Any tips for flying with a 9 month old??? I flew with him once, when he was 3 months and he slept the entire time. I know I'm not going to get so lucky this time, and the flight is a 3 hour one. I'm pulling my hair out in anticipation. Oh, and I'm doing this alone. :scared:

Please, please, please!!!

are you able to afford a seperate seat for Jake? Then bring his car seat and use the seat belt to anchor it in. Some new toys to occupy him would be good. I have held a baby and have bought a seat for a baby and having one in the car seat is better. Sometimes a bottle will help their ears while in descent but I have found that a little Triaminic was way better and Heaven forbid I say this, sedate them some. An unhappy crying baby is distressful for every one

Steph, I flew with my son from Italy to California and back when he was 10 months and again at 18 months. I packed the super comando Momma bag and he was perfectly fine both times. And he didn't sleep AT ALL either time.

This is what I brought:

two magazines- they were for me, but he got about an hour out of each.

a plastic bottle with multi-colored beans in them- don't be afraid of dropping some. It's better than a screaming baby.

an anthology of children's stories- ours was "The Best Children's Books of the 20th Century" or something like that

Two toothbrushes- I bought them at the airport 'cause I forgot ours, but he loved them because they were boxes AND toothbrushes. Plus you can put beans in the boxes

food- I think we had dried apricots, crackers and muffins.

water- he WILL be thirsty during landing.


That was it. I packed toys and his blankie and all that, but he didn't want them. He was pretty interested in the people and the airplane, the stewardesses etc... I also had some cough medicine to "drug" him with, but I didn't need that either. I agonized over taking it, but we never even got close to needing it. He never did have trouble with the plugged ear thing, but you might pack some suckers or a bottle or pacifier just in case. I think by 10 months my son was able to figure out to swallow on his own.

Three hours shoule be a piece of cake. Figure an hour for take-off and seeing all the new people and getting settled, 30 mintues for eating and drinking whatever they give you and another 30-45 minutes for landing. If he watches TV or listens to music that will distract him too, although my son did neither.

At one point near the end of our 31 hour return trip the man in front of us turned around and said to me "stop bugging that kid, will you?" Apparently he felt I was being too attentive. So besides the violent and bloody murder 8) our flight went very well.

Good luck!

Steph, I've never flown with a baby, but chamo and Lexy seem to have some great advice! I'd pick up a couple of "new" toys that Jake hasn't played with before, that oughtta peak his interest for a few minutes anyway! :D I hope your trip is peaceful...I'll bet little Jake will surprise you and just be angel. http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-5/194815/innocentangel.gif

Have fun!

A few other things:

For getting on and off the plane I brought our baby backpack. That was really helpful, but since you won't be changing planes it may not be as essential for you. I checked the stroller with the baggage.

I remember trying to figure out how to pee with that baby backpack on. It was practicallly gymnastic! :wethree:

Not a mom, but a couple of things I've picked up from listening to moms talk a lot:
1. Nursing during take off helps with the ear thing.

2. A sling is *GREAT* for walking through an airport.

I've flown several times with my older child, and alone. If you can't afford a second seat, it is likely that the flight will not be full. The attendants are usually willing to shuffle things so you have an empty seat next door. It always worked for us.

You might want to check into a flight safety vest. The baby can sit on your lap and still be secure in case of turbulence. We had one and it was a godsend. The sell them in them here: www.perfectlysafe.com
I also found this helpful for nursing the baby on the way up and down, when his ears hurt.

You'll be just fine. Just wear really comfortable clothes (tennis shoes, nursing shirt etc.) and take a water bottle. Don't be afraid to accept help from strangers, they really can't kidnap the little guy on board an airplane. (Just pass 'em some hand sanitizer!) We lucked out and a professional story-teller told my little boy a story when we were diverted because of bad weather--he loved it!
Good luck!

Oh, scarlett, that storyteller story is way cool! How neat!