Help on Air Travel with a 11 Month Old

You didn't ask, but what came to my mind when you metioned a plane ride were her ears. She is a little young for bubble gum, but you may try her binkie (if she has one). I have heard that it works to help pop their ears. Maybe try a snack that requires a fair amount of chewing, but isn't a choking hazard, like grapes.
~ S.

I flew with my daughter when she was about 10 months, maybe I was just lucky but I had no problems. She slept most of the time and the rest of the time we spent looking at books and stuff, my advice would be don't worry about it, if your nervous about it, she's going to be nervous. Good Luck!

Make sure to take some cookies for the baby to gum on, that saved me on a flight when my oldest was a baby for when their ears start popping with the increase in altitude. At such a young age I would take some toys that are made specifically just to look at. Example, we had these soft square cubes, they were textured on the different sides and were black and white, a few had a little red on them. My girls would stare at those for hours as if they were in a trance. Target carries the best toys I think. Hope that helps some

Hi T.-

I have flown so much with my kids and what has worked for me was to go to the dollar store and get some new toys that the kids have never seen before. Get one out every hour or so. For sure have her suck on something while taking off and landing, even if it's just eating a snack so she's swallowing. Hope this helps!!

PS- I ALWAYS anticipated the worst when flying with my kids, but it always worked out fine so don't stress!

Hi T.!
I have 2 little ones that I fly with quite a bit. I bring a few of their favorite toys, a sippy cup (or bottle. and binkie if she is a binkie baby) and a favorite blanket. Also pack some of her favorite snacks. I dont know if you will get a meal on the plane, most of the plane trips we take are only 2 hours, but some small snacks will help occupy her for a bit. Something else I also do, under advise from my dr, is give my boys a dose of benedryl about 30 minutes before we board the plane. This will help with pressure in the ears and also relax them. You might want to talk to your own dr about that though since I am not a dr myself :)

Another helpful hint is give Emma a sippy, binki, bottle, or breast (whichever you use) when you take off and when you land. This will also help with pressure in her ears. A lot of the time the altitude also makes my boys sleepy. They dont fall asleep right away but after a bit they do.

I hope I have helped you in some way. Those are a few things that have worked for me.

Don't worry--you'll be fine! Don't take too much stuff, she will be just as entertained by the magazines and your seatmates as anything you can bring on board. Bring NEW toys she has never seen before (you can hide some of her favorite toys for a week or two before you go, and she will forget about them--no need to buy a lot of new stuff). Take some food that you know she likes, but put it in plastic containers so it doesn't get crushed. My little boy used to like to play with odd stuff from my purse, like my cell phone, my notepad, stickers, etc. But try to bring just one bag--put your wallet, ticket, etc. into your diaper bag if you can. The hardest part of flying with a baby is managing all the stuff. You can check your stroller and your car seat right at the gate (or check the car seat at the ticket counter to get rid of it). The car seat counts as one piece of baggage, but the stroller won't count and you will have it at the door when you get to your destination. Don't be afraid to walk around with Emma when you're on the plane--that's good for a distration too. And she might actually sleep--the noise of the plane often puts them to sleep. Above all, don't get too nervous, she will be calm if you are calm. Good luck!!

Don't be nervous my Daughter went on a train when she was 2 1/2 months old and next friday we are going to Idaho and she is 8 months old now your baby will do good

Make sure your child is well rested before the trip. We recently took our (almost) 2 year old son on a short flight. On the way there he had a nap right before we left and he did great. I bought him a few new toys before we left and he happily played the whole way. On the way home we had to get up very early in the morning. He was tired and cranky, he cried and threw himself on the floor standing at the gateway to board the flight. It was one of those typical embarassing airport scenes where all the other passengers look at you in horror and you know they are thinking "great I have to get on a plane with that kid!". Fortunately, he fell asleep as we were taking off and slept most of the way. But to me this experience illustrated the big difference between a well rested child and an overly tired one.

I found traveling when they are a year and younger is way easier.

I flew for 9 hours with dd when she was 4 months and 14 months. At 14 months, I took the portable dvd player with baby einstein. Between sleeping and watching that, she was perfectly content. BUT... she had her own seat... I don't know how you'd pull off holding the dvd player and her at the same time.

I'm travelling next week with my 12 month old and am experiencing the same anxiety! So far, I have made sure to pack things like gold fish, a juice box, a bottle with dry formula already in it (and a water bottle...but the airline usually provides)and some toys. Dont take too much!! I cant stress that enough. I once travelled when she was 6 weeks old and it was so hard lugging around a large diaper bag, my purse, and her car seat AND stroller which had to be checked and picked up between flights! I am taking a small carry-on bag which will have my purse and travel info in it. One bag only! Be sure to bring a new book or a favorite snuggle buddy incase she falls asleep :) Good luck!!

I've flown with both of my children... my son when he was about a year... and recently my daughter who was only 6 wks at the time.
Give a bottle or binky during both take off and landing... as well MASSAGE her ears. Now that liquids are not allowed through security it will need to be formula or breastmilk to bring it on board. Otherwise make sure you notify the flight attendents as soon as you board and ask that they place the juice or milk in your baby's bottle.
Both of my children slept most of the way... I suggest that you bring an umbrella stroller cause your arms are gonna get tired... you can check the stoller at the gate 'al cart' and it will be waiting for you as soon as you get off the plane. Bring items to entertain favorite toy and snacks... the art of distraction is a beautiful thing! My cell phone came in handy as a last resort.
If you get to the airport a little early you can let her crawl/walk around and wear her out... this works wonders for a nap on plane ride. Both of my children have slept thru the flights even thru some of the worst turbulance... the humming of the engines put them right to sleep.
Hope this helps... Good luck on your trip have a wonderful time!

