Hello!

I will be flying with my baby when she is 6 months old and then 9 months old. The flights should be no more than five hours one way. I am worried that flying will be painful for her – particularly concerned about take off and landing, and she may annoy other passengers if she cries too much.


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  • Use a Pacifier or Bottle During Takeoff and Landing. …
    Distract With Toys. …
    Plan Flights Around Nap Time. …
    Know Your Meds. …
    Plenty of hugs


  • Ipad some music on the ipad. please dont do phernergan I hear so many mothers drug their kids on flights when not nessecary.


  • talk to your pharmacist or your gp as you can get things to help her settle


  • Make sure bub has something to suck during take off and landing and encourage them to actively suck during these times. This is supposed to prevent pressure build up in the ears and reduce chance of infection and pain


  • give her something to drink so that she swallows to help pop her ears from the difference in air pressure. take things to amuse her.


  • So long as she has something to suck or chew on she will be fine during take off and landing. Be prepared for her to be very curious about her surroundings. Do not expect her to sleep. Most flight attendants are very happy for you to hold her in galley area if she is happier being held and moving about than being stuck on your lap in a seat. Pack at least one new toy (if not used during flight, probably useful at destination). Don’t worry what others think!


  • There’s no way to know if her ears will be affected until she has her first flight unfortunately. They say that feeding (breast or bottle) them during take off and landing can help alleviate any problems though so that’s a good place to start. My toddler flew long-haul at 5 and 17 months and he doesn’t seem to have any problems. I do tend to travel with children’ nurofen on hand just in case though. As for the flight itself, if you can get a night flight she should sleep much of the way but there is always the inflight TV screen for entertainment. I’m not a fan of screen time for babies but I make an exception when flying and in waiting rooms ;)
    Good luck. You’ll both be fine.


  • Breastfeeding worked for me and just playing like at home.


  • I found that the best thing for take off and landing is to either breastfeed or have little one drink from a bottle or sippy cup, this will help them pop their ears. 6 and 9 months shouldn’t be too bad for traveling as little one should get a few naps in, and you can put in a request to have the bassinet as well which is a lifesaver.
    We travelled to and from the US for Christmas last year and what saved us was lots of snacks, her favourite stuffed animal, our carrier and some new books. I got some cheap books and wrapped them all in different wrapping paper, that way it took time to look at the shiny package before removing the paper and finally exploring the new book. Ones with flaps or eye-spy type activities are the best because they add extra time.
    You can also bring a change of clothes, especially for a flight that goes over their sleep time, it’s amazing how much time it can take to change into pj’s and do your normally sleepy-time routine.
    We found that people were generally really good as well, especially staff on planes because they understand things happen with baby. Good luck!


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