Overnight flight with my 16 month old

[ihugtrees]

My daughter is an easy sleeper, and generally falls asleep the second we get in the car. I'm hoping that will be the case for our flight this coming weekend. She has a special CD we play for her at naps and bedtimes...she has a REALLY hard time falling asleep without it. I was thinking of trying to put headphones on her, and have her listen to an ipod, but I don't think she will keep the headphones on. I have a Droid phone--perhaps I could download the music to my phone and play it softly for her? Surely my fellow passengers would rather listen to classical music/womb noises than a screaming baby, right? Problem is, she needs the music continuously all night, & the battery on my phone will not last. (Is there a plane charger for phones? Other ideas?

Also trying to decide...should we put her to sleep at her normal 7 pm time, or maybe try to get her to nap later that day? We leave at 11:30, so I'm guessing we will leave for the airport around 9:30, to get there at 10 or so.

We will arrive at 9 am the next morning (EST...we are currently on PST...) We are only there for 6 days, then leave again...that flight arrives at 11:30 PST, so no overnights, but definitely the witching hour for us (she is cranky afternoons usually.) I'm bringing lots of toys and snacks (many good ideas from threads here!) She will have her own seat, too. Any other suggestions?

[OTMomma]

If she sleeps well in her car seat- you can bring the car seat and put it in her seat on the plane - and for car trips with our kids- we have gotten headphones and hooked them onto the carseat at the place where the shoulder belt would be held if we turned it into a booster, so the child can listen to the headphones without wearing them. If you do that, you can probably use a standard iPod or whatever with a long battery for her to hear her music. We use large headphones, not the little earbud things for this.

Another thought- I always let my kids eat candy when we fly, usually for the little ones something like gummy bears, mainly its something to chew and swallow during take off and landing to help the ears pop. I generally try to limit candy, but this is an exception to me. However, if you are still nursing, nursing at that time is good too.

My favorite plane toy is a travel aquadoodle- I can draw stupid little stories or pictures with my little one and they erase themselves, and no mess. I also recommend bringing a favorite blanket as I often get cold on a plane, and toddlers usually like their own stuff rather than the plane supplied one.

Hope you have a great trip!