Any tips on flying with a 10 month old?

[JessetheCowgirl]

We've never flown with a baby this young.

Thank you

 

[Barbday62]

We flew in August with our then 6 month old grandson and we chose to hold him since we had 5 adults. I wish we would have bought a seat for him as he needed to lay down when he slept. If you can afford it do get a seat for him and use the car seat hes use to to sleep in.

We gave him a bottle for take off and landing and we also found it helped to hold one ear tight into our arm and then hold over the other ear. He did pretty good both directions.

Definetly take the stroller to the gate and check it there. You willhave it until you board and then again as soon as you walk off.

We carried a few rattles he loves too so we could play with him. He slept a lot since we held him (We had a 5 hour flight). Also dont forget the favorite blanket or what ever you use.

 

[megan&joeysmommy]

My DD was 10 mo last year when we flew from SD. We did not get her a seat and that turned out just fine for us. I really doubt that she would have wanted to sit in it and we just had too much other stuff to bring that a carseat would've been a lot of hassle. If you are renting a car anyway and you need to bring it, that's another story. We just rode the shuttle which turned out fine.

I would advise buying a couple new toys as opposed to the old favorites because the interest in something new lasts a little longer. Also, a sheet of small stickers cut into strips and handed out one strip at a time will keep any child busy for ages. Mine likes to stick them on her arms and move them around. I usually give her a piece of paper to stick them on and she just reuses them until they don't stick anymore. This also works great in restaurants where you have to wait for your meal.

We did the bottle trick for taking off and landing if she was awake. Take a bottle with water from home so that if your baby isn't hungry, a drink of water is another option. This is especially important if you're making connections that don't have a lot of time in between flights or if your flights don't fall during a normal feeding time.

Have a great time and don't be afraid to go on all the rides that don't have height restrictions. Start out easy and work your way up. Don't do Pirates first or you might not get the baby on anything more. My DD seemed to like all the rides we went on, but was more uneasy in the dark ones. Good luck and have fun!!!

 

[4greatboys]

Just make sure you change the baby before you board the plane. I know they can still have a dirty diaper but its heck trying to change on the plane. We fly SWA and they have no place to change the baby. Also be sure to nurse or give the baby a bottle on take off and especially landing so they can adjust the pressure in their ears.

 

[JenDaveBrendan]

I traveled with my son at 1 month old and 10 months old to Florida. I held him on my lap... (I would not recommend this!!!) I cannot stress this enough: Buy him a seat!!! You will be much more comfortable. My son slept most of the plane trips, which was good, but made me uncomfortable and my arms cramped up. ( Imagine holding your baby asleep for hours.... you know what I mean...) You also can't count on the seat being empty beside you. Even though it is a pain, bring your car seat to put the baby in, it is worth it. I traveled during off season, and I still had people beside me. Granted the flight was only 2.5 hours, but I still wished I had bought him a seat.
Definatly give him/her a bottle on take-off and landing and/or a binky. This will help with the ears.
Good luck! I am sure he/she will do fine!

Jen

 

[cathy59]

I've heard that giving kids a decongestant, like Sudafed, can help alleviate some of the pressure on their ears -- although I haven't done it with one that young.

If my DS7 has any sign of a cold, I give him some Sudafed about 20-30 minutes before take-off. It helps for grown-ups too. I have allergies, and it makes a difference!

 

[talicskai]

My kids are now 5 and 7 but we have always flown with them from the time they were 9 months old. I always gave them a gravol suppository before leaving for the airport and a bottle of warm milk at take-off. They slept through the entire flight. I have never purchased extra seats for them before we had to. My little secret is to book seats for you and hubby on the aisle and window. This leaves the middle seat empty. If the flight is not full, a middle seat is the last one checkin agents assign to passengers. 3 out of 4 times that seat was left empty and we had lots of space! It was wonderful! If you are renting a vehicle I suggest purchasing an extra car seat at a yard sale and using that all week. We just left it in the rental and Avis said they donate them to the Salvation Army or another needy charity. It was nice at the end of the holiday not to have to drag home a car seat!
My kids have been to WDW about 6 times each and loved every minute of it. Even though they don't remember the first few visits, I do and the memories are wonderful!

