Tips for flying with a 1 year-old?

jupiterthecat

I need some advice from seasoned moms. We just booked a trip for next week where we'll be flying across the country with a lap baby. My daughter just had her birthday last week. We flew with her over the holidays last year, and it was shockingly easy-- I kept her in the Moby for most of the flight, and she breastfed and slept like an angel. But now, she's a totally different kid-- she's mobile, squirmy, and....well, you all know what one-year-olds are like. She's just taking her first steps this week, but is progressing fast so could be full-on walking by the time we fly out, and more likely for the flight back. I'm appropriately terrified.

Any ideas for keeping her from going nuts on the trip? What kinds of toys should we bring? Through googling, I got some creative ideas-- masking tape, post-its-- but I would love some more. Most of her favorite toys are too bulky to bring, and her attention span is about two seconds, so it's hard for me to imagine what might keep her occupied for any significant amount of time.

We just got an iPad, and although we haven't introduced her to videos or touchscreen games, maybe it will help keep her entertained. Any ideas for apps or downloadable videos?  

luvmyducks

Haha  Jinx!  I just posted something very similar

jupiterthecat

Haha! We'll have to exchange tips. Funny that we both have 9/6 babies and are both flying at the same time.

MrsLoos

I've flown 10 times now with my twins, twice by myself with both babies:) it's always been fine and I've found my anxiety leading up to the flight is much worse than the actual flight!  Our last flight was a couple weeks ago right after they turned 1. I'm not going to lie, it was the most difficult one yet, but doable!

 What airline are you flying? We flew southwest and they were amazing, seats are first come first serve and since the flight wasn't full we got a row to ourselves which was huge!

 Bring lots of snacks, I had bought several new toys that I pulled out when they started getting antsy and the iPad came out near the end of the flight I had downloaded some cartoons which I knew would keep their attention for a while. For the most part people on our flights have been super nice and have interacted with our kids which always helps. There were definitely a few moments when I thought we were going to have a major melt down, but I was always able to distract them. Good luck:) 

JenniCollins

Disney Junior has a free app that has full episodes of their shows, Chloe loves this.  She also loves Eebee.

As for on the plane, my biggest suggestion is take trips to the bathroom.  This works wonders with my daughter (we fly every 3 months or so).  Look in the mirror and make funny faces, bring a small flashlight and turn off the lights and 'find' things, wash your hands, wash your face (wet paper towel and rub face), etc.  We usually take a few trips to the bathroom about every 30 minutes or so, just when she is getting tired of sitting in one spot.  It refreshes her for another 30 minutes of sitting!

Have a good flight. 

agytay

Go to the dollar store, buy $15 dollars worth of cheesy toys (e.g., painter's tape, stickers, mini slinky, squishy balls, that your little one has never seen. Wrap a few up in tissue paper. Every time your little one gets anxious pull out a new toy. Trust me, it will be the best $15 you ever spent.

kenyakeetah

I flew to the UK with my dh and 1 year old on lap, we packed a range of things and this is what we really used

The seat tvs entertained for a few minutes due to not hearing sound it was a little boring for him

He slept a lot

Drink cups from the airline on the tray to play with passed a lot of time

He was walking so walking up and down the plane and smiling at people passed time, they helped entertain

Soothed helped for stopping any major noise he may make

We packed an on board snack box for him included all his favorite foods and some new things like reeses pieces this helped when fussy and nothing working

He also had toy cars he was happy to sit on the floor and play with

Peeking between the seats was fun, as was looking out the window

 

He also played on my tablet too for a little bit.

 

All in all it went well I asked his favorite teddy to sleep with that we used and a bunch of other toys including books that he didn't care about.

One advice would be try to bring quite toys I left all the muscle speaking things at home kept one rattle just in case

Hope that helps,he did way better than expected and for our flight out we made a day of it to tire him out we took the skytrain to the airport had lunch at the airport checked in as soon as we could shopped ran around investigated the airport then by the time he watched us take off he was ready for sleep,night flight helped too but whenever you go they usually keep it simple and the hum helps them sleep

 

 

jupiterthecat

Thanks for the awesome and creative tips! I'm so glad we just got our iPad. I've already hit the dollar store (and they had a magnadoodle type thing). We are flying two airlines (different cities)-- Southwest on the way there, Virgin America on the way home.