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Elliot has flown a few times in his life- the first time, he was 2 months old, and the second time, he was 6 months old. It went pretty smoothly both times, thankfully. Nowadays, though, Elliot is MUCH more mobile, and he has an extremely short attention span.
So, do you have any tips for traveling with a one year old/toddler? Were there any magical toys or other things that kept your little one busy?
We have two fairly long layovers, so my plan is to stuff him full of some food, give him a bottle, and push him in the stroller until he hopefully falls asleep and naps. Honestly, I'm not too worried about the layovers. He can probably crawl around a little- I'll bring lots of wipes and hand sanitizer. There will be fountains {sure to amaze him} and music. Plus, there will be plenty of strangers around... and Elliot is an avid people watcher and quite the flirt.
We've all seen it- that look of horror on someone's face when they realize that, {gasp!} the woman with the baby was going to be sitting next to them.
It's the plane rides themselves {all 3 of them} that make me nervous. I do NOT want to be "that mom" with the screaming child driving my neighbors nuts. I'm not too sure about noisy, annoying toys, either. If you were flying solo for the holidays, which would annoy you more? Sing-songy toys, or crying? Because if he's not crawling around, pretty much the only thing that entertains Elliot are food, loud toys, and a couple of his board books {only if read in a high-pitched voice} and not sure how long new snacks and treats will keep him busy.
My goal is to make it through the day with as few tears and irritated travelers as possible.
I've flown alone with C a LOT! Not sure if your husband is going with you, but if not I wouldn't worry about people getting annoyed. People were so sympathetic when I was alone and went above and beyond to help me.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest lesson learned is that I will buy him his own seat now and not fly as a lap baby anymore, but C is also a very big boy which makes things difficult. However, even having the empty seat to be able to spread my things out for easy access or to set C down while I got his drink or food situated was helpful.
It sounds like you already have good ideas. Books really helped me pass the time and kept Corben pretty entertained. I would definitely recommend getting some new toys that will entertain him. People would much rather hear a noisy toy then him crying. Also, if you can play a show that he might like on your cell phone or get a portable dvd player to play something for him. If you saw my post about it, I don't like C watching stuff, but there's always a good time and place for it.
Other than that, I just embraced that he was going to fuss and cry at certain points and that I wasn't going to stress about it. C doesn't like to sleep anywhere but at home, so to sleep on a plane he had to fuss first before he'd sleep. I cuddled him and sung to him and just kept calm.
Good luck and let us know how it goes. I'm sure Elliot will do great!
I'm sure it'll all go smoothly. When we flew w Lo the key was taking his car seat in the plane. Oh it was a lifesaver! He knew he was supposed to stay in his car seat, so it eliminated him wanting to move around. Snacks, stickers, DVD player, books, and small toys helped a ton as well! Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteI have no advice, I have yet to fly with my demon children. But I have a friend who has, A LOT and she always said taking the car seat on the plane was the best idea she'd ever had. Kept her youngest from wanting to move around the entire flight.
ReplyDeleteI wish you lived closer! We could get the babies together while you're back in the mitten!!
I read that painters tape can be fun, stick it on the seats on you ect. Also one of the reasons we bought our iPad was for traveling. I'm not a big fan of tv for my kid but plane rides are an exception. We are flying over night, overseas when my kiddo will be 18 months and I am very nervous!
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I just flew internationally last week by myself, with our 1 year old daughter. I brought a couple toys (that don't make noise, ha) and LOTS of books. She loves to look at books, so I knew books would take precedence over the toys.
ReplyDeleteI also brought the iPad; she has a few kid apps on there she likes to toy with. I had downloaded a few episodes of YGG, which neither of us had seen before. She watched a little of one episode but wasn't that interested. If Elliot likes any certain show, you could download an episode or two to a device to keep him entertained when nothing else works.
I was super lucky that our flight coincided with her bedtime, so much of the time she was sleeping. On our short flight from Okinawa to Tokyo she ended up napping because she hadn't yet. When we were on the plane though and she wasn't sleeping or interested in her books, she really liked to stand on my lap and peer over the top of the seat at the people in the back. As long as she wasn't causing a ruckus, I didn't care - ha. Most people like babies and will probably visit with him if he's peering over your shoulder at them.
Oh - I also bought a magna-doodle. Coloring without the mess of crayons or markers. You could perhaps get a travel-sized magna-doodle. :)
Good luck, let us know how it goes! Have fun at home with your family. :)
Raechel
http://www.ourislandoutlook.blogspot.com
Granted the flight was only 4 1/2 hours but I was thrilled when I saw the 8 month old WOULD be sitting next to me, and double thrilled when mom and dad let me interact with him :-) I
ReplyDeleteOh goodness we have to do this in January when we go to Disney for the marathon. Let me know what works for you!! Good luck!
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