advice for looong flight(s) with 19 mo

[melon]

Hi,
We will be taking our 19-mo on a trip involving a 7 hr flight, a stopover, and another 7 hr flight. Round trip. eeek.
Just wondering who's BTDT, and what advice you can give me. ANY advice?
We won't be getting him his own seat--too expensive.
We are flying at night, but he's a terrible sleeper and his sleep schedule is so wacky, and he just may not sleep a lot of the time.

So far the only tricks i can think of are
Portable DVD player
snacks, lots of snacks
crayons and paper

i know i need so much more than that!!

[AKislandgirl]

cheep dollar store toys that you don't care if you lose. We had a tube of plastic animals. She likes taking them in and out of the tube.

Books. Some old favorites and some new ones

Wrap toys... that can be half the fun.

I got a cheap rubber letter puzzle. Again, not worried about losing pieces under the seat.

A favorite was post it notes. She stuck them everywhere and easy clean up!

grab straws to play with and coffee stir sticks at Starbucks when you pass through.

A light weight blanket or silk for peek a boo

lots of trips up and down the aisle to visit folks.

HTH! Good luck!

Forgot to add, board last! Don't add any more seat time to your flight then you have too. And in between flights... run, run run and climb seats. Anything to burn off energy. Some airports have great kids areas. Seek them out. It's worth a walk if you have the time.

[tabrizia]

Window clings are fun, they kept DS occupied awhile on our long flight and they aren't messy to remove like stickers. We've also found books work well for awhile, so a couple of favorite books to read maybe.

[melon]

thanks! keep those ideas coming!

[DevaMajka]

Some stuff that we used for my VERY active baby last time we flew (He was 12ish mos, I think).

take little things that can occupy their hands. They can't use their gross motor skills enough on the plane, so bring things that will use their fine motor skills. Some ideas: a thing of floss that he can unravel, crayons and paper (even if it's just you writing, it might entertain him for a few minutes), a pen that has a clickable end- let him click the end, a box of tissues can provide lots of entertainment- they are like magic!! Maybe a ziplock baggie to put toys in and out of. Oh! I brought some of those flavored gerber puffs (the only time I've bought them), and my ds had a blast reaching in the container to get them out.

Also, you can bring stuff that makes noise, as long as it's not super loud. It's so loud on planes, that other people probably won't even be able to hear it. We brought a kids cell phone, and even *we* couldn't hear it unless it was right up to our ears. And if it comes down to it, I think people would rather hear a toy than a crying kid.

What else- depending on how active your kid is (like I said, mine was really really active), you might find that trips to the bathroom are necessary to keep your sanity. For me, it was seriously the only place I could relax. lol.

[globe-trotter]

I have a few things I just posted so sorry I'm being lazy and going to link- http://www.mothering.com/discussions...6#post15978886

If you know your child is a bad sleeper and will be awake I would book day flights then, people are WAY more willing to help when they are awake then asleep. Because the turn the lights off on the planes at night and walking around in the aisle isn't "encouraged" because they see it as a security issue...plus the people in the aisle will most likely be sleeping so you would have to really hover to make sure the child isn't touching them. Also since its night and people are sleeping you have to be way more aware of the loudness of the toys and how much the child bumps the seats. Some airlines will not allow you to use the tray table during sleeping hours because it messes with the sleeping person's chair. I (without child) have had to close them on multiple flights.
Boarding first or last depends on the child. If you run them around and then just stop do they calm down because they are tired or are they wound up because their heart is still pumping. If you have a wound up child getting on first is better (IMO) because it gets you time to calm them before take off. If they crash then board last so they go right down.

[globe-trotter]

and one of our favorite toys on the plane... pipecleaners! Finger puppets are awesome also. Try to get a bulkhead so there will me a little floor space for you. And Book an aisle and a window....people are going to take a middle seat last..so it gives you more chance of keeping it open! Ask when checking in if there are any open seats...I would take an empty seat before I would take bulkhead but you will not know that till last second, so get bulk head right away. Also on some planes there are only certain rows that have the extra oxygen mask. Make sure you in one since you will have a lap child (the airlines will NOT take this into consideration when just booking).

[katmtb]

We traveled with DS when he was 12mo and then again at 23mo and it was actually very successful. On the second trip, we really talked up the whole airplane/airport/traveling for MONTHS before hand, so he was pumped about going when the time finally came. I second the suggestion to board last and to explore every stretch of the airport to work off some energy before boarding. Small vehicles and "little people" kept him occupied for quite some time. Novel snacks (including the airplane food which wasn't food we would normally have given DS) also kept him seated for a good chunk of time. Remember that being in the darkened plane, surrounded by lots of people sleeping, will probably make LO feel like sleeping himself... so maybe you will be lucky Enjoy the trip!