Hi T., Let me just tell you, I just went from NV to NJ with my one year old. I was scared to death that it was going to be a nightmare especially since my son has horrible temper tantrums already. To ease your mind things went pretty darn good. Much, much better than expected. I just made sure to hide some of his favorite toys until the trip. I gave him an old cell phone that absolutely delighted him and kept him busy for a while as we waited for the plane to take off. What we also did which I think was a good idea, (though it was hard on me) was we took the red eye which was a sure thing for him sleeping the whole way. Well not sure that will help especially if you already have tickets but the best of luck to you.

Hi T.,
My husband's family lives across country from us so we have had to fly with our son a few times. I would suggest tape and stickers to keep her occupied and then the portable dvd player. That has been a life saver for us. Some airports rent them for flights. Also, books to read if she likes them. We always tried to get red eyes so that our son would be sleeping but this often backfired as we would get there and be ready to drop while he was ready to go. Next time we fly we have to get him a ticket and I must say that even with the extra expense I will be glad to do it. We got the opportunity a few times (always ask if there is an extra seat available to take your car seat on, if you do it last minute they don't charge you). It was amazingly easier with him in his own seat. If you have the means to get a seat for your daughter I highly recommend it!
S.

I suggest using a backpack for one thing to keep your hands free while going through the airport/s. Take a look at what she is playing with a lot. Try not bring anything that makes noise so that it doesn't affect the other passengers. Try and give her a bottle/cup during take off and landing, that should help with the ear poping. You can also try benadril so that she doesn't get congested.

I traveled with my older son from Arizona to New York when he was 11 months old. He slept most of the way there. If you can, get in the first row, so you'll have lots of foot room for her to play in. You should be able to board early because you have a small child. On my way back, he was wide awake and very fussy. I think that so long as you have food, binkies (if she uses them) and toys, if she's still fussy, there's not much you can do about it. Don't let the other passengers make you feel bad...you paid for your ticket too. Oh! Also make sure you have something for her to suck on (breast, binkie, bottle) for take off and landing so her ears can pop. I'm flying next month with my six month old, so hopefully we'll both have great trips!

T.,

I went through this exact situation last month!!! I flew from Salt Lake City to Baltimore, Maryland with my son, who was 11 months old at the time.

I bought a portable DVD player and brought his favorite Baby Einstein videos along for him to watch. This worked very well for a portion of the flight! You may be able to borrow a DVD player from a friend and then get a couple of DVD's from the library!

Also, I suggest putting a lot of thought into what you bring on the plane. I brought WAY too much stuff. I recommend trying to fit it all in one bag so you'll have an easier time getting to everything you need without feeling like a pack mule.

Remember that Security has very strict rules about what you can bring on the plane. Remember to dump out any juice or water you have before you try to go through Security. I had to leave my son's toothpaste and his sippy cup because it had apple juice in it. They will not make you dump out formula.

Also, don't hesitate to ask the flight attendants for what you need!!! You're probably paying a ton for your plane tickets and the least they can do is get you extra juice when you ask for it, or take a dirty diaper for you!!!

My last suggestion is (and this is a tricky one) to try to get as much rest before the flight as you can but without letting your little one sleep so that you'll be awake and ready to hold your baby in whatever position she falls asleep in (trust me, it probably won't be the most comfortable for you!) and also if you're rested, you'll be ready to entertain her with silly songs and talking.

Please let me know if you have any other questions that I might help with!

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I have travel with my daughter when she was just about that age too. What I found helpful was I bought along her favorite doll, blanket, book, and coloring/crayons. I also brought some of her favorite snack foods.

Those things held her over for the most part and occasionally she got somewhat fussy but I started singing to her and letting her dance on the seat to pass time by.

Don't worry about the other passangers and what they are thinking...sometimes yeah some act like they never had kids..just ignore them.

I didn't tell you that my flight including lay-overs was 15 hours. :) I flew from Florida to Spokane with one lay-over. So if I can do it, I am sure you can too. Good luck and be safe!

Hi T.,
I'm a mother of 2, the oldest justed turned 4 and the other is 2-1/2. I've lived abroad for that whole time, in Egypt and now Malaysia, and travel to Las Vegas every year. That's about 28 hours door-to-door. Here's a bit of advice. (1) Try to have a plane ride that coincides with nap/sleep time if possible. But don't make the mistake of starving a child for sleep before the trip in the hope that he/she will fall asleep on the plane. It doesn't work; it just makes them irritable and unable to sleep. So, if your flight isn't at sleep time, it's better that she is wide awake and happy from having slept. (2) Take a bottle (perhaps powdered and mix right before -- check current carry-on regs) or breastfeed when taking off/landing. Her little ears will feel better. A pacifier would also help in this. (3) Ask for a seat with a babycot they can put on the wall in front of you, for her to sleep. I would hope that in a cross-country flight they'd have a big enough plane that has this. But you'd have to check. (4) Pack small favorite toys that she hasn't used in a while. It's a nice surprise for her. Or buy a new one to open on the plane. (5)Later as she is older, a portable DVD player and a few DVDs would help, if they allow them on the plane. I don't know anymore. Good luck. K.