OMG! i think i'm crazy! (flight advice please!)

hey guys,

thanks again for the advice. i was initally hoping for korean, but they are fully booked and i even asked the agent for "any day that week or the week after"

on one hand, i thinkt hat the front seats/bulk head would be better as my son can't bother the person in front as much. but as you said the armrests don't go up. so i think that i'll stick with a middle row. it would be great if we get 3 out of 4 seats and then no one sits in the 4th. that way we'd get an entire row. my daughter is small enough that i can rest her on the seat beside me without the bassinet. although i'm going to check seatguru.com to make sure i get the seats that i want.

i just got a double pram for $250 HKD. i can take that up to the gate with me, then check it in there. that should mean that i'll get the pram back at every stop. that way, i'm not carrying either of the kids (it would be impossible with my back). i think that i'm going to take the $ that i would have spent on a new pram and put it towards a new portable dvd so that my boy can watch dvds. i really wouldn't care if he watched them the entire trip... that would make life so much easier for me.

i've already been to toys'r'us to stock up on a few new goodies for him.

i will also stock up on some yummy treats for him for the flight.

thanks for the reminder for change of clothes. i actually hadn't thought of taking some for me until last night when i got a huge baby vomit down my top, between my breasts into my bra... yuck!! after that, i thought... I NEED TO TAKE SOME FOR ME TOO!!

thanks again guys. keep the suggestions flowing!
 
I just did a trip from HK to Canada yesterday. I had my mom help me on the first leg, and the second leg I was on my own. I know for sure that there is a flight from vancouver to regina on air canada. I have one peice of luggage that is lost when I arrived home. My children are age 1 and 3, so from my experience I wish I had a portable DVD player. Several people had them, even adults without children. My 3 year old loves stickers, and sticker books kept him amused for a long time. I agree with the specail treats. Call the airline ahead to request the childrens meal. It is brought out earlier so it gives you a head start on getting your 2 year old fed before your food comes. I had a three hour wait between flights in vancouver and the plane was 1 hour late on arrival, so I had 1 hour and 50 minutes from landing, until my next flight was scheduled to leave. I barely made it. I got to the gate at last boarding call. And my mom had gone ahead of me throught immigration and had all the luggage ready to go for me. Remember that the strollers are brought out last when you take them to the gate. I am almost always in the last group of people to get out of the plane because of that. Luckily my second flight on my own was short, so didn't need a bathroom break on the plane, but I am really not sure how I would have peed myself. I have to lift the three year old onto the toilet, while holding a 1 year old! Maybe the flight atttendates help you, I am not sure. I find that kids did not nap or sleep according to their usual shedules because of all the stimulation and activity going on, so keep that in mind too. I think you just have to go with the flow and let them nap when they feel like it. My three year old was very wound up and would not steetle to sleep on the HK to Vancouver flight, he finally slept at about 1000 Pm and he did not nap at all that day. Normally naps and sleeps hours earlier. I would take up any offers of help that you are given!! Good luck! we had three seats in a 4 seat row and the attendants tried to offer the 4 seat person the 1 empty seat else where on the plane and the woman refused because the offer was not the aisle, I think most people would move though

Good Luck!
 
I second the recomendation for some 'sleepy juice'. Dr Siu at Island Health gives us Atarax. It is an antihistamine which makes hyper toddlers nice and sleepy. Test it before you go, as sometimes it can have the opposite effect. I have also tried Phenergan but found she woke up in a fould mood - probably with a headache.

Good luck
 
re: stroller, pls call the airlineS and make sure that they can take it out at your transits. some can only do when you arrive at your FINAL destination, cos the tag on the stroller says your destination. so pls make sure that you will get your stroller at EVERY transit.

i seriously don't think ANYONE in their right mind would wanna sit next to you when there are other seats available on the plane (LOL). so do call the airlines & check, if the flight isnt full, you can bet that you're gonna get all 4 seats to yourself.

then bring sth for yourself to eat (dry food, like sandwish, crackers, sth cold, non-spill & easy to eat.) when i fly, i cannot eat the tray of hot food next to my child, she'll lean over & knock off everything. i agree with capital, be prepared that little boy won't nap along with his usual schedule. and bring extra milk (is 2 yo on formula?) my daighter refused to eat whenever we fly. over the two 13 hours flight +12 hrs layover (last sept we flew from Vancouver- HK via london with a 12 hr layover) she only drank milk, water & ate fruits. she was already on formula, so i was glad I had a full pack of extra formula in my hand carry. what i did was i transfer the milk to a ziploc bag & clipped it close (so it's lighter) then put it in a "lock & lock" container.
 
thanks guys!
he does drink formula. i was hopinig to break him of this habit and get him to drink regular milk. i was going to try the "oops, mummy forgot"...i was wanting to do this for a couple of reasons.

