Flying Long Haul with a Toddler - it's not really a nightmare, honest

So I have so much to say about our wonderful 3 weeks in Australia, but I'm jetlagged and heartsick at being back at work without Bella, so instead I'm going to list my tips and tricks for flying long-haul with a toddler that doesn't have their own seat.

• Assume it will be a complete nightmare.

This is essential. If you assume the flight will be a complete, and utter disastrous nightmare, then anything better than that will seem like a walk in the park.

• Check in Early

Yes, this does seem like odd advice, but I prefer not to be rushed when checking in and getting through passport control and security. It's bad enough doing that without a bored almost 2 year old, but exponentially worse with one in tow. Check in early, ask for a seat next to you to be blocked (it didn't work for us, all our flights were full, but it's always worth asking). Always ask for the seats with the bassinets/sky cots. Even if you don't use the bassinette there is extra leg room in this row and you get your meal first too. If you get there early you will be more likely to get these seats, and get them near the front of economy so you can get off the plane quicker. This is important.

• Let the kid run

Once you've gotten through all that passport control and security screening business let your kid run around in the transit lounge. They're going to have an awfully long time stuck on your lap, or in the cot, and doing laps of the aisle at a toddler run wears thin pretty quickly, so let them burn off the energy in the airport. Repeat every time you get off the plane. Let them run, tire them out, don't let them sleep while off the plane. Consider keeping them awake during normal nap times before you get on the plane so they'll be so exhausted they will fall asleep as soon as you take off.

• Flight time

Let's face it, there is no good time of day for your long haul flights. There are negatives to every option. Some people will tell you it's better to schedule flights to take off around nap times, or to arrive at a certain time of day. My thought is that it's going to suck whichever option you choose, so go with the cheapest flights with the minimum number of stops. If you arrive at your destination at night, then you can all fall straight into bed when you get there. If you arrive in the morning, you can limit the kid's day sleep that day so that they'll hopefully sleep well that night. Whatever you choose be prepared for the first couple of nights at your destination to be pretty horrendous.

• Nappies

Take more than you think you will need. Take enough to cover you for a horrendous episode of explosive diarrhoea and the first day in the new country. I've never used more than a quarter of the nappies I've packed but you know that the one time you pack light, will be the one time you really needed the extra and not all airlines will have stock to cover you.

• Food

Take snacks for your toddler, especially if you have a fussy eater. I don't have a fussy eater, but I still take extra snacks. The food they get served might not be appropriate for them, or they might be asleep during meal service. If you have snacks you don't need to worry about it. Good snacks to take are things that will occupy them for a while. Whole apples or pears are good if you have a toddler who is capable of eating them. Chunks of cheese are good. Apparently cheerios are good too. Also double and triple check with your airline what is contained in the toddler meals. On the flights out of London and Sydney Bella got food appropriate to her eating skills. On the flights out of Singapore she got mush, which she is well beyond. Also consider feeding them bananas in the day or two before you fly. Bananas have a binding effect on some babies and you really want to minimise having to change pooey nappies on the plane. If you've overdone the banana you can correct it with a dose of prunes at your desination. Also take a water bottle that wont spill for your kidlet. They probably wont drink as much as they should on the plane, but you still need to make sure they have access to water.

• Toys

What you pack to entertain your toddler is vital to a stress free trip. You may be given a pack for them on the plane, you may not. It is likely if you are given the kiddy pack that it will entertain them for about 5 minutes. Five minutes is not very long in a 24 hour period. You will need more than this. There are a lot of things to consider when packing toys and books for the flight. I read a lot about what to take before we left, and ended up taking more than we needed, but was still glad I had new things in reserve in case Bella got really bored. Here's a quick pick list of things to consider

