Hi!

We always took lollipops for kids to suck on on take off and landing to save the kids going through the ear-popping thing. I wouldn't consider giving them any sleep inducing medicine incase it masked an actual illness.

Our kids never gave us any problems on flights, although some of the passengers weren't too pleased that we took balloons and bubbles for them to play with at the airport and on flights!! As a previous poster said, you'll never see these people again, why worry what they think about you? Your kids wellbeing is more important.

We flew back to UK earlier this year and I was more concerned that the oriental gentleman behind us, who'd joined at Singapore, was coughing and spluttering all over my youngest son.

Also, as previous posters have said, flight staff are brilliant with kids.

One thing I'd definately recommend is one of those travel pillows as the ones the airlines have are rubbish.

Good luck with the flights and the rest of the rollercoaster.

All the best,

Maggie

Won't help with the entertainment factor, but in your hand luggage, pack plenty of spare clothes in case of accidents and whatever painkiller you use for the little one. Sachets of Calpol are ideal. Sometimes they get earache due to the pressure. Worse case scenario, they come down with a bug mid-flight and then you have them to hand. I have always taken them and never needed them, but it's more about peace of mind.

I can second the change of clothes. My daughter threw up about an hour into our 14 hour flight. Luckily had a change of clothes, but for the rest of the flight was thinking.....oh crap what if she pukes again???

This was completley unexpected at the time since she never gets sick like that. Although now, we've discovered that she will get motion sickness every so often, thankfully not too often!

The other reason I second the clothes is that when we arrived in Sydney none of our luggage made it. All 5 pieces were delayed until the next day as they didn't make the flight. So when we arrived we went to the hotel with just our carry on bags. The kids had all the major supplies plus a change of clothes. We on the other hand had a laptop and some reading material, so no clothes for us!

A plastic bag or two would also come in handy if you would like to bag up the stinky pukey clothing

Just what I was thinking, but didn't want to scare them too much. I always pack the toothbrushes and toothpaste in the handluggage, plus clean adult undies in case of baggage delay and some of those little sample sachets of toiletries. Have to be more careful due to liquid restrictions now though.

Also WET WIPES are essential - for very many reasons.

Poor you! I took my kids long haul when they were aged 2 & 3. I do happen to agree with those who said don't rely on phenergan, it can indeed make a bad situation worse :curse:

Just try & stay philosophical about it - it's only going to be 24 hours on the flight say & then a couple of days to adjust & get over it - not a lot really when you think you've got a whole new life to look forward to...

Favourite blankie, toys that keep their brain occupied (puzzles, stories, etc.) & just try to stay calm & watch the clock tick by.... flight staff really can be great though, so don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

Good luck!

Yes, lots of wet wipes are good. Actually, no one even noticed she puked. Most of the people were already trying to sleep and my daughter did it so quietly that my husband didn't even notice.

In all honesty I wasn't even that stressed during the flight. Yes, there was stress. But we were so excited about what we were doing that we really didn't care about the puke, the crappy transfer at LAX and the lost bags in Sydney. We were just so happy to be finally on our way that it didn't matter. It just seemed like a minor glitch at the time. And now it's all just a funny story about our journey.

Oh yah...... I would also like to mention that birth control should also be packed in your carry on. Enough said I think

I hold nothing back

PMSL! When did you fly.........................................

We flew the first week of May, so I would have known by now if there were to be any extra packages delivered long after our luggage Whew!

That's a relief!

Thanks Guys I think I will try it before we go. My son had trouble sleeping some time ago and the local GP recommended Piriton and he was jumping all over the place.

Does any one know if the flight from Dubai to Brisbane has a stop over in Signapore.

Hi!

If you're travelling Emirates, the Dubai/Brisbane flight stops at Singapore to refuel. It's long enough to get off and go for a walk, about 1 hour I think. On journey to UK I stayed onboard 'cos son was asleep. On way back to Brisbane I got off and went for a walk. Wasn't worth it, it was so hot and humid.

Also, remember if you do get off take you're boarding passes and passports with you because you have to go through security before reboarding. Some passengers forgot and that was a hassle for them.

All the best!

Maggie