davidb1989

wow lol do you work for health and saftey? nah only kiddin, i think on a 22 hour flight my son will go on the floor and play hey he plays on the floor at home he will be fine and if he bumps his head on a chair big deal im sure it wont be too serious a 2 min cry that will be it, or a whole flight of misery with an upset child because hes sick of sitting on your knee

itigo

We are travelling on Cathay Pacific in April and have a 4 year old and a 7 month old. Their website states that over 6 months may struggle in their bassinet and our boy is training up for the front row!

We bought him a seat (handy as we get his 20kg allowance too - bassinet = no luggage allowance). We have also bought a suitable car seat (was on big offer and we know we will have to dump it at the other end). Got a Gogo Kidz Travelmate sent over from the US (trolley to attach it to) so don't need to take a buggy at all.

We have a sling so will use that in Hong Kong (it's not really a buggy friendly city!) and although he's a big boy, it is very comfy......

I slept for 45 minutes in the whole 22 hour flight when we took our daughter over to Australia in 2007 (she was 2 1/2) so we are staying with my Dad in Hong Kong this time for 2 weeks so I can gird my loins ready for part 2. All I remember is crying on the 2nd leg from Singapore last time and the staff coming and chatting to me while I queued for the loo! Singapore are great...

Good luck and remember - it's one day out of your life!

Wanderlust

Hiya,

We did a total of 8 flights with our 9 month old, and the bassinet was fine for him. He slept in it and sat up to play in it too. Here are a few tips we picked up from our travels....

Baby food for the flight... if you feed your baby formula, its a good idea to carry your formula in small containers already measured out in the amounts you need. Much easier than trying to measure it on the go. Airline staff will happily mix up the formula for you, or even let you back into the kitchen to do it yourself. They don't have microwaves on board, so heating is done by mixing it with hot and cold water, or sitting it in hot water to heat up. Also suggest you carry a little container of dish soap and your bottle brush so you can wash your bottles at the stopover, rather than having to carry enough bottles for a day and a half. If you want to carry your own bottled water for formula rather than use the airline water, you will be allowed to. The restrictions on carrying liquids are relaxed for people with babies, at least they were for us when we flew just over a year ago.

Another suggestion - keep a little bag (I used a cosmetics bag) handy in your nappy bag, that holds a couple of nappies, wipes and nappy bags. That way, if you have to change a nappy on the airplane, you only have to grab that little bag rather than take your whole big nappy bag to the toilets. Airline toilets are small enough without having luggage in there too. Also - airplane toilets do have change tables in them.

For your stopover, you'll probably going to be waiting at an airport for a few hours, its a good idea to pack a blanket or play rug for bub to sit or lay on on the floor. Airport floors are not always that clean, so don't use your best blanket. Its better than letting bub sit on the carpet, and they appreciate the chance to stretch out and relax.

Make sure you carry one bag with all your baby stuff in it that you will need. The trick is to make sure everything is in little sections, easy to recognise and retrieve. In the aircraft, you're limited for space and you may find yourself trying to locate something in the dark or in a small area. If you can recognise what you need by where in the bag it's located and what it's packed in, it makes life a lot easier.

Also, babies have very small ear canals, and that can make it a lot easier for them to get pressure pain in their ears when the plane is coming in to land. Go to your Dr or chemist and get them to give you a decongestant for babies. It won't hurt for her to have it, and it will keep her ears and sinuses clear during the flight and you won't end up with a screaming child, which happens so very often on flights. They also generally help them to sleep, which is great on a long flight. Along with that, make sure baby has a bottle or drink during the landing procedure. The more she swallows as the plane decends, the less chance of a ear or sinus blockage. Grown ups do it automatically to make their ears pop, but babies don't and need some encouragement.

If you don't have a baby carrier (the sort you strap to your chest) I highly recommend one! Moving in and around the aircraft is much easier when your hands are free. Also, on our long haul flights we had a stopover and were expecting to be able to get our pram out of the hold for it. No such luck. The aircraft parked and refuelled, all luggage stayed on board. If we didn't have the carrier we would have been carrying baby around for 3 hours... and a 9 month old ain't that light any more! When you check in at departures, there is a chance they may ask you to check your pram in too. It depends on the airline or aircraft you're flying on. Some of them let you hand your pram over just before you enter the aircraft, but others ask for it at check in. Trust me - you don't want to have to spend an hour or two wandering around the airport carrying carry on luggage, nappy bag AND baby. A chest carrier leaves your hands free and makes life a lot easier.
We had a Baby Bjorn carrier, which I would highly recommend. But anything will do.

