International Flight

There are a lot of great suggestions already posted. A waring about Benadryl, 1 out of 20 kids have the opposite reaction and become even more energenic. The first time I tried it on my son he slept peacefully. The second time I tried it, I thought they were going to land the plan early and kick us off because my son was bouncing off the walls. I advise a no-drug apporach.

We live on planes. Take the red-eye.
My faves: a good DVD player and suckers!!
I have also used one color of Playdoh with success.

Oh, I also buy everyone around us drinks early on in the flight!

I flew with a 4 yo and a 2 yo Coast to coast and found that mini suckers were great for take-off and landing (like dum-dum pops). The plane also had the movie screens on the back of the seat, which helped. I bought a variety of small toys; finger puppets were a big hit with my daughter and mini cars and trucks with my son. Also, coloring books and notebooks with colored pencils and sticker books (I think they're by Priddy books) with the "re-positional" stickers (because we learned the hard way that regular stickers don't peel off the trays so easily!!), and magnetic books were great toys for the long flight. Definitely take a favorite book or two. I also took mini play dough canisters (the party favor size) and lots of snacks: pretzels, gerber puffs, freeze dried fruit, and dry cereal in snack-size baggies. If you decide to take cold stuff, you can use frozen fruits or veggies instead of ice(they'll make you toss the ice or ice-substitute at security). Do an internet search for travel with children and you can find a list of the items that it is OK to take aboard (and through security) and in what quantities; like baby food and juice.

When my son was 15 mos. we flew to Europe and took some new books and toys for the plane. He ended up sleeping a lot of the time. We didn't use his car seat on the flight back because he hated sitting in it on the way there. He curled up with his head on my lap for most of the flight. Definitely buy your youngest a seat! Don't forget that you can check the stroller at the gate...

We like to sit at the front of the cabin, by the wall, so there is room for the kids to stand up when the seat belt light is off.

Happy travels. Hope you have a good trip.

Hi L.,

My family lives in the Netherlands, so we travel to Europe as often as we can. Last year we did it with our 6 month old, our almost 2 year old, and our 3 year old......It was a challenge, but we survived it. We took a portable DVD player with us with some movies, and we went to the dollar-store, to buy silly little gifts, and wrapped them up, took them in the hand-luggage. Then, every hour our kids could unwrap a present......They played with those silly things just long enough to have another hour pass by....
On our lay-over we made sure they had lots of exercise and they were running around. Good luck and most of all: think positive and see it as an adventure.

E..

My 2 year old has done 2 trips to germany and 2 trips to Australia. Expect your worst day and everything will be ok.

I am always prepared for delays, many poopy diapers, enough food and always take medication for her. I have never needed to use the medication but I take it anyway. I also take a ball with me one that can be blown up so it doesn't take up too much room.

Good luck and have fun.

P.

depending on what airline you are travelling on, you could have a lot of options available to you. Some airlines have the wider seating area with the leg room in front (usually just behind first class) on smaller planes. Contact the airlines to see about seating availability, explain about two small kids (I hope your 3.5 yo has his/her own seat). Does the plane have individual viewing screens for each seat? Some planes do. If not, find a portable DVD player and bring kids movies. As for the baby, I recommend you bring several quick changes of clothing, you might include something for yourself as well (I had my son spill his drink all over me and I had to sit in wet, sticky clothes the whole flight). Small toys (wrapped), fruit snacks (yes, the kind like candy, not fruit chopped up), stickers, lollipops, does your younger one use a pacifier? if really fussy--needs a nap, etc. I would dip the tip of it into a small packet of sugar and give to my boys and they'd fall right to sleep. when allowed to walk around, definitely take them for a walk, check out to see if there are kids' meals on the plane (arrange for in advance), bring a small pillow for each for napping or if you are holding one, for under your arm. Have a good trip

Hi L.,
A little Benadryl to help sleep and slow the active one down :). For the older child, bring a little backpack of stimulating items to keep her busy. When I used to take my children to Europe on those long flights, it was small books, crayons, color books, a lap top is good if you have one to watch selected DVD's. If you go to a travel store, they sometimes have good ideas to help keep little ones busy. Traveling the "red eye" is a thought, they are already tired:) Good luck.
Hope some of this helps, have a safe and fun trip.
J.

