Tips for travelling with a 10 month old baby

Portia

Registered User
My husband and I are about to take our 10 month old baby on his first flight (12 hours). Do any of you experienced travellers have any tips on how we can keep our little one amused and comfortable during the flight?
 
We just got back this week from Jakarta which is roughly 5 hours flight each way. Our son 9 months + was not very cooperative.
He was not crying but he just wanted to see everything on the flight. We had to walk with him and show him things. Toys helped but temporarly he would get bored soon.

We flew to Mumbai when he was 7 months old and he was great he slept as it was nap time but not this time. So we thought it would be the same but we were wrong. He is eating but refused to eat on the flight and only had milk.

he was fascinated by the inflight entertainment.

12 hours flight u need to be able to get a lot of his favourite toys to entertain. If possible get an extra seatthat way he can feel free to sit or lie down or try getting the bassinet in front.

Best of luck
 
Portia, thanks for starting this thread. I am also interested in learning about other mums' experiences.

At home, we can't get my 11-mth to sit for more than 5 min and in a little more than one month time, we would be taking him to Toronto. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
 
What i did was to buy my bb a new toy. Something that is small and that can easily packed into the handcarry bag. But be careful not to let him see the toy before. Keep it as a surprise and bring it out only when he becomes fussy. Depending on the length of the flight, you might need a couple of toys to keep him entertained. Perhaps one way to save money is to borrow some toys from your neighbours. Of course, biscuits and snacks will also keep the little one munching away.
 
Try your best to take a night flight, it really helps as they do end up sleeping for at least 70 percent of the time. If you must take a day flight then take lots of distractions...
 
Try to get a bulkhead seat, buy your LO his own seat and spread out. Ours likes to walk up and down aisles, touch the TV screen, play with his toys.
But he has been flying since 3 mo, so he is used to flying and long haul routes.
 
Hi,
my son is 15 mnths now and he has been flying since he was 2 mnth old.he has been on 11 flights already.
what works best for me is feeding,i start feeding my baby as flight takes off...by the time we are up in the air he sleeps.....for 2-3hrs.oh i make sure he doesnt take a good sleep,the day we are travelling....
carry some cottonballs cause the earbuds they give are useless and also the snacks he likes.
As lengli said handy toys work...
let him stroll under ur vigilance....
and enjoy ur trip....
 
This one is not for the babies, but for you and the fellow passengers...

I carry some zip-lock bags, to throw the dirty diapers in. The bags seal the smell in nicely. I just don't like it when I enter an airplane washroom and the smell of dirty diapers welcomes me! LOL

FYI, HK airport provides zip-lock bags for all the liquid/gel you're taking on board. Grab some of those before you leave if you forget to pack some with you. Also they allow you to take a large amount of liquid on board if it's for your baby. They do at Heathrow too, but you'll have to "take a sip" from every bottle to show them it's safe...
 
Thanks to everyone for all the tips. We plan on bringing the baby's car seat, but have been told that we can only request the bulkhead row so there are no guarantees that we'll get it. I'll definitely get a few new toys to surprise him with in case he has a meltdown. My little one also can't sit still for more than a few minutes, so the thought of being with him on a plane for 12 hours is a bit scary!
 
Thanks to everyone for all the tips. We plan on bringing the baby's car seat, but have been told that we can only request the bulkhead row so there are no guarantees that we'll get it. I'll definitely get a few new toys to surprise him with in case he has a meltdown. My little one also can't sit still for more than a few minutes, so the thought of being with him on a plane for 12 hours is a bit scary!

What airline fed you that? We have had no problem requesting/receiving bulkhead on Delta, Continental, NW, Cathay, Thai (I think), DragonAir, etc.... On the US airlines it is usually a matter of adjusting your seat on their website. For Cathay we had to call them.
 
We were told by Cathay that we can only request the bulkhead and that it won't be guaranteed until 24 hours prior to departure depending if anyone else has an urgent need for it, eg a disabled person. Were you able to confirm your bulkhead seats on Cathay long before the flight? If yes, I had better call them again asap.
 
Our son is ten and a half months old and we have flown with him six times since he was born....I don't think flying with him now that he is older and walking is any more difficult than when he was a smaller baby and not sleeping!

Take a night flight if you can, our last long haul flight this weekend was a night flight and our son slept the whole way back (11 hours).

We always fly standby and have never had any problems getting a baulkhead seat, however now that our son is too big and heavy for the bassinet we don't get priority for the bulkhead as priority goes to babies who can fit in the bassinet.
Personally I think if baby is too big for the bassinet then bulkhead seats aren't that great....it's better to ask if the flight is not full if they can make sure you have an empty seat next to you that baby can sleep across...
 
I totally agree with bekyboo44. Some of the bulkhead seats can be quite uncomfortable for the adults cos you can't put your feet under the seat in front. So if baby is to heavy for the bassinet ask the staff to try to get you an extra seat. Its much more comfortable. Oh do ensure baby is strapped in with a child strap or he/she may roll off the seat.
 
Yes bulkhead sit is not a guarantees it depends on need or may be too many infants travel at same time they have to arrange the sit for the suitable one. Even i fly with Oasia business class suppose u can book the sit on line but due to too packed all bulkhead was full they told me I may need to hold the baby for 13 hrs flight to UK ! They just mark down the remarks when you check in see if anyone willing to offer you bulkhead sit or u may think about another option but your baby a sit instead.
 
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