cmeyer54

Ditto - plenty of snack sized ziplocs with cheerios, etc in them; juice boxes or bottles (maybe the smaller size?), small toys, I've even seen baby-size earphones for soft music if he/she normally has some music on before bedtime. Its ok to let him/her stand on your lap and look around - you may get folks playing peekaboo! The only time I've gotten a little annoyed (and I'm a travelling mom for a long time) is when the child is allowed to scream and scream with absolutely no effort on the part of the parent to calm the child. You can't just ignore. Get up, walk, etc. bring the same blanket, little pillow and soft toys. If you can, use an empty seat to make a place for the baby to lie down. Flight Attendents are usually gaga over babies as well.

artlover

I didn't see this mentioned, and it's been awhile (my daughter is 20 & a senior in college), but I was told the trick was to keep them swallowing--and a pacifier worked well for this. Good luck!

marigross

Benadryl rules! I always gived her a chance to behave, supplied all the toys and comfortable blankies. At the first sign of trouble the Benadryl came out and twenty minutes later so did the baby.

This is totally unpredictable, we had short flights were the Benadryl was needed (she was toothing at the time) and long overseas flights with multple stops where it was not.

It is very important to pretest the babies reaction to the medication, some do become extremely hyperactive with it.

I also did the first time my daughter travelled by herself to visit family, she was ten yrs old and mom was twice as nervous as the kid. I stayed home and hit the coctails, for medicinal purposes only. She slept most of the trip and came back all happy and proud of herself.

Gretchen

Haven't read all the responses. Bring a bottle so she can suck during takeoff and landing in the hopes of unplugging her ears. Does she have a seat? Car seat? Using a Baby Bjorn may be good on landing.

14VK8SHN

The tips on having a pacifier of bottle are good. Sucking on these are a big help for it makes them swallow which lessens the pain of pressure changes.

nursemom3

We went to Europe with 3 boys (4,2,1) and they were so good on the plane- I was surprised! I brought a ton of entertainment (coloring, toys, books) and they barely used them. They all slept quite a bit or just hung out. The baby be fine- My only suggestion is a change of clothes,diapers, and of course plenty of water/formula.

cmeyer54

Last suggestionRING A CHANGE OF CLOTHES FOR MOM!!! Nothing worse than clothes with spit-up on them for an entire plane ride!

Leona

I flew to Paris last week on American, and on both flights, there were families with a baby occupying the bulkhead seats. I would suggest that you check in very early and put your request in.

By the way, on both flights, the babies were remarkably well behaved. I think they both slept most of the time.

Good luck & bon voyage!

travellyn

The change of clothes for adults idea is realy good. Eleven years ago, I was flying with my 6 month old son. He wasn't hungry, but I got him to eat at his usual time, beause I wanted to keep him on his normal routine. Ha! He then proceeded to throw up all over me on the first leg of a 3 leg flight that had to be rerouted five minutes before we got to our destination. Instead of meeting my husband (and my luggage) in Reno, I got to spend the night with my infant son in an Oakland motel. I really wished I had brought a change of clothes for me!

travelmom13

Thank you thank you thank you!
Not only have your suggestions and advice been so helpful, but your vote of confidence has made this seem very doable. I really appreciate it!
We are so excited to take this trip and will leave in 24 days!!! HOOORAY!!!

Thanks again!!!