Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Solelle
member
Flying with a 20 month old - advice
Solelle
member
So I'm planning a trip later this year when my LO will be around 20 months or so, and even more of a spitfire than she is now I'm sure. 
The airline we are considering has a lap infant policy until 2 years old. So I want to know, is it worthwhile to pay for a seat for her or should we suck it up and do the walk up and down the aisle thing? It's going to be a 6 hour flight so I'm rather nervous about the whole thing. Also, any recommendations on dealing with pressure in the ears or calming the baby? A friend of ours took their little one on a trip recently and their doc recommended baby benadryl to knock the kid out for the flight (or at least make him groggy enough that he would be calm). Not really sure how I feel about it.
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Re: Flying with a 20 month old - advice
I've taken DD on a 6+ hour flight when she was 15 months old (to Europe), a 3 hour flight when she was 18 months old and a 4 hour flight when she was 22 months old. I have never used Benadryl. I've also never bought an additional seat.
When I could, I tried to time the flights around her natural sleep schedule. So, for the flight to Europe, for example, we flew at night and she slept in my lap the whole way. I changed her into her pjs as soon as we were on the flight, fed her some dinner, read her a book, gave her milk and she was out like a light. On the way back, there was no way around her being awake for most of the flight, so then I did just walk up and down the aisles with her, etc.
On this last 4 hour flight, the plane was packed and we didn't end up having any free seats around us, and I wasn't lucky enough to book the flight at a time of day during which DD was asleep. Nonetheless, I was able to keep DD on my lap without incident the whole time (and I was flying alone, so I couldn't hand her off to anyone). As DD has gotten older, I have found it's easier to keep her entertained on my lap with books, dolls, crayons, a doodler/etch-a-sketch kind of thing, magazines, and food. I always bring lots and lots of snacks. And drinking/swallowing is good for the ear pressure. I was still nursing DD when we last flew, but you could offer a sippy cup when taking off and landing or maybe even a lollipop.