Flying with a 2 yr old and 3 month old??

st.augbride

I'm considering booking a flight around Easter for us to see our family in Florida. Ds will be a 2 1/4 yrs and dd will be 3 months old. Is this doable or am I crazy? We flew a ton with ds when he was an infant, but I've been scared to ever since his mobility, willfullness, and just plain "toddler-ness" greatly increased. I think dd will be fine, but how about the 2 yr old high-energy boy?

carlab44

Well only you know your son, but we've flown with both kids (now 4 and 6) probably 2-4 times per year each year. Two is a hard age, but not so hard that I would consider avoiding a vacation because of it. Will he watch shows/movies? If so bring a computer or iPad, some toys, snacks, and you'll probably be set.

Cherryblossoms07

I've flown with my kids and it is not that difficult; just plan ahead.  DD is high energy so I let her walk around in the airport a lot before boarding.  If the airport has a children's play area, take advantage of that.  Don't board until you have to; that has been the only time I have had problems because DD gets bored of sitting in the seat before we actually take off.  Bring snacks, something for them to suck on - bottle, straw cups, etc. (for their ears), entertainment (our Nook color loaded with cartoons and preschool apps is the biggest hit for entertainment).  Also, bring your children to the bathroom and change diaper(s) before the flight so you hopefully don't have to deal with that on the plane.  Good luck! 

1026pumpkin

Cherryblossoms07:

I've flown with my kids and it is not that difficult; just plan ahead.  DD is high energy so I let her walk around in the airport a lot before boarding.  If the airport has a children's play area, take advantage of that.  Don't board until you have to; that has been the only time I have had problems because DD gets bored of sitting in the seat before we actually take off.  Bring snacks, something for them to suck on - bottle, straw cups, etc. (for their ears), entertainment (our Nook color loaded with cartoons and preschool apps is the biggest hit for entertainment).  Also, bring your children to the bathroom and change diaper(s) before the flight so you hopefully don't have to deal with that on the plane.  Good luck! 

All of this.  We also got a little tote bag and filled it with small, wrapped presents- finger puppets, mini magna doodle, Elmo figures, little dinosaurs and cars, etc.  whenever he would get bored, he could choose a new prize from the bag and we tried to really draw out picking it out and opening it up.  We had a bag with about 8 items and it lasted for two 5hr trips. 

cpmich

How long is the flight? Any layovers? How many days before the roundtrip? Just might want to consider whether it will be worth the travel and routine disruption. Planning potty training? Etc. Also a 3 month old might be midgrowth spurt...

ncbelle

I did it solo when my kids were about those ages - it was totally fine!  I'd use a comfortable carrier for your infant and let your toddler run around at the airport as much as possible.  And use the carseat on the plane!  That made it like a car ride for Callum so he didn't even think about the option of running around on the plane.  

bride2bsoon

We flew when the boys were 2 1/2 and 6 months. Having the car seat was key for me. Also as others have said lots of snacks (dry lucky charms because he never had them before we're great).  And the iPad.  I packed diapers and wipes in plastic baggies for each so I didn't have to take the whole diaper bag or rummage thru it. 

cchill01

Funny that several others said to use the car seat for DS.   I would say do NOT bring the car seat on the plane.  If you have one, the flight attendant will make you keep DS it in and it takes up so much room it's hard to care for the baby. I like using the C.A.R.E.S. restraint system.

Also, try to plan the trip around nap time and avoid connections.  Oh - and make sure to warn him ahead of time that his lovie will have to go through the xray machine.  We had a full scale meltdown, because of ours.