• play dough - DON'T DO IT. Someone pointed out to me that it looks somewhat like plastic explosive, so leave it behind. Besides which it stinks and it makes a mess so it's not a good option on the plane
• Stickers - stickers are the be all and end all for us and Bella. Stickers will occupy her for a good hour if not more. Pack a small exercise book and shitloads of stickers and let them sit on your lap and go for it. They are small, cheap, noise free, and excellent for practicing fine motor skills anyway. On our last leg coming back we even shared our stickers with the 21 month old in the next seat, for which her parents were very grateful. I'll say it once I'll say it a thousand times, you cannot pack too many stickers
• An old favourite. If your toddler has a favourite toy, particularly if they sleep with that toy, then take it on the plane. It's got to be confusing enough for the poor kid, make sure they have whatever comfort they need. The same goes for special blankies if your kid has a special blanky. Hang the bulk, take the blanket.
• Things they haven't seen before. Go wild in your local pound or $2 shop. Pick up some cheap things like toy cars or balls or dolls or whatever. If it's cheap you wont mind losing it, and things they haven't seen before might occupy them for a few minutes more than you expect
• Books. Hide their favourite book a month before you go. It'll be that much more special for them when you pull it out on the plane. Also pack a new book. We got a Mr Men pocket library of 6 tiny board books at the airport which was brilliant. It occupied Bella for ages pulling them out, reading them, putting them back.
• Colouring. Take it, they might not do it, but it doesn't take up much space or weight so it's worth taking anyway.

• Attitude

Look no matter how good your kid is, people are going to assume they will be a complete nightmare. They will scowl when they realise they are sat near a toddler. There will be a combination of scowls and smiles when you're pacing the aisles with them. People will assume that your kid will be screaming and creating havoc, so just let it wash over you and get on with entertaining your little mite.

• Bassinettes

Try and get the seat with the bassinette. Your child may be above the weight limit, but they may not. Bella was almost 2 when we flew and she was under the QANTAS weight limit so we got good use of the bassinette. She was way too long, but she slept pretty well in there anyway. It was also good for sitting her in there to play for a while and she really enjoyed being higher up and looking around.

• Take-off and Landing

This is really important, dont' ignore this bit. Make sure your toddler is sucking something on take-off and landing. You know how your ears hurt when you are taking off and landing, and  you know how you know tricks to fix it? Your toddler doesn't. All they know is that their ears are hurting and it wont go away. If you are still breastfeeding, then time a feed for take-off and landing. I'm lucky, Bella will never refuse boob, so it was a handy tool for us. If you're not breastfeeding, then a bottle of milk or water can work, or a dummy if your kid likes a dummy. Whatever method you use, it's fairly vital that they are sucking at this point.

For this reason also make sure you pack a painkiller for them. You can buy those single serve sachets of Calpol in the UK, which wont violate liquid restrictions. They're good.

• Pram -vs- Baby Carrier (oh and a bit about car seats)

I think I need to put a proviso on this section. Everything else should be applicable across the board, but this is based on us travelling with a single toddler, who is very small (almost 2, and only 10kg or 23lb), independent, and a huge stickybeak. In normal life she'll spend about 20 minutes in a buggy before she gets bored and wants out, she would prefer to walk, and when she's not comfortable doing that, be carried up high so she can see what's going on.

So with that proviso, we chose the Baby Carrier option. We went with a Toddler Patapum (www.patapum.com). It's like an Ergo or Pikkolo carrier but it's got a longer back, and is rated to carry heavier weights, so is good for toddlers.

Things to consider when choosing whether to take a pram or not are -

• can you beg, borrow, steal, or hire one where you are going?
• How much walking around will you be doing? If you've got a heavy baby, or back or other health issues that mean you can't carry them for long, then pram is the better option.
• How much other luggage have you got? Think about the number of hands you have. Are you travelling with backpacks or suitcases? Who will be carrying what? Will you have spare hands to push a buggy, or are you both carrying backpacks and therefore need the kid in a pram?
• Can you take your pram as carry on luggage? Apparently Quinny Zapps, and QuickSmart traveller prams can be taken on as carry ons.
• Does your kid prefer the pram or the carrier, ours prefers the carrier 9 times out of 10, and even when she chose pram, ended up being carried by us for 75% of the time anyway. Your mileage may vary.

So for us the carrier was the only option. We needed her confined and close during airport transitions. And we were travelling to stay with rellies on farms, so would not have much need of a pram.

Now the bit about car seats. If your toddler has their own seat on the plane, then apparently the safest way for them to travel is in a car seat. This is all well and good, but don't then assume that you will be able to use that car seat at your destination. The only car seats that are legal for use in Australia are Australian car seats. So while it seems like a good idea at the time to take the car seat with you if you will be hiring a car, it's actually dead weight when travelling to Australia. You can hire car seats really cheaply in most places, sometimes from car hire companies, sometimes from third parties, so look into that before you go.

Comments

[cheap flight]

Thanks a lot for the information, this information will be very helpful for me as I love traveling...Keep posting :-)