will allow you to pack a little extra. Ofcourse not 20 kilo's, but they wont say anything if you take 10 kilo's. Just keep in mind that your bag needs to fit in the luggage compartment.

Goodluck hun!

[orange6]

I second the iPhone apps! Peekaboo barn was a big winner with my 15 month old on our (mercifully short) flight to Bali.

If you are going to try phenergan, test it before you fly. It does make some kids hyper.

Oh - and you probably won't be at any risk of DVT as I spent much of the flight from Perth to NZ (DD was 13 months) walking up and down the aisles to amuse her.

iPhone apps are also good for your own amusement too - I used iBooks to read one handed while the bub slept.

[Pregnor]

Misscheif they let you take your hand luggage allowance plus a bag for bub dont they? If you have the bassinet seat you can pop him on the floor in front of you, the seat next to you should be vacant anyway as they can't sell the seat its in front of