Bella Cullen

I don't know if it's enforceable or just preference for babies. No idea.

I think that things are just all feeling a bit more real now flights are booked. Excitement and terror feel much the same

Dashie

Which airlines though? Never heard it before. It'd be useful for people to know

Gillymonkey

Book the bulkhead seats with the bassinet!

MarylandNed

Yep - that's what we did when we flew from Canada to the UK and back with our 8 week old.

yzf.shaun

Good luck. We flew with our 6 month old going the other way. Toronto - Manchester last October. That turned into a nightmare when there was a medical emergency onboard and the flight made an unscheduled stop at St Johns. We were sat there for three hours before moving again.

I'm sure you will get through it just fine.

Siouxie

+1 - absolutely!

It's handy for changing them and for storing all the odds and ends you need to entertain a 6 year old plus the babies stuff - and if you are lucky, they may even sleep in it.

I 2nd making sure you have enough baby stuff with you for 24 hours - particularly nappies, wet wipes, plastic bags, a spare blanket and at least 3 changes of clothes (and one for yourself in case you get sicked on/wet on). You might want to make sure you have spare drinks/snacks for your 6 year old with you too.

I flew back from Hong Kong one year and was diverted and sat in Europe for 9 hours due to fog at Heathrow. There were several babies on the flight and we were not allowed to leave the satellite holding area - no drinks, no food, no nappies, nothing. We ended up being delayed by 14 hours in total (3 aborted landings at Heathrow and then diverted North and a coach back to London on top of the 9 hour diversion earlier), it wasn't fun with a 4 year old let alone a baby especially after a 16 hour normal flight plus all the delays - it took us 31 hours to get home in total.

Be prepared, make sure the baby is sucking on something during take-off and landing and you will be fine.

fabretti18

Has anyone mentioned taking a pillow? If your baby doesn't sleep in the bassinet then they may fall asleep on the pillow which you keep in your lap. Seemed to work with ours but he was 13 months.
We found Air Transat excellent and they gave us a spare seat up front so more leg room and we hadn't even requested it. Top Airline IMO

Good luck and try not to worry

Bella Cullen

Thank you all for such fab suggestions. I will keep all of them in mind. I'm keen to make the process as stress free as possible for everyone!

scrubbedexpat091

This thread reminds me of the trip I took to Australia in 2001, I got seated at the bulkhead on the aisle, and across on the other aisle in the center seating area was an infant, and I was dreading a long long 14 hour flight.

The baby turned out to be very quiet, and didn't make a peep other then some giggling and laughing the entire flight.

Now my adult neighbor at the window, well he was a pain in the arse.

Shirtback

Loads of good advice on this thread!

I don't have much to add, other than that I found it harder flying with a 4 yr old than a new born; you *might* find your 6 yr old needs more attention than the baby. When I flew Long haul, many moons ago, with a 7 week old, every time she opened her mouth, I (breast)feed her .

I ditto all advice on taking twice the supplies (including changes of clothes) you think you will need. Also, advise your airline customer service in advance that you're flying with a tiny baby, & remind them of it at check in. They can be very helpful.

Good luck, & Bon vol!!

S

Tirytory

I second the rather flying with a newborn than a toddler. I think it's worse as they get older. A newborn will probably sleep a fair amount of the flight away anyway with maybe a quick feed and nappy change to interrupt your flight. Breast feeding is good if you're planning to. Instant comfort, and no having to fret about warming bottles.

Incidentally breast feeding is huge where I am. Nowhere near as many mums fed in the UK. It is very much the thing to do here.

Dashie

Interesting Tiritory, I've found it the other way round. It's legally protected in both countries though and I hope acceptance increases everywhere.

foreigngirl

I just flew with a 12 week old from Vancouver to London with air canada. We had booked a bassinet, but she hated it. Had to cover her with this mesh, so she looked like she was in a cage. I held her for most of the flight. She slept and ate (breastfed). It eas a red eye though and she's always been an amazing night sleeper (well, not now as she isn't coping well with the time difference).
As she slept for most of the flight, I only had to change her twice (despite taking 1o nappies for the entire flight). I nursed in my seat, but my baby is already 63cm long, so her legs were on my SO's seat and her head on my fellow passenger's side (I had the middle seat in the middle row of 4).
Take:
- nappies, wipes, disposable change pads ( I doubt that you will want to reuse them, akthough the air canada toilets were quite clean), nappy bags
- change of clothes for baby in case of blowouts and for you in case of vomit
- thin hat ( the aircon was on full blast on our flight and we couldn't regulate it)
- two blankets (one to put in bassinet, it will be dirty, one to cover/swaddle baby, you can also use it as a nursing cover)
- plastic bottle for yourself so that the flight attendants can fill it up for you
- dummy. My baby doesn't use a dummy, but at one point during take off she didn't want to nurse, so I slipped it in and held it fir her and she sucked it. Clip for dummy as you really don't want it dropping on the floor
- burp cloths or any other cloths for wiping baby. Basically, take everything you have in your nappy bag

Goid luck

Shirtback

Veering wildly Off Topic: it's nominally big here (Qc), but practical support/advice is lacking. But I think it's the same back in the UK. I'm at an age where my children's friends are starting to reproduce, & am occasionally finding myself in the position of unofficial breastfeeding advisor/advocate. I b'fed four babies for periods varying from 2 months to 3 years. I got hassle for both extremes

I could start a whole new topic on this, but I'm not sure this is the place

I got into trouble intra-family a few years back when I advised my sobbing, hysterical, exhausted sister (in the UK) to try bottle feeding rather than have a nervous breakdown. She, & baby, survived

S

Bella Cullen

Breastfeeding support is getting so much better in the UK than it ever has before. I can't comment on how things are in Canada as I've never done it there!

I'm just back from Brussels and I was surprised by the sheer number of nursing mothers. It was really lovely to see how widely accepted it was and I cannot imagine a single person being asked to leave an establishment for feeding as has frequently been reported in the UK media.