 

[ErinInCT]

Recently got back. This was dd11mo's 1st flight. We always buy a seat because our dd is squirmy & would not sit on a lap for a 2 hr flight. She stayed in her seat no problem. We also took the stroller all the way down the jetway & checked it at the mbottom & it is right there waiting for you when you get off (we balance the car seat on the cananpy & handle area so no one has to hold it - gotta hold other dd's hand!!)
The key for us was FOOD! Food is pretty much the only distraction for her. She is not into toys or stickers, etc. So we gave her a bottle at take off & then if she started getting fussy we gave her food (usually those sweet potato Gerber snacks). She slept most of the way there, but was awake the whole way home but she was an angel. We have 4 people in the family so dd sat in btwn the 2 girls (the car seat HAS to go by the window) & then I sat across the aisle in the next seat so we were all close together.
You may want to ask the dr about Sudafed. We used it on our older dd but tested it at home 1st b/c sometimes it has the opposite affect & makes kids wired!
You know your child. What do you do to distract him/her when you need to?

 

[NBFUN]

Our DS did wonderful two years ago when he was 10 months old. We took a later flight thinking he would sleep and it worked like a charm. We bought him his own seat and took his car seat on board which made him really comfortable. He slept the whole way to Disney. We also had little snacks and new toys for him in case the sleeping didn't work. Our doctor also told us we could give him a little Benadryl to help him through the flight, which we didn't do, but she said there was no problem with that.

Good Luck!

 

[4greatboys]

Just an FYI on Sudafed or other decongestants many drs dont like to give babies under 1 yr meds.

 

[rw_hadley]

Ah, now here's a subject where I have some experience!
Last November we brought our then 10 1/2 month old daughter home from China.
Needless to say, we logged more than a few airmiles!
We did not have a carseat, and we had to hold her on our lap.
Yet somehow we made it home

My suggestions for making the trip easier:

make sure your child has some familiar "lovey". For DD, it was her blanket (which was nice, since we could cover her up with it, and she slept on and off for much of the flight).

If your child is teething, try bringing some cookies or crackers (such as graham).
Since DD was teething, we gave her appropriate doses of baby Tylenol.

We've heard about giving your child Benadryl. This might be considered controversial, and we thought about, but didn't since she was on the baby Tylenol. As always, I'd check with my pediatrician about this. (Of course, if my pediatrician told me to use a bugspray with DEET on my baby, I'd ask somewhere else, but that's another thread, and my personal soapbox issue.)

I gotta agree about changing the diaper before getting on the plane. You obviously may still have to do it in flight, but if you can avoid changing a baby in a tiny airplane restroom, do it.

Remember, most kids are pretty resilient. Even if they have a miserable flight, they probably will fine once they get on the ground.

Anyway, looking forward to DD's first trip to WDW in Dec. '06 for her 4th Birthday!

 

[kpossible]

Buy a seat for your baby at half price. Babies are at most risk if there is turbulence. I have talked to people in the airline industry and they would not fly without getting a seat for their babies. I have three children and have always bought a seat for them when 2 and under. They are safest and knowing that is worth the cost. Make sure you bring changes of clothes and hope they poop before they get on the plane. A plane is a difficult place to change a messy diaper. Most of the time my children have slept. My youngest was on a plane this summer(4 months) and slept the whole trip) My two year old had a hard time with the landing due to ear pressure and cried for 30 minutes. Good luck and hope your trip goes well.

 

[Timster]

Here are a few things we did:

1. Try to fly around normal bed time.
2. One of you board first with the car seat and have it strapped in.
3. Have never before seen toys (travel magnadoodle).
4. Bottle or sippy cup during take off and landing's for ears.
5. Favorite snacks ready.

As far as the car seat goes, it wasn't bad. Tighted up the tether and just put it over your shoulder. The seat will hang nicely on your back.
Buy the seat! You would be surprised how hard a child would be to hold on to in heavy turbulance. And you really don't want to put your seat belt around you both.

Just my two cents-

Good Luck.

 

[CHRIS0498]

My son is now 6 but we have been traveling by plain and auto since he was 3 months old. His doctor, who gives me the correct dosage for his age and weight, has me give him Benadrel(Sp) and he will usually sleep the whole way. We still give it to him even though he is 6 because we fly from the west coast and he does not like to sit that long. If he is a sleep the time goes by much faster for him and us.

 

[Roo'sMom]

Like the stickers idea, I have heard that a roll of scotch tape also works!

And a small container of bubbles- like what you get at a wedding (hi- huey dewey louey!) go a long way!

Have a great time!