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Washington Babies
Flying with a 1 year old
I'm about to fly alone with Jillian to Washington DC. On the way there we are on a afternoon flight and on the way back we are on an evening flight. This is for a business trip that I was originally going to do alone, but then my mother in law decided she and Jillian would come along rather than watching her here in Seattle. It seemed like a fine idea at the time, but now that she is walking and entering toddlerhood it seems like a very, very bad idea. My MIL is booked on different flights than me for cost reasons. It is a direct flight to DC, and in my experience these particular flights tend to be very booked up so I have little hope of getting an extra seat for Jillian.
She isn't content to sit still for very long these days. She grabs everything. Has an obsession with pop cans (drinks will be out for me). Is very difficult to get to sleep these days and it usually involves crying. I have never dreaded a trip so much.
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Re: Flying with a 1 year old
is there any way you can change your flight to be on your MIL's flight? Or get your DD a seat? Or send your DD with MIL who had the great idea to take her with you guys?
Look at the seat assignments right now and see if the flight is really full. Make sure you don't have a center seat. I would get an aisle so you can get up and walk around I guess. A direct flight to DC is about 6 hours. so you'll need to get up and down a lot.
Call the airline and see if they can block a seat for you for your DD too if there are currently empty seats.
This won't be super popular but have you given her benadryl before? If it knocks her out, you might consider having it available so she'lll take a nap on you. Don't try it out for the first time on the plane though b/c it really wigs some kids out.
Portable DVD player might be good to distract her for a little bit. Lots of new toys, food, books, etc...
By 1 we always got Ben a seat though, so I don't know the logistics of a mover on your lap alone. I definitely don't envy you. I'd almost prefer a layover flight to break things up and give her a chance to run around the airport in Chicago or somewhere.
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I have a few ideas for in-flight activities for you...
Do you have an iPod? Evie is very active, and I keep her entertained on long car trips by loading my iPod with kid music. It's not just the music that entertains her; it's the ear phones. She is fascinated with holding them up to her ears. She's a really active kid, and it keeps her entertained for a solid 45 minutes at a time.
I don't know if you've introduced her to crayons yet, but you might bring a box of crayons and some paper and see if she'll sit on your lap and color. That's Evie #1 independent play activity.
Also, Evie is endlessly entertained by jelly beans in little containers. Get an Altoids tin or something similar and fill it up. Evie will take them out and put them back in over and over again.