Would you "drug" your baby for the airplane??

My parents always gave us Dimetap (sp?) when we'd fly when I was little. My mom always said it was for our ears, but I think it had an added benefit of making us conk out. I thought it was great because I just looooooved dimetap (grape flavor, of course ).

I wouldn't be against using something. We're not planning on flying anywhere anytime soon, though.

I think that timing his nap to coincide with the beginning of the flight would be a great idea. I do that for long car rides and it works great.

Lex

We flew from Atlanta to San Francisco last year, and I was terrified of how Em would react to the plane. She was about 14 months then, not walking, and teething.

We packed some baby Tylenol, but didn't end up using it. Fortunately, on both flights to get out there, there were extra seats on the plane and people were more than happy to swap seats with us so we could have a little extra room. Make sure you tell an attendant as soon as you board (or the one at the gate) that you are traveling with a small child and sometimes they can get you first dibs on an empty seat if one is available. They can also talk with passengers to see if anyone will scoot over for you.

Bring a few new, interesting toys as well as the old standby's. Em's favorite thing to do for the 5 hours was put things from the pocket in the back of the seat into one of the air sickness bags. : But, hey....kept her entertained.

When I didn't have to sit, I walked to the back of the plane and swayed with her, just to give her a change of scenery. And we nursed. And nursed. And nursed. Often for just 2 minutes at a time, if that, but that was ok with me. Wear a super comfy nursing shirt if you think he might even want to nurse for a moment. That way, you're ready, lol.

A note on the Benedryl thing...it makes some kids hyper. My soon to be step sister has this reaction with a 2 and 4 year old.

I personally only use medications when medically necessary That said I've flown both ways with my dd who is 2 now. She's done great everytine. I find that the plane makes her sleep great, noisy and kinda bumpy constant motion I guess. All I did was nurse her on take off and descent and any other time she wanted to obviously. The times I used medication were when she had a cold and I used a decongestant so she wouldn't be in pain. DD always surprised me and handle travelling like a pro. She loved the airport so much to see and then she crashed on the plan sleeping much longer and deeper then she would at home. She was also a baby that wanted walking in the sling to fall asleep but she never needed it on the plane weird.
This last time we flew was the first time she was awake for most of the trip (at 2 years) we've flown at 4, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months for 2 and 4 hour flights (with an 1-2 hour layover in between) and she's always done great. Relax I bet he'll surprise you and do great Definitely take the tylenol and decongestent in the diaper bag just to be safe. I also recomend Camomile Calm by herbs for kids it can really help take the edge of for a overtired cranky baby
Janessa

Quote:
Me too.
Of course, if my little guy was in pain from teething (which he is now, poor thing), I would surely bring some baby tylenol.
I flew with him when he was 2.5 months old and he was no problem at all. The timing of his eating/sleeping was perfect so that he slept most of the flight (4 hours) and was happy the rest of the time.

hi there,
we just returned from england (a ten hour flight) yesterday with our 1 year old. we have flown ALOT with her...almost a trip a month and have never given her medication. luckily, her ears have never bothered her. here's what works for us:

-lots and lots of nursing...often she spends hours at the boob on a plane ride. when she was younger, cuddling and nursing were her favorite activities and, thus, being forced to sit in my lap for hours was actually quite nice. nursing is also good for helping relieve ear pressure and staving off the inevitable dehydration of flying.

-whenever possible we bring the car seat on. we have never bought her a seat, but if there is extra space on the plane they have always let us bring it on. we just bring it with us to the gate and gate check it if there is no space. it is so much easier and so much safer having a carseat. Though, we have found that every airline has a different safety policy for lap children and some are pretty crazy...we were once forced to take her out of the car seat (she was asleep!) and hold her in our arms because that was their policy.

-now that she is older we bring a ton of snacks and toys, but before either of those were a part of her life we found that walking the length of the plane over and over and standing in the back looking at all of the buttons provided ample entertainment.

-in terms of teething...we always take teething tabs and that works for us. but, i do bring tylenol just in case. there is nothing worse than being on the plane without something you need...so, my best advise is to pack it all and be ready for anything (the days of packing light are long gone!).

anyhway, good luck! may your babe sleep peacefully through the whole thing.

heathmama

I flew from Philadelphia to Australia with dd and dh when she was five months old. I did A LOT of nursing. On the way there, I didn't use anything and she was okay but didn't get a lot of sleep. She spent A LOT of time nursing. We were extremely lucky because on the leg from LA to Sydney, we had a bassinette that was in business class so we had more room than we had anticipated. While I was in Australia, I developed vertigo and had to take a decongestant to correct it. I took one benydryl. My dd slept like a log that night. On the way home I took a benydryl and she slept on both legs of the flight. It was so much easier. But if I was going on a shorter flight, I wouldn't give her anything. I also think that you will be surprised--flying is a big adventure with new sounds and lots of stuff to look at. I would try the trip there using the suggestions here and if it is a disaster you could try giving ds something. I would bring tylenol though, in case his ears start to bother him. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks Janessa, I didn't know Toms of Maine made a decongestent. I will check it out, though ds seems to be feeling much better today. Mayber we won't need anything but mother's milk for the flight.