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Advice for flying with an active and mobile 8 month old?

lafayettegirllafayettegirl member
in January 2013 Moms
Other than dealing with feeding/ears popping, what advice do you all have for flying with an active and mobile baby? Travel time is about 5 1/2 hours including a 1 hour layover. DS is crawling, pulling up and wants to hold onto everything so he can "walk", plus he is pretty vocal.  Oh, and I am traveling without my DH, so I'm a one-woman show.

I'll take bottles and hopefully TSA will let me on with unopened pouches of purees, so I have food down. We're sitting at the back of the plane, and hopefully, DS will nap some. Should I just plan on bringing a lot of toys and praying for the best?

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Re: Advice for flying with an active and mobile 8 month old?

  • nuttycoconutnuttycoconut member
    I can't think of anything else besides books, toys & food! 

    Will your DS be in his car seat?
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  • ungraceful13ungraceful13 member
    We recently did this with DD (although the flight was only 2.5 hours). I was able to bring baby food through without a problem. I nursed during take off and she took a nap. I brought some new toys and some old favorites for her to play with. What ended up being a lifesaver was Mum Mums and Puffs and a plastic cup from the flight attendants.
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  • this decaf lifethis decaf life member
    Bring a different toy for each hour on the plane and let the stewardesses help you. Every US flight I've been on I had lots of help with the stewardesses holding DD.
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  • dulcemariamar1dulcemariamar1 member
    Ditto on buying new toys for the baby. But my LO also loves ripping up magazines, playing with water bottles, and keys so you never know what will keep your baby busy.
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  • baymer2006baymer2006 member
    Stroller for the airport, checked at the gate. Baby carrier to walk the aisles if baby is sleepy. Puffs for the descent to help with ear popping. 

    DS loved playing with the window shade, shutting it after I opened it. He giggled for 20 minutes doing it!
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  • OhioLadyOhioLady member
    I just flew with DS solo twice, just about the same fly and layover times.  
    That layover will fly by, you may only get a quick moment to recollect your thoughts at your next gate. 
    -Even if the ticket attendant doesn't announce 'families and children first', go with the first class folks anyway.  I fly a lot, and line jumpers make me want to yank their hair back and throw them to the back of the line, but parents with babies need all the wiggle room they can get when hauling baby and supplies on the plane.  Most flights have this announcement, but I had one that didn't, I went anyway, and all the folks in first class gladly let me in line a head of them.  
    -I flew with full stroller, with car seat clicked in, then checked both at the gate.  Baby in Ergo on me, diaper bag (only carryon, though fully packed), in stroller when I was not on the plane.  
    - On Delta, PNP's can check for free.  Not sure about other airlines.  Car seats do too, but I'm in the "don't check those" club.  
    - Do you have a tablet?  Baby games bought be some solid ten minutes of calm child here and there.  
    - Bring a water bottle for yourself, or try to buy a couple in the airport.  Cups of water while holding baby, not so much fun.  I was *this* close to soaking our neighbor.  
    - Pouches were no problem through security, I had a bunch that were 4 oz and they just glanced at them after the xray and then said nothing.  Do bring a screw-on spoon for them.  
    - Do you like/wear pashmina scarves?  I wore mine and it was great, bunch up as a pillow for you, use as a blanket for LO, or for peekaboo.  Then just throw over your shoulder when not in use.  
    - Getting through security solo: put plastic bin on the ground, place baby in bin, unload all your crap on the belt and push baby on floor since you have to usually unload while walking.  Baby is usually so amazed by this new bin, you're good to go.  On lookers and TSA get a kick out of it as well. 

    This post was pretty amazing during my planning:

    Good luck and I bet LO will do better than you expect :)  I didn't nurse or bottle or paci during take off or landing, DS just wasn't interested, but he did just fine.  

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  • LovelyLou23LovelyLou23 member
    Great tips already. In my experience, it's worked best to be as close to the LAST to board the plane as possible. That way, mobile baby gets all his energy out