1) i dont' think they do formula for 2 yr olds in canada
2)saves me the hassle of bottles/nipples/mixing, carrying bags of powder etc.


now i'm starting to think this may be a bad idea...
 
Don't mean to scare you more, but one other thing to think about is getting your husband to write a letter to inform immigration that you have his consent to travel alone with the kids - see http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/before/children_travel-en.asp
There's a sample letter in there that you can copy.

I travelled alone with my daughter to the UK and Hong Kong from Canada and they have checked on a few occasions. The first letter I produced was not notorised/certified and they questioned that too but I just told them I was not aware it had to be notorised. A friend travelling alone with her baby to Vancouver from Hong Kong was detained for a few hours when she arrived because she didn't have a consent letter.
 
thanks, i know about the letter. i had one with me last time and it was computer printed with my hubby's signature. the immig guy in vancouver said that i should have my hubby handwrite it next time.

i guess i'll have to get one notarised...what a pain inthe neck!

thanks for the warning!
 
Regarding milk, they do have formula for toddlers in Canada but you may not find the same type as what you're using in HK. If your newborn is on formula, make sure you take enough for the whole trip. Organic whole milk is so cheap there compared to HK, I would use this!
 
i just talked to my mum and she told me to throw out all the bottles tomorrow. the only time he uses them is for his milk.

so, i'm going to buy a special cup that's "for the airplane" i'm going to start mixing the formula with fresh milk for a few days and then over the next 10 days, switch to only fresh milk from a cup.

hopefully this will prevent any tantrums and it'll be much easier once we are airborne. i'll take the special "airplane cup" with us....
 
hi cara, i suggest the following:

1) make sure u email the airports and airlines that you will need help to move to different gates if you have direct connecting flights and they are at diff gates. last time i flew, they didn't even bring out my stroller because the connecting flight was one hr away but the connecting gate was miles away. they said if i had put in a request a bit earlier, i could of got the help. lucky i had my helper with me but i knew if i insisted when i got off the plane i would of got some help. a gf of mine was just lazy and didn't want to walk around Changi airport so she said her back was sore when she got off the plane. they got the motorised buggy and transported her to the next gate! also my mother in law had that service too as she is fat and didn't want to walk!

2) i recommend you get a bassinet so u can put your baby down and not worry that she would fall out of your arms in case u fall asleep. with your 2 yr old, i am sure he will fall asleep regardless of what position he is in when he is tired.

3) if u do get a bassinet, pls consider which way you put down your baby. from this then decide which seats you want. the baby's head must not be facing towards the aisle. you don't want to manouvre your baby too much when you put her down in the bassinet because you could wake her up. i am not sure if your baby will be affected by this as she is still very young. i woke my LO up because i had to basically flip him around as his head was facing the aisle.

4) also don't get yourself too stressed up. i was really worried the last time i flew that I had sleepless nights before the flight. remember it will only be one or two days of your life on the plane, it is not worth getting all worked up about it. i am sure your pregnancies were more stressful so this will be nothing! you will breeze thru it!
 
thanks for teh advice and encouragement!

i'm going to collect the tickets today. i will ask the agent about getting the help. then i'll call the airline when i get home.
 
yes, weaning 2yo from formula is a great idea. but mine would never let go of the bottle at sleepy time. so trying it out at home for a wk or so is a good idea. but one word of advice, they only have UHT milk on the planes, i think. then pls check whether you can get fresh milk from the transit lounges in all those airports you're going thru. for me, besides bfeeding, it's always easier to give LO formula when travelling, so i don't have to worry about buying milk at the airport (the walking around looking for it is a hassle by itself when you have a toddler in tow), and keeping the milk cold. cos i mix my formula with room temperature water when i can't find hot water. and since mine (same as yours) is 2 yo, when i'm on the plane or transiting, i repeatedly used the same bottle. i just rinse it out with the hot water after each use. (i figure if they can be chewing on shoes & picking up things in the sand to put in the mouth, that should be fine) :missingto
 
Babies on Flights

Dear Carang
If you want a bassinet, make sure you request the row of seats that can hold it. If you can, make it clear to your travel agent when picking up your tickets that he/she should pre-book this for you.

In my experience, the staff on airlines are quite helpful if you have young children, but it all depends on the staff on board. When checking in, you should be entitled to check in at a separate counter which deals with passengers who have special requirements so that you don't have to line up for ages with your children.

Good luck!
Anne
 
hey carang, you've got loads of friends here. i've never seen athread that can generate so many response in the 1st 24 hrs!! so many ppl empathise with you!!
 
hey guys, me again...

jsut had a hell of a morning trying to get all the paperwork sorted out... thank god that's done!

i'm now thinking getting him off of formula and just foregoing the milk while in flight. he'll be just as happy drinking juice/water and a little bit of soda.

thanks for the info about UHT milk. i actually bought some drinking boxes of it a while ago and my boy took one sip and that was it....

joannek...i think that the folks on geobaby are some of the most helpful around, that's one of the reasons i like it so much!
 
oh thot of this when posting to another thread. security restrictions on liquids, remember to go up with liquids under 100ml, they were strict on this last time i travelled, even when i said i'm using the water for baby's formula. baby food and milk powder got thru no problem. so the same applies to juices.

also, one thing i do is to board with 1 plastic water bottle (for yourself), and ask the hostess to fill it up when i'm on board, saves me asking for tiny glasses of water 100 times in flight.

on take-off, remember to ask your toddler to drink up or eat up to ease the ear pressure.. while you might have to breastfeed the newborn. when we travelled last time, i had to time to feed her RIGHT when the plane takes off, so when you hear the pilot really going for it. not when he's taxi-ing coz you don't really know how long you have to wait before the REAL takeoff.

i've also read that you can talk to your toddler about the trip beforehand (now!) and get him prepared for it. they always say they understand a lot than we think they do, it's just that we keep forgetting it !

BEST OF LUCK! you have many fingers crossed for you!
 
More questions re flying long haul with baby

Just found out I'd be going to Toronto coming April / May. Like Carang, I'm also going to see my grandma (90 years old!). I'd be taking baby who would be 7 / 8 months then. We are flying CX and it'd be a 19 hour flight. Hubby might not be able to join, so there is a possibility that I'd be traveling alone with baby.

More questions:

1) how big is the bassinet? Would it fit a 8 month old?
2) if I didn't get bulk head at economy, does it mean i would have to hold the baby throughout the flight?
3) follow up to question #2, moms who had experience traveling in economy (but not bulk head), was it difficult? how did you cope?
4) do they allow babies at business class?
5) do the flight attendents help out? and if they do, what assistance should I expect or ask for?
6) Baby's on formula. Should I follow the HK feed and sleep hours or adjust him to toronto's?
7) i read about giving baby water during take off and landing to release pressure. Have anyone tried? Did it work?
8) anyone knows how's the temperature like in Toronto in April and May?
9) what's the biggest challenge when you travelled alone?

Sorry for the long list of questions. Thanks a million for your valuable input!
 
Hi,

I flew alone with my son when he was four months old and was terrified beforehand, however it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be!

The weight limit for the bassinet is 10kg! And at four months my son was almost too tall for it ( he is very tall!). However on the same flight I noticed a baby who could walk in the bassinet....but I would worry about putting a 7-8 mnth in it. Depends on how heavy your baby is.

The good thing about the bulkhead seat is that you have lots of leg room- the bad thing is that the armrest doesn't come up so even if there is a spare seat next to you you can't lift the armrest up and let baby lie across you and the spare seat (which you can do on the other rows).
I also find it hard to breastfeed my son in the bulkhead seat because he's so long and the armrest won't come up!

If your baby won't fit in the bassinet you will have to carry them the whole way, unless there is an empty seat next to you or unless you book them a seat. If it is a busy route/flight it might be worth booking them a seat- not much fun to have to hold a 7-8 mnth old for 19hrs!

There isn't much you can ask a flight attendent to do- I asked one to watch my sleeping son while I went to the toilet and that is about it. Am sure they would be happy to help do that, or to get you water etc. I have a friend who is a flight attendent and she was once asked to change a baby's nappy.....needless to say she was not very impressed!

I always feed my baby on take off and landing- stops the pressure from hurting their ears. But you can give pacifier etc. During the flight I feed him when hungry.....it's important to remember that the air is very dry on a plane and babies need more liquid when flying.

Good Luck!
 
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