We've done international travel with our daughter when she was 1 and she is now 8. I recommend ordering special meals for yourselves and either a fruit plate or kids meals. You get your meals served first and that gives you more time with meals (and first access to restrooms for cleanup)
In addition to a change of cloths or two for each child, also put in a change of clothers for yourself and husband. You will feel so much better if you can get yourself cleaned up after the long flight and not worry so much about the inevitable spills and stickiness that will be shared with you.

Small surprises and gifts to pull out during the flight and a portable dvd player or even games on your iphone all help.

I've flown to Europe 2x with my son (now 16 mo) on my own. Actually, it is a bit easier now he is older. I try to stick to our departure schedule until 'bedtime', then switch to our new one. So he eats and naps normal time until his bedtime. Then when we arrive, we switch onto our new timezone, so if it is morning he has breakfast, even if bodyclock says middle of the night. I try to strike a balance between him having enough sleep to function and not too much to stop him switching to the new schedule.

Travel advice:
- plan in advance things you'll need for the flight
- take extra food/snacks because chances are the airline won't give you food when you need it and kids might not like it anyway
- I made him a backpack with toys/activities, including some new things.
- take your time with everything, pre-board (ask to if they don't offer it)
- try to be flexible to your kids needs, so let them walk up and down if that's what they want. I can get a bit stuck in 'now we need to do xxx'
- If you can get seats with extra legroom, do. Check seatguru.com (I think that's correct) for 'good' seats on each airline/aircraft.

Hope that helps :)
E.

PS I totally agree with the 'let them run around like crazy things when they can'! And most european countries have good changing/feeding facilities, I think. Better than here, actually. I bought diapers wherever I went this time. I wouldn't bother taking them, just take up space. The only thing I'd still bother taking is formula, but of course, he isn't on that any more.

Hi L.,
Both our families live in Europe so we have been flying to Europe at least once a year, some years we flew twice a year. The first transcontinental flight was when my son was 1 month old. He is now 13 and my daughter 11. Some of the things I find important are:
- If there is a direct flight to your destination it is worth it!
- Pack food for the trip. Our daughter doesn't like air plane food and one year she trew up because she hadn't eaten for too long.
- I never ever would bother packing diapers! They only take up space! I packed what I needed for the trip and more for the first couple days. Sometimes I asked my family to buy some beforehand so it would be ready when needed. Remember in most areas in Europe stores are closed on Sunday!
- If you have a very picky eater take an extra box of something he/she likes and make the switch gradually...
- Most of the times I had their car seats with me on the plane. I found it helped them sleeping in a familiar position and I would need them at the destination. I did this as long as they needed the real car-seat! once they used booster seats I wouldn't bother taking them on board of the air plane, but would still pack them. To many countries you have to use a car seat longer than here. And rental companies would charge a lot...
- Now, at least I and the kids travel in sweat pants and layered T-shirt and sweat pants. a thin fleece pullover is helpful too. It is easier to fall asleep if you feel warm and in the plane I am always cold. I also pack slippers and warm socks. It helps to fall asleep.
Pack extra outfits for the kids and maybe a T-shirt and sweater for you and your husband. Maybe you could even share. Remember this is only to be used if some little person has spilled the orange juice over you...
If you let your kids have gameboys ect. Insist that they use them without sound. Last time I came back with the kids another child who sat beside me played and had the volume all the way up... BECAUSE IT IS VERY NOISY IN AN AIRPLANE... I find it distraction in the car and don't allow my kids to use the sound while in the car. That child was used playing with the sound and the mother had no understanding that over all the noise from the plane the sound from playing a game was irritating not only to me but everyone around us. She probably didn't realize it at first because my kids were sitting close to the window that I too was traveling with kids and started telling me that he had to do this... I told her that I would never allow my kids to annoy other passengers that way. I didn't feel good. But on the other hand I only had to turn around an look at my son who was playing without the noise...
- I liked the flights that left in the evening, because then the chance of my kids sleeping was bigger!
- Sometimes it helps to have something to help the kids overcome jetlag. Some Baldrian drops, or poppy seeds with hot milk poured over it and passed through a sieve. I always had great help from my mother-in-law who would entertain them so I could catch a couple hours of sleep. To me it is helpful to let them nap but wake them after 2 - 3 hours and have them eat dinner at their usual time and go to bed at their usual time.
Have fun. the suggestions about what to bring are good.

You are really brave. I did this with only my 17 mos boy and it was very difficult. A few small tweaks would have helped.

When buying tickets, know that most int'l airlines charge for lap-babies. This doesn't mean that they supply any food for your lap-baby. They are supposed to put you in a bulkhead seat with access to a bassinet, but paying for it doesn't mean that they have put you there. Also, despite what they said, I would say that the bassinet was too small and shallow for a baby older than 9-12 mos (my little guy is smallish but it was ridiculously too small--think grown-up in bathtub).

For such a long flight, I strongly recommend buying him his own seat.

Make sure that you have easy access to the aisle.

When packing toys, divide them into smaller bags for use during 2-3 hour chunks, then put them away and pull out the next bag. Bring a few new toys and pull them out as a surprise when needed. Make sure that your seats have inflight entertainment (not all int'l airlines have it) otherwise bring an ipod or dvd player so that your little girl can keep entertained.

Bring benadryl. I would normally never recommend this. But your little ones will need sleep and may not be able to get comfy/relaxed. it will also help with the time zone shift.

For travel abroad, you may want to pack all the diapers you'd need. Even the same brand may have a different fit. You can buy wipes there. Pack a small first aid kit for your diaper bag with tylenol, alcohol wipes, bandaids, neosporin, sunscreen. You probably won't need it, but it is good to have it.

Not all countries have diaper changing stations. Be prepared to use toilet seats (lid closed) as improvised changing tables.

Depending on where you are going, a stroller may not be useful. Old cities have lots of stairs and rough cobbles. You may be better off with a baby back pack.

If you need laundry, look for a wash and fold service. It will be much cheaper than having the hotel wash anything. Most of the time, you can drop it off in the morning and have them deliver it to your hotel. You can ask at the hotel for a recommendation.

The key to having a good time is being prepared so that you just don't have to spend time figuring stuff out and can focus on fun.

I just saw a little kids travel activity kit at Target yesterday and thought....hmmm...better remember that, it could be useful!

I haven't done an international flight either, but I've heard a number of recommendations:
1) Get small, new items that you can give your 3.5 year old while on the flight. Wrap them individually and let him/her open a new one each hour.
2) Bring lots of their favorite healthy snacks/foods in a refrigerator bag
3) Bring extra changes of clothes for accidents
4) I used to bring chocolate and ear plugs to give the people around me in case my daughter was crying too much. I never had to use them, but it was a good idea. I think this would be particularly relevant on an international flight. I could usually tell who looked annoyed by my daughter, and just offering them these things was enough to break the tension. good luck!

My husband always likes to be near the toilets when flying with kids (back of the plane). :)

Hi L., We've travelled a lot with our kids starting when they were 6 months & 20 months old. The one thing that helps the most is a portable DVD player - or DVD's and an extra battery for your laptop. We have never drugged our kids, but snacks and movies keep them calm. Bon Voyage!!

Hi,
We have survived flights like that and it isn't always easy. Here's what we did
- take lots of new inexpensive small toys and wrap each one individually in paper or a hankerchief. It takes a while to open them, it's a surprise and they can play with it / read it. Keep them in seperate places in a carry on case and bring one out once in a while.
- we bought a mini dvd player and a new movie which was a big hit, again and again and it can be taken on long car journeys.
-take small amounts of candy or a special treat of some kind and again bring one out now and again.
-we took our then 2.5 year old for walks up and down the plane, chatting to other children and adults. It's surprising how many people love talking to a small child.
-we played I Spy and finger games, sang songs and took a few coloring pens and paper.
- 2 small action figures can work wonders, 1 for you to talk to your child's one - they can do anything and talk about anything.
Remember to keep some things for the return journey and not all in one case. We had a few things in our backpack, my bag and our carry on small case. You don't want them seeing everything all at once and you want to save some for the return journey.
- a sleep snuggle has been essential for our daughter and made her sleeptime on the plane easier.
- we took small books to read to our 1 year old and she slept a lot of the time with her favorite rabbit.

Hope this helps, have fun!