[MERGED] Flying transatlantic with a toddler (Was The Big Trip ...)

I have one thing to add...

PORTABLE DVD PLAYER BABEE!!!

Denise

My two are bigger now, but I flew 16 hours accross the pacific with a 3 year old and an infant (twice!) a few years ago.  And have travelled regularly since then on shorter flights.  I'm always very happy with how well-behaved my kids are on a plane as well.   

Extra changes of clothes are a must, even for the potty-trained.  The umbrella stroller is also extremely useful.  It can be gate-checked so that you roll up to the plane with it, and roll away with it as well.  The fact it has straps comes in extra handy when your child is a wanderer. 

I swear by dramamine when I travel for long periods.  They make children's dramamine, and although the one-pill dose is for older children, cutting the pill in half works well for the smaller ones.  It controls any motion-sickness and has the added benefit of knocking the kid out!

If your children are older, a potable DVD player or portable game system would also be adviseable, even though they usually have a kid's channel on the personal movie units.

Good luck on that flight!

We flew last year when my older son was 13 months old and just learning to walk. This time when we move to the UK we will also have my younger son which will be 12 months when we fly. We usually fly BA direct from BWI (Baltimore) to Heathrow. BA is usually VERY helpful. One suggestion if you are up to it, is to get there AS SOON AS check in opens for your flight. If you get there first, it is more likely that they will have a bulkhead seat open, and when you have a young child or infant, they always do all they can to put you in bulk head. (on our way back we actually got upgraded in order to be in bulkhead). The main reason for this is that we did not get him a seat as he was under 2 and not required to have one, and after take off, they have baby cots that strap to the tray table in bulkhead. It was great. My son fell asleep on take off (thanks to the help of the night flight and a little benedryl), and then we stuck him in the cot and he didn't wake up until right before breakfast was served. It was a little difficult as we had another screaming child next to us, but it wasn't too bad as my son was a deep sleeper. This time will be good because we have to get a seat for our older one and so if we are placed in the middle, we will have all 3 seats! We are actually flying Virgin Atlantic out of Boston this time. I have heard that they are very good with kids and actually on their web site, they say that they have nintendo games that they can play right from their personal screen! I am looking forward to this.
Definatley take the umbrella stroller. I have roamers, and it helps to get them calmed down if they aren't allowed to run around before hand... of course, you may choose to want to let them run it out outside the plane while waiting to work out all the energy and get tired out while on the plane, I guess it depends on the child!
Backpacks are wonderful! I never use anything else when flying for my carryon luggage.
One tip.... a lot of airlines have lowered their baggage allowance for both checked luggage and for carry ons. Check this! you don't want to be caught with too much stuff....  A good tip though is that if you read everything about luggage, anything that is NESSASARY to care for the baby (diapers, wipes, food, bottles) do not count toward your carry on luggage allowance. You may want to pack all this stuff in a separate bag from things like toys and such, that way it is easy to grab for changes and you can tell them that that is what it is and it doesn't count towards your allowance.
Another tip for toys... make sure there are not lots of little parts...... if there is, maybe tie them with strings. We ended up loosing quite a few toy cars while on the plane as he would drop them and they just roll.
One more tip.... if you do plan to take a car seat..... There are 2 options that help for this as far as portablity.... There is the wonderful Sit 'N Stroll... It costs about $200 dollars, but I have heard from people that have it, it is very worth it! Another option... if you own an american Britax car seat http://www.gogobabyz.com/products/gogo_kids.html
This just attaches right to your car seat and turns it into a stroller type thing like the Sit N Stroll. I wish I had the right kind of car seat in order to get one!
Sorry to be so long winded!

I am SO happy I found this site! Eventually Michael (my 4 year old) will have to start making the trips to Scotland with me. Now I feel a TINY bit more prepared hehe

One more tip that I found... we are flying Virgin Atlantic on the 12th and when I called to request a cot for my 1 year old, they also asked me if I wanted to have a child saftey seat for my 2 year old also... so it is like a car seat and you don't have to worry about dragging one with you! I like VA already and I haven't even flown with them yet!

I flew Virgin Airlines from London to California (a 10.5 hour direct flight) when my baby was 10 months old. We used their safety seat because I was told he could not use any other car seat carrier I wanted to bring with me. They said it was the law, it was actually VA's rules because just 2 months before I flew with American Airlines and HAD to bring my own car seat. Every Airline is different but just an FYI on VA's safety seat - It is designed like a booster seat so my baby had trouble sleeping on the flight because it did not tilt backward, even if you adjusted the seat to recline. His head was drooping and flopping and he was grumpy after waking. I would suggest a snuggly neck thing or neck pillow for around your toddler if possible to help with sleeping. Oh and if you can try not to have your toddler on a seat next to the aisle. The stewardesses come rolling past quickly with the carts and often forgot that my baby was there as his little hands tried to reach out for things. American Airlines said that my baby had to be next to a window as a safety rule, then VA said it was against their policy to have him next to a window when we flew with them... I hope it goes smoothly for you 

Definitely a laptop that plays DVDs or a portable DVD player....it's an absolute must. I'd also suggest headphones.  I think the songs of Beauty and the Beast started to get old for those sitting around us.   