Thats it for tips from me. Good luck and enjoy your flight!

itigo

Ummm air pockets can cause sudden altitude drops that mean that anyone not tethered will stay where they are when the plane loses sudden height - largest cause of cabin crew serious injury. Also includes people who stay on the loo when the return to your seat sign is on! Never mind the seat, the ceiling and overhead lockers are more of a concern..........

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/...Turbulence.php

http://www.bt.com.bn/en/asia_news/20...nce_over_japan

With a parent in the industry you get things drummed into you quite a lot and sudden turbulence is one of them!

Burkins

Singapore Airlines provided a different selection of Cow & Gate baby jars.

viviennef

Problem you have is that some airlines wont let you let them play on the floor - nearly drove me mad on a couple of flights because every time I put one down someone came and told me off - there was heaps of leg room but its a no no for safety reasons and some staff are very vigilant

Bassinets are great, I always take a bag of surprises but the under 1 year olds are the easiest. Two year olds are not as much fun

Vivienne

andy w

Regarding food most airports have a chemist air side and you will find that they sell baby food. i found the food available on the flights was a bit limited for a young baby and brought some at gatwick on the way back. Breast feeding is really easy on planes as there is not much space no one can see anything. This was also a help to us when taking off and landing because he was busy sucking.

good luck

Geelong Gent

How did you get away with that then? Are you all midgets?

At 7 months our daughter was too big (long) for the bassinet but thankfully we had booked additional seat (so we could stretch out between us) and she slept between us head on mummy legs (kicking) daddy - I remember those things

viviennef

we had a whole front row and I put my 18M old in one too - just curled up and she was happy as larry. I didnt think she would fit but she liked it

fallen angel

Your child your choice. Personally I wouldn't want to risk my child having a serious head injury in the middle of a flight because I let them play on the floor and the plane hit severe turbulence. Its not uncommon and the consequences are severe enough so to be honest it is a huge deal. Obviously if it was guaranteed that it'd be a totally smooth flight then it would be the same as playing on the floor at home but the nature of being airborne and the invisibleness of turbulance makes it totally different hence the advice that whilst in your seat you wear your seatbelt at all times. Surely their safety be uppermost in your mind and you'd act the responsible adult and do your best to keep them safe.

If your flight will be miserable as your child is on your knee then I suggest you take enough distractions to amuse them for the duration. I managed numerous flights with a toddler and at no point was she allowed to play on the floor or disturb other travellers through boredom through prior planning and organising.

I hope that all airlines are as vigilant as the one viviennef travelled on and curtailed this irresponsible act

homewardbound

and if baby gets bored carry him/her round the plane for a walk... nothing worse than listening to a skrieking baby for hours on end. (from a passenger point of view)... I dont envy you - good luck xx

PoppetUK

We've used Britax Freeway car seats for our kids and bought seats. I like it from a safety point of view that they are strapped in. I also liked it when we hit turbulence as they didn't need to be moved whilst fast asleep.

I remember on the second leg. Dubai - Perth the couple that went for the bassienet got there little one to sleep several times but then the seat belt light came on. I didn't envy that at all especially as the kids slept through several episodes of this.

You know what though whatever happens its only 24hours and you are through it. That was my attitude.

We are hoping to fly back to the UK in July with an 8 week old (having had a c-section to) a 3.5 year old and a 5 year old. I'm not looking forward to it but I am not going to waste too much energy thinking about it.

I know I will not look at the inflight count down timer because it will never move. Going to take each moment as it comes. Travel as light as possible. A few weet-bix as back up to food. Change of clothes, crayons and not a lot else that isn't essential. Last time we loaded up because we were moving out here.

Which ever way we do it we all manage it. I try to be as kind and considerate to those around me but I do have a job to do and that's my focus, A to B. I'll ask for as much help as I think we need. I'll either get it or I won't.

coolerkingcooler

Ah, we used a sling for our little one but she's outgrown that, did not realise that there were bigger ones. I think their great and will look around for a bigger one.

Cooler