Hello,
I’m going to be flying home for Christmas with my (quite active) eleven-month old daughter - trans-pacific, multiple layovers, ending in the Midwest. Any suggestions?
Hi There, I took my boy back to Australia when he was around 11 months. I had one of those harnesses that you put on yourself and carry the baby around on your front. I just kept him in that the whole time. He could lean on me and rest his head on my shoulder, even when sitting upright. It was better though when reclined.
Had to get up a few times to change his nappy (diaper) and to feed him. The air-stewarts gave us warm water to mix the baby formula.
And also, most important for my boy, he has always been a good sleeper so I always try to get night flights. He was more restless on day flights and with day flights you also get other passengers making silly faces and smiling and waving at your baby, which is nice, but gets the baby all excited and hard to settle down.
And they also give you a seatbelt strap that can be looped through your seat belt and around the baby, too.
My flights are only 9hrs non-stop, so not as challenging as yours sounds. Good luck.
I’ve done it back to New York a few times. I am of the opinion that there is not much you can do to to prepare for this beyond common sense things, and having a positive mental attitude. It will not be as relaxing as flying without an infant, but you will all get there in one piece in the end for sure. Hopefully someone will come up with some more concrete suggestions than that, but I thought I would put my two cents in since some people seem to obsess about this a bit.
i flew to taipei from toronto with my hubby and our 13 months old boy during summer…we have stops in between though thought it’s better so baby can walk around for a bit and get some fresh air. (flew for 2 hrs and stopped at new york, flew 7 hrs and stopped at alaska, then 13 hrs to taipei, had a few hrs in between each stop). The whole flight wasnt as bad as i thot… my boy is an active one too! Thank God I have a baby carrier!! I put my son in the carrier and tie the carrier onto the “extra” seat (if there’s an extra seat beside you or request for one if the flight is not full). Ask for upgrade if possible!! it’s gonna be so much BETTER if they could upgrade your seats. We flew on biz class so our son could actually sleep on the seat when seat recline. Bring at least 1 NEW toy and snacks your girl loves!. Couple extra sets of clothings for the baby; one extra set for the parents. that’s about it for me.
Good Luck!!
Newby mom has good advice. I took my 13 month old from Taiwan to Oregon and had several little toys he’d never seen, wrapped as gifts, aslo several snacks. If he got too borred or tired of one thing, there was something new to discover. It really was no problem. He slept most of the time. The cutest thing was watching him take a small plastic wrench and try to take appart the plane in front of our seat! It WAS difficult trying to deal with his tray and my own, which came at the same time, and not being able to get up until they were cleared again. Peepee diapers were much easier than the stinky ones to change. Do have a clean chang for both you and baby. My boy made the flight fine, but hurled upon landing.
Bon Voyage!
I fly back with my two children each year, and I have learned to take less stuff like toys and so on, and more clothes, than I think I will need. The good thing about flying back at Christmas is many of the passengers are families, too. The bad thing it is usually crowded and hard to get those extra seats.
Oh, and try to get a seat nearer the toilets so you can pop in and out while the attendants look after your baby, it’s a long walk down the plane if you are worrying about your little one.
11 months? Hmm. Probably your kid is too big for the bassinet that can be attached to the wall in front of the bulkhead seating. Wonderful things, those are.
Start stockpiling McDonald’s Happy Meal toys. They’re small, lightweight, and kids love them. Ditto on the change of clothes for you and the kid. Try to get an aisle seat. Sometimes your kid will need to just jump up and down for a bit, and the aisle can sometimes be deserted for several minutes at a time, especially late at night. Anyway, you can always just lift toddler out of aisle if there’s any approaching foot traffic. I don’t envy you the flight. They’re hard enough when you’re unencumbered - traveling with toddlers can be exhausting. But at least you get to board first!
I always wrap up little things like caryons, notepads stickers etc. I can usually get everything I need at the stationary shop for 500nt! Kids love that stuff.
An 11 month old is just a baby though so not much will hold his attention for long. Lots of different snacks and little toys will be enough.
Oh and I always ask to board LAST so the kids con’t need to spend that much extra on board and have time for a little last run around.
If I recall, the maximum weight for the bassinet is 16kg. If your baby is under this weight then you might want to check out getting one for the flight. It definitely made things easier to have a little bed that he could lay down in and sleep for most of the trip. Our boy was eight months when we flew (weighed around 11 kg) and we requested the bassinet and he fit in okay. You might want to talk to the airline or travel agent about the bassinet to see if it will fit your baby.
If you baby is under 10 months (although it has to do with size rather than age) then he/she can fit into a bassinet. Quite good actually Above this they need to be put into an toddler bed (which is a bassinet also but looks more like a bed).
Anyway with babies you get a seat at the bulkhead. They attach the bassinet/toddler bed mounting on the wall
Another thing to try is to convince the airline to lock down/reserve the empty seats between D and G at the bulk head. Based on experience, airlines accomadate if there is more than two of you travelling, and the plane is not too full
Then you can put the toys, clothes etc next to you on the seat. Easier to get in and out, change diapers and change clothes.
You need to reserve a bassinet from the airline through the agent. From experience contact the airline the day before you fly to confirm
alprazolam, or flunitrazepam.
do NOT carry stocks of these drugs across borders, especially in Asia.
Bassinet?
They gave me a cardboard box with a blanket in it.
You people are all sick, especially the ones who said “Ask for an upgrade”. What about other travellers? Why can you not wait until your children are old enough before you put them (And the rest of the flight) through this kind of ordeal?
no
I said WHY!
Because!
Children and their loathesome progenitors are part of the deal with the devil we make for the continuation of the human race. Suck it up. They’re like spiders anyway; you can annoy them more than they can annoy you, with a little creativity.
Buttercup
I understand all of that. Kids are great but not on planes and especially not in Business Class!
But you have to understand the mind of the beast. As soon as these creatures have spewed forth their revolting spawn, if they live in a foreign land, they have this almost uncontrollable urge to display their ‘handiwork’ to their parents, hence the transcontinental shift. It’s like when a little boy has to show mummy the fresh new ‘present’ that he just made. Democratically priced air-travel is to blame.
And yes, we have to smile and tolerate these foul beings as they do what we cannot bring ourselves to …
I’m teaching mine a slightly off-key high C# especially for the trip. His pitch isn’t so hot just yet, but man! Does he have the volume? Oh HELL yes! 
My fellow travelers are going to LOVE me! Yes, they are.