In terms of "knock 'em out so they sleep like a baby" medicine, we use Children's Benydryl (the quick-melt ones)...but I would suggest that you test it out on your kid before you use it on the plane.  My oldest becomes knocked out with just half a pill.  It's a different story with my second.  I thought it would do the same and instead of testing it out first, I tried it on a 3 hour plane ride to Missouri after we had to sit on the runway for 2.5 hours.  It was a nightmare!!  She became HYPER!  After peeling her off the ceiling, I read the back of the package and it says:  "May cause excitement in some children".  Yah...they aren't kidding.

Thanks for the heads up on the saftey seats that VA gives you. I will be sure to have a pillow or something for my little one. Maybe we can just get away without it if they let us and he can just lay his head down on my lap or something. We shall just have to wait and see. He is pretty good about falling asleep most places and sleeps like a baby in the car, even sitting straight up. We shall see! we fly a week from today!

I am moving back to the US on the Oct. 12th and have been a bit worried how Alex who will be 12 1/2 months then will be.  I am going to take all of the advise here and hopefully it won't be too bad.

I don't want to repeat anything, but just add what has helped us.  [Our kids are 4, 3, and almost 2 now and have been flying since they were babies.  Well, in the womb, actually. ] 

Daytime flights have been better.  On overnight flights, other passengers are very keen on getting their sleep so there's less tolerance for kids.

We board last to minimize the time on the airplane.

I pack one carryon of snacks and entertainment... the older two can go through that on their own... and another carryon with diapers (almost done with this now   ), wipes, and stuff like that, plus my own wallet, passports, etc.

I keep a plastic grocery bag out during the flight for the tons of junk the kids produce.  Banana peels, remains of stickers, broken crayons, empty cups.

Besides all the forms of entertainment already mentioned, my kids love to cut out magazine and catalog pictures and gluestick them onto paper, so I always pack that stuff.  Their plastic scissors have always made it through security, even recently.

Hi,
 I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I'm going to be faced with this situation soon.  My little man will be 27 months old when we fly and he is the most active little boy I have ever come across.  He never sleeps, is an extremely light sleeper when he does finally decide to sleep and he never stops running around.  This worries me.  We flew with him when he was 3 weeks old and it was great, he just slept.  On the way back he was 3 months and it was a nightmare.  He cried for over half the flight and it really got on everyone's nerves around us.  I guess my question is,  does anyone else have a child that is similar to mine that you have flown with?  I can pretty much keep him occupied for about an hour with his toys without him needing to get into other things and he doesn't like watching tv.  Any suggestions would be great.  Thanks

We're all flying out to the US this December. By that time our kid will be 27 months old. And unfortunately, we're using Delta.

After reading this thread, I'm going to buy our daughter a neck pillow (fabulous idea!). However, if there's anyone who has flown with a toddler without using a car seat, how comfortably and safely did your child sit in the airplane seat?

I really don't want to haul around a car seat if we can avoid it. Delta doesn't allow booster seats. At this point I'm hemming and hawing about how to proceed.

Any thoughts?

When Ethan was just over 2 we flew up to Scotland with BMI without using his car seat. He was absolutely fine with just the normal seatbelt.  They did offer me a "lap belt" designed for wriggly kids but I didn't need it but I would think on a longer flight it would be very useful!

Hi,
 I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I'm going to be faced with this situation soon.  My little man will be 27 months old when we fly and he is the most active little boy I have ever come across.  He never sleeps, is an extremely light sleeper when he does finally decide to sleep and he never stops running around. 

Benadryl?

I have never used a car or booster seat when flying with my kids. Call me crazy, but I did it. My then 8 month old was just fine either on my lap or sitting up in his own seat. My then almost 3 year old also had no problems sitting in her own seat. To be honest I think it would have been more awkward with a carseat or booster seat. If you can get an empty seat alongside yours it helps, gives you better space to manage everything.

We're all flying out to the US this December. By that time our kid will be 27 months old. And unfortunately, we're using Delta.

After reading this thread, I'm going to buy our daughter a neck pillow (fabulous idea!). However, if there's anyone who has flown with a toddler without using a car seat, how comfortably and safely did your child sit in the airplane seat?

I really don't want to haul around a car seat if we can avoid it. Delta doesn't allow booster seats. At this point I'm hemming and hawing about how to proceed.

Any thoughts?