Long distance flight - sleeping aids for babies

S

sabineHK

Registered User
I heard from other mums about some magic medicine that can be used to calm down a baby / toddler during long flights and hopefully make them sleep.
We'll go overseas next week and one of my babies (1 year old) is teething and not sleeping well even in her own bed. I cannot even think of holding her on my lap for more than 12 hours during the flight. My other baby is 2 years old and has his own seat. That might be a bit easier.
Could you please let me know the brand of these pills and where I can get them? Someone mentioned the UK made "Medised" but I cannot find it in HK.

Thanks a lot.
Sabine
 
The only tip I heard about was to use UK Calpol as it makes the baby drowsy. Hong Kong stuff, allegedly, is non-drowsy. Obviously taken in moderation but it would probably also help alleviate any discomfort caused from take off and landing. Sorry, you'll probably have to buy it for the trip back.
 
Bear in mind the Medised should not be given to baby under 2 years old. as the product have promethazine which may depress the CNS and cause breathing problem. If you really want to calm them down, you can give them piriton (Chlorpheniramine) or Polaramine which are antihistamines with sedative effect. Do check with the pharmacist when you are buying the medicine. Good luck and have a good flight!
 
Please stop beating yourself up about the fact that your baby may be unhappy on the plane. Its not a libruary! If they cry, or squeel, well so be it. I can assure you that your baby will sleep when the lights go down - the cabin pressure and sounds of the engine will see to that. He/she will sleep for at least half the flight.

There are no mircal cures for flights. Although Medised can be given to babies as young as 3 months (according to the label) it won't "knock them out" for 14 hours. The pink bottled Trixilix will do the same as Medised, but when they wake up, make sure they have something to play with, read and eat. I take a personal DVD player with tellytubbies on it. :gl:
 
you can do it!

i just flew 15 1/2 hours to NY and then another 3 1/2 to Miami with a 22 month old and i agree to bring along many toys and videos for your little one. My baby spend a lot of time looking out of the window, and seemed fasinated with the wing and engine of the plane and i felt that it kept her interest for a while. I also brought along crayons and a magazine so she was also entertained by that...i followed her as she walked (ran) along the aisles and we must have gone around 20-30 times from front to back of plane. I felt it also wore her out and then she drank some water, drank her milk and laid on my lap until she fell asleep... she did cry for a couple of mins and i wasnt bothered by the stares or signs of some people... (if they would have said anything to me I would of said that next time they should take their private jet!) Good luck, it really is not so bad...
 
just want to make this clear, there are several formulations under the name medised. the one TaynaH mentioned was Medised Infant, which have diphenhydramine (the antihistamine which will cause drowsiness) and infants as young as 3-4 months old are able to take it.sorry to cause any confusion...
 
BTDT. Thank goodness my babies are now 9 and 7.

Bring the sling to walk the baby up and down the aisles (that was what mostly kept my babies quiet). Also ask your GP or paed for something to keep the drowsy. That's what I did and it helped a bit. Didn't "knock them out" but did make them more mellow.

Singing songs and reciting nursery rhymes is also good for 1 year+ babies.

Good luck.
 
Hi,
In my experience of long haul flights with children, the baby won't be the issue. My daughter slept most of the way on a thirteen hour flight back to the UK. She did sleep on me and although it wasn't the most comfortable sleep I've ever had, she was quiet.

The tricky one was occupying my older son (there's twenty months between them). He did sleep for eight hours, though once he was awake it was a full time job keeping him occupied. We took paper and crayons, small books and some of his favourite (small) toys. If you can ask for a bulk head seat as you'll have more room to spread your stuff out and get them changed etc. I also found it easier if they served our meals at different times as trying to balance all the meals at the same time on those small tables with wriggly children can prove to be a bit of a nightmare. Also make sure you take some snacks as sometimes the gaps between meals can be longer than your children are used to.

I can't advise about the medicine as I've never used them with my two, but we have travelled long haul, just me and the children, and survived. Just make sure you're prepared and have lots to entertain them.

Good luck
Jools
 
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