Activities for a 7 month old on a 3hr plane ride?

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

We will bring a mesh feeder, a bottle (or two) of breastmilk (and boobs lol), some puffs, some soft books, her favorite teether, sophie giraffe, a wooden rattle, a stuffed animal, a pacifier, and a couple of other random toys. Oh and of course the mei tai and ring sling.

Can anyone think of other things that would be helpful for keeping a 7 month old occupied for 3 hours? Of course we are hoping for sleep, but assuming that she is awake the whole time, I want to be sure we are prepared. What worked for others?

Thanks!

[toughcookie]

we took our 6 month old to england to earn his wings. it's a 7h flight. the first (over) was a night flight, and we put him in the seat between us (ask!!! if the plane even has one extra seat, the flight attendants will try to accomodate you, as it will make THEIR job easier!), with his blankie, binky, his snuggle-toy, after i BFed him on take-off until he was sleepy. he slept most of the way. the rest of the time we walked with him, and he was the socialite. the return was a day flight, and we used as many toys as we could, then the digital camera to take his pic, show him, i BFed him a few times, we walked him. he was wide awake the whole time. not eating solids yet, so we didn't have that to distract him.

if your babe is fine in the carseat for a longish ride, when you know he's bored to the bone, facing backwards, you'll likely be fine!!

[Sfcmama]

I know the restroom is not the best place to hang out but my DD loves to play with her toes in a sink of running water. It's a last resort trick but it works great for us! Good luck!

[sageowl]

I just flew with an 8 month old baby, so here's my dos centavos: 

I don't know how extroverted your babe is, but mine was pretty diverted just looking at everyone, so that actually kept him pretty occupied--I didn't need to *entertain* him as much as I thought I would.  I brought a lot of stuff, but for the most part, he was okay just flirting with everyone he could make eye contact with.

I fed my babe at takeoff/landing, that seemed to forestall any ear pain and screaming.  He was pretty oblivious to the whole experience.  It's nice that you won't have to worry about the pesky liquids rule.  That being said, make sure YOU stay hydrated--BFing a baby on a plane=super duper dehydrating experience.

Bring an extra pacifier--I had to do a full plane search to find the one my son dropped as we were getting on!  In fact, anything that can roll is generally not a good plan.

They will make you take your baby out of the sling when you go through the metal detector at the airport.  Total pain!

My baby slept okay on the plane--in fact, he kept falling asleep right before the plane would land, and missed the whole thing.  So, you may be pleasantly surprised!

[Lauren31]

I flew with a 7 month old for 10 hours! (Munich- Chicago). Boobs and soft toys and books were helpful. My boppy pillow was PRICELESS though!! She slept and nursed on that bc I was way too cheap to buy a 1000 dollar ticket for her.

[P.J.]

Originally Posted by toughcookie 

put him in the seat between us (ask!!! if the plane even has one extra seat, the flight attendants will try to accomodate you, as it will make THEIR job easier!), with his blankie, binky, his snuggle-toy

This is a great idea and I have to remember this when we fly next month. We're going to visit friends and family in the US for almost all of December, and will have five flights total, 3 of them long-haul (6, 8 and10 hours, ugh!). DS will be 6 months then. We've already flown with him and he was pretty easy, but those were 3 hour flights....10 hours is another story and I am not looking forward to it. We'll be bringing an arsenal of toys and entertainment, but I am preparing for some fussiness as he'll want to crawl about (new skill) and I don't think that will be possible. Luckily I'll be with DH so we can 'pass the passenger', lol. Also, as my mom reminded me when I was despairing to her about it, it is only one day (each time) -not even- just some hours of one day, and it will go by and we'll get through it no matter what.

[OkiMom]

One thing, ask security before assuming you have to take the baby out. Ive had it about 75/25, 75 percent of the time I was told I could keep her in the carrier. The Mai tie would be great for security reasons since there is no metal to it. I used the Ergo for most of the trips. Ive been through Chicago, Rochester NY (small airport), Washington DC, Tokyo, Okinawa, LAX, San Fransisco, Orlando, San Diego, Taiwan and one other that has slipped my mind. The only ones with a problem with it was Taiwan, Rochester and LAX (DD set off the metal detector the first time she went through by touching it so I had to take her out of the carrier and send the carrier through the X-ray.

As for distractions, being on the plane that at age would distract my children. Other than that, books, soft toys, nothing that makes noise (please! I sat next to someone who brought an electronic toy on board and listened to the music for the 5 hour flight over and over again, even though I have kids it drove me nuts).. A few new things that the baby hasn't seen before. 3 hours will pass really quickly! Ive done up to 25 hour flights with two kids alone and its surprising how quickly it actually goes.

[mamaladd]

Thanks for the bathroom tip!  My guy was hysterical one night in a hotel a few weeks back and the only thing that calmed him was getting into the bathtub with him and letting him play with the running water.  We have a 6 hour plane trip coming up next month that is stressing me a bit.  This could totally work for us!!

[1stTimeMama4-4-10]

Thanks for the help all, as it turned out, our little one slept during both flights.  I kept her up and didn't nurse her much before the flight and then when were getting ready to take off I nursed her - she fell asleep quickly and stayed asleep pretty much until the very end.  I have a feeling she's going to be a great little traveler!