flying with an 8 month old

[tinkerbelle78us]

My husband, son, and I will be taking a trip to disney in May.  I was wondering if anyone else has flown with their baby and how it effected their ears, etc...  My son will be 8 month old by then.  thanks for any advice.

[Baby Ethan]

Hi there,
I've flown six times with my LO and never had any problems.
The first few times, i would give him a bottle with some water/milk to suck on, the sucking motion itself helps to pressurize their ears. The first time i flew i was so worried that i bought what they call here "infant & toddler flight ears" which i got from boots. Basically they are small little ear plugs specifically for babies and small children and they have special valves which help to pressurize the ears if they can't do it themselves but i never needed to use them. If you're LO has a dummy, it should do the job.

HTH

[maggieruth]

Wow! here i thought that OUR Ethan was a jetsetter! (we have flown UK to Canada and back twice now) 

the first time i made certain that Ethan was feeding as we took off and landed but i got a bit more relaxed the second time and Ethan still seemed fine.  he did have a mega cry after one flight about 3 hours after landing (maybe ears popping?) but cuddles seemed to get him over this. 

the nice thing about flying is if you pick the righttime for your flight, your lo might just sleep the whole time (see if they are still small enough for a skycot, they need to be under 22 pounds and you need to be sitting at the front so they can attach it to the wall) as the plane does fantastic white noise!

we are flying again this month but only to France.  i can check in after that and update you on our flying adventures!

[tinkerbelle78us]

thanks or the replies I feel better.  My son hasn't had any real problems with his ears just yet (knock on wood)...so hopefully everything will go smoothly.

[mrsrobbo]

We moved to canada when bradley was 12 weeks, i was worried about his ears too, he wouldnt take any milk either while we took off but he was fine, he is 6 monhs now and has flown 3 times and im taking him by myself at the end of the month, just take a few toys to distract him jut in case...good luck

[OzMummy]

I have flown ALOT with my DS (mostly alone) the first time was when he was 9 wks! We've had some good and bad flights. I've learnt, the hard way, that it is a good idea to bring some gas drops or gripe water along if the LO is prone to gas because at the increased altitude it is really painful to have gas. I would give a dose before we left home and usually things were ok.

As for the ears, take-off is not usually a problem (DH says that the ears can release the pressure on take-off without any help, he's a pilot!) Landing I tend to give my DS his dummy, he didn't like to drink when he's not hungry. He has still cried a couple of times but this actually helps them to clear their ears. (Just like yawning!)

Re: the skycot. I gave up on that. Once the LO can move around it seemed too scary for me, they're not very deep and the way my DS moves around I was scared he'd fall out. So we bought the sit'n'stroll, it a carseat that straps into a seat and it has fold-up wheels to use it like a stroller. So far I'm very happy with it, a bit expensive but worth it as DS is safe and can sleep in it.

[LŠuren]

Hi I will also be flying when my DS is about 8months, I found some websites dedicated to this if you want a look.


http://www.babyflying.co.uk/
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/babytravel
http://www.milupa-aptamil.co.uk/en/pdf/10_travellers_tales.pdf
http://www.milupa-aptamil.co.uk/en/summary.asp?chse_id=70&chct_id=2    The bottom of this website has useful phrasebooks to help you travel with your baby in France, Italy, Spain or Germany.

HTH

[tinkerbelle78us]

Calums mom...thanks for the sites they were very helpful.  I am so nervous about this first flight, his ears, and of course the looks I will get if he cries.  I hope your flight goes well.

drews mom

[me and bean]

hi tinkerbelle & calums mom...

i flown a bit with bean on my own, international and domestic.  most recently at 8 months also.  i think my very first post was asking about the same thing!  i was soooooooo freaked out about it.  here's what i learned.

it's not so bad.  dh is a pilot also and like oz mummy writes, says it's the landing where you need to have your lo eating or drinking.  and, as soon as the plane starts descending.  but being paranoid, i feed him both ways.  but he was so distracted by people and the plane itself that he didn't really drink much.  i had no problem with ears.

my biggest fear was the other passengers...  and honestly everyone is so busy offering you help, gooing & gaaing over your baby, and telling you how lovely he his and their own baby stories...  you just end up wondering what you were worried about.  and if they cry, everyone feels sorry for you.

i know no amount of advice is going to make you feel any better till you get off the plane.  but try to just go with his flow.  you both will be fine.

and you won't be the only one, there will be other moms waiting in the pre-board section (yay boarding first!) with the same concerns.

have fun at disneyland!

[Gigismom]

we flew when our dd was 6 months old.  she wouldn't eat or drink during the landing or take off, but her ears didn't seem to bother her at all, so i guess it just depends on the baby.

don't worry about the other people on board.  i worried about that too, but then realized that i had paid for the seats too, so i had every right to be there, crying baby or not!     and honestly, i did get a couple of irritated looks when gianna cried, but they were mostly from the (rude!) flight attendants.  the other passengers seemed to love having gianna near them so they could talk to her, talk to us about their own kids, etc...basically i think it helped pass the time having a baby nearby.

i would recommend taking MORE of everything on board than you think you will need though.  our flight was 3 hours delayed,    so of course, i ran out of diapers and wipes before we even took off!     just make sure you bring more than what you think you will need.

i'm sure you guys will do fine.  have a great trip!!

[tinkerbelle78us]

I want to thank everyone for the input...this has helped me so much and makes me feel relieved to know that I am not the only one .