Flying with a 1 yr old?

We are going to FL in July to celebrate Jake's birthday with my family down there. I am soooo nervous about the flight. Jake doesn't like to be held for long periods of time, sometimes not at all and he gets fidgety real quick. We are flying JetBlue so I know there's TVs but what else can I plan for to make the flight more bearable for him (and our poor fellow passengers!). Any tips?

Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

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Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

We got Miranda her own seat but the flight from CO to NY is much longer. We're also going to bring the portable DVD player so she can watch Einstein. I'm not experienced with the travel aprt yet so I can't be much help. Honestly I'm hoping she takes a nice nap.

Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

We flew with Mallory when she was 11 months... we brought some snacks and we made sure that she was ready for a nap while we were flying and she just fell asleep luckily for most of the flight... we did end up walking up and down the aisle for a little bit

Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

My first suggestion would be to get him a seat. The plane is easier than you think! Aidans been on 3x now, the last two times we bought him a seat. Aidan's 1st flight at 9 months he sat on our laps and was fine, but by his next trip at around 14 months I new he would not go for that. With his own seat he can sit in his carseat just like in the car and the motion put him out soon after take off anyway.

For take off have something to suc k ready, unlike me though, keep it out of sight until you are actually taking off. 2x I jumped the gun and Aidan saw his drink and wanted it, then finished it before we were even at cruising altitude! Luckily he has no problems with the ears, but it was just for insurance. Paci's or lollipops will do the same thing.

For awake time, bring lots of snacks (puffs, pretzels) and small toys. I recommend a new toy, something that will really get him interested though most eventually get thrown to the floor so keep that in mind.

But really your chances are good for him to fall asleep on the plane, Aidan always naps at least part of the trip. Usually right after take off when the sounds and vibrations just put him to sleep.
If you are going Jetblue or Song they have those TV's with Nick Jr, but we also brought Aidans portable DVD player - we didn't need to take it out.

Jetblue also has a section by the gates with little tikes houses and stuff (bring Purell), so they can stretch and run around before you board and they have to get strapped in and sit again.
It is really pretty easy, last trip we didn't even need to change a diaper either way.
You can bring your stroller right up to the door of the plane, they give you a tag at the gate and then its waiting for you when you get off the plane.

The only thing that is a bit of a juggle is going through the scanners. Have your boarding passes and Id out, the stroller has to be folded and put through on the belt, shoes and jackets off. So have a good bag that you just have everything in, me - I have stuff all over in the basket of the stroller on the handles LOL I'm a mess when I get up there.

If I can think of anything else, I'll let you know!

ETA: as far as kicking the seat, It will happen. Is anyone else travelling with you? If they haven't assigned their seats yet maybe they can sit in front of the baby. This worked for us one trip, even with Aidan in his carseat his legs reach the back of the seat so my niece sat there and problem solved.

Message edited 4/21/2006 5:42:43 PM.

Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

We just flew 2+ hours to and from Florida with Alex, who is 7 months old. I specifically chose flight times in which I knew she would nap (i.e. our fligh home was at 9pm - sleepytime). First tip - DO NOT PREBOARD! I know the airlines allow people with small children to board first for convenience, but if you end up sitting in a plane that's waiting 30 minutes or so for take off you'll be kicking yourself for pre-boarding. Stay outside where baby can stretch, look around and remain occupied for as long as possible. I made sure that I timed her bottles so that I could give her a bottle on take off and during landing, to ease the pressure for her ears. Giving her a bottle during lift off helped her fall asleep as well. That's all I can think of for now!

Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

My advice is not to worry so much about how other people around you will react. They will get over it if the baby screams, yells, kicks the seat. You will just stress yourself out even more if you worry about that and the baby. For everytime, my seat has been kicked or I had to sit next to some smelly person, I rememebr those times and my screaming child is not so bad!

Edited to add not to fall for the preboading conveniece trap. SO NOT CONVENIENT since you will have to sit on the plane for another 45 minutes while everyone else boards. Check all your luggage so you don't have to worry about getting overhead space and I usually wait until the final boarding call and let Jack run around like a madman until then.

Message edited 4/21/2006 7:41:48 PM.

Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

Great tips - thank you Donna!

Well, the flights are already booked so we can't change seats but I'm going to try everything else.

ETA: Beth & Doreen - thanks for that tip about the pre-boarding! I would have completely fallen for it otherwise!!

Message edited 4/21/2006 8:21:16 PM.

Re: Flying with a 1 yr old?

The TV's are great,bring cherrios, teddy grahams, etc.