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Reassurance needed please !

Reassurance needed please !

Old Oct 23rd 2011, 7:13 pm
  #1  
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Smile Reassurance needed please !

Hi i have not posted before as i seem to have been helped with any issues from other posts but now i am just after some reassurance.

I have just been granted my 175 visa and have to be in australia by jan 18th 2012. I have booked my flight with quantas for jan 4th but am nervous because i am flying with my 20 month old who is rather curious and quite active. Oh and she does not like to sleep anywhere but in her own comfy room

Can anyone give me any tips for the flight. Ear popping situations , distractions etc. I am a nervous flyer as it is so anything that will help will be appreciated.

Thanks

liz x
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Old Oct 24th 2011, 5:33 am
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

Originally Posted by Oz2010
Hi i have not posted before as i seem to have been helped with any issues from other posts but now i am just after some reassurance.

I have just been granted my 175 visa and have to be in australia by jan 18th 2012. I have booked my flight with quantas for jan 4th but am nervous because i am flying with my 20 month old who is rather curious and quite active. Oh and she does not like to sleep anywhere but in her own comfy room

Can anyone give me any tips for the flight. Ear popping situations , distractions etc. I am a nervous flyer as it is so anything that will help will be appreciated.

Thanks

liz x
Which way are you coming, and with which airline? Most airlines are pretty good at helping with young children. Is she computer savvy? because all the in-flight entertainment packages have a range of computer games.

I can't reassure you - it is likely to be a harrowing experience, particularly if she won't go to sleep! But depending on your stopover airports it should be OK.
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Old Oct 24th 2011, 8:13 am
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

When I have done the flight with my own kids and more recently with the grandkids there really hasnt been too much to worry about. I always get late night departure flights - other people dont like them but they work for me and mine. Get totally knackered the day you leave and you (and she) will be asleep before wheels up. At 20 months unless she is really petite you will be best getting a seat for her - some people do bring their kids car seats so if she is comfortable and used to sleeping in hers then you could bring it with you (hard to wrangle though if there is just you and a toddler) but it wont be any use in Australia anyway. The bassinette rows are good for space but the arm rests dont go up so you dont have flexibility with kids draping themselves over you. If you can choose where to sit, try and get yourselves the two side seats where the plane narrows from 3 seats down the side to two down the back - much more space for stuff - almost worth paying for IMHO if you want the space to be flexible.

Travel as light as you possibly can, dont weigh yourself down with stuff you might need, just keep it to the stuff you know you will need. My d-i-l has an Ergo baby carrier which would be big enough for an older child and you can use it as a baby backpack and walk the aisles if you need to get her to sleep. A spare top for you is a good idea too, just in case you get spewed all over!

I always took just a few little new things for them to open en route but if you are strapped for space then dont bother - if you do want something, those little magna doodle things are good - draw on them then slide the eraser and draw again (get them from the Pound shop).

If she is prone to travel sickness then check out any travel sick remedy BEFORE you go near a plane. Some kids have a paradoxical reaction and get very hyper with them (if you can find some for 20 monthers in UK, they are contraindicated for the under 2s in Australia and you cant get anything!).

A drink will help on take off and landing for ear popping (my hippy d-i-l has some homeopathic lollipops for the granddaughters which she insists are ok but I never bothered with such things)

If you get a straight through flight, you will have about an hour to exercise, stretch, run around in one of the Asian ports and I would make sure that your daughter does a lot of running around (hence again the need to travel light so you arent chasing her with several arms full of luggage) so that by the time you reboard she is ready for something to eat and will drop off to sleep again.

My granddaughter was 19 months last time we flew with her and she slept most of the way there and then for most of the next 24 hours and was back to her normal self quicker than her parents were!

I always travel with Qantas and find them just fine - I dont like over pampering so their matter of factness works for me. Dont expect any airline these days to take your kids off your hands because there are OH&S restrictions - by all means ask them to keep an eye on a sleeping child if you need to go to the loo though.

Just make sure that she doesnt kick the back of the seat in front and remember that many of the other passengers will be most sympathetic (and those that arent will get their karma one day when they try travelling with kids!).

You'll be fine, just treat it like a trip to the shops and dont panic, it will be far easier than you are imagining and if you have good parenting skills in place before you start they will stand you in good stead.
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Old Oct 24th 2011, 5:43 pm
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

Hi we flew with Singapore when our daughter was 20 months, and she was fine, we requested a basinet and she slept half the journey, the rest of the time she mostly sat in the basinet and played with toys, flash cards and the ipad, take a blanket she you can make her cosy and all will be fine.
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Old Oct 25th 2011, 11:10 am
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

Thank you so much for the advice. We are flying with quantas and i booked a night flight hoping she will sleep.

Doodle pad is a greta idea gonna look for one of them.

thanks liz x
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Old Oct 28th 2011, 3:28 am
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

Hi! I've flown with 22 month od and 4 yr old. Wasn't as bad as I'd thought. Bassinet was fab as could either put child in it or toys! Because you get the baulkhead seats more leg room too which is room for them to play on the floor. Both mine loved the tv and watched the same couple of programs all the way there and back without getting bored. Activity/sticker books are great too, they spent hours with stickers. I also put a couple of fave toys and books in, not too much. Infants allowed own luggage so they each had a pull along backpack with their stuff which they also played with and loved. Plus not counted in your weight allowance either. I took plenty of snacks as well. For ear popping breast feed at take off/landing or if all finished try and get them to swallow alot during same. Crew brilliant when I flew, watched kids at toliet trips etc and tried to amuse them when time allowed. I got some phenergan on prescription for emergencies, just in case they got overwrought and past it. Only needed it once, between singapore and sydney for 22 month old who had got beside himself and was very distressed and then slept. Try it first though at home as some kids get hyper and bear in mind altitude can affect this also. Made me calmer knowing I had it though as I was flying alone with two kids. I took pram for the airport as little legs get very tired and not counted in weight allowance either. Good luck, am sure it will all be fine and from my experience goes faster than you expect
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Old Oct 29th 2011, 11:03 pm
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Smile Re: Reassurance needed please !

Thank you so much. We have requested bulk head seats so hopefully that should be fine. One of my friends at work suggested phenergan as my little girl does get terrible cramky when she is overtired. Thank you so much for the advice x
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Old Oct 30th 2011, 1:05 am
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

Originally Posted by Oz2010
Thank you so much. We have requested bulk head seats so hopefully that should be fine. One of my friends at work suggested phenergan as my little girl does get terrible cramky when she is overtired. Thank you so much for the advice x
So you're going to drug your baby for the flight? Be aware that a lot of times drugs like phenergan can have the opposite effect and actually cause hyperactivity. Or worse, what if she has an allergic reaction to it and you're 35000' in the air?

It's 24 hours. Is it really worth giving your baby drugs for a 24 hour flight?
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Old Oct 30th 2011, 9:51 am
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

Thanks i had not really looked into it yet. Just a couple of people recently have mentioned it. Not saying am gonna 'drug' my baby. just appreciate any advice i get.
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Old Nov 4th 2011, 11:52 am
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Default Re: Reassurance needed please !

I would take a small dish with you and some food/sandwiches as emergency. I found airline meal time did not correspond to my toddlers sons meal times. When they finally came they were so hot that the food was bubbling in the dish. I ended up decanting it into a tea cup to hurry up the cooling process as by then son was very hungry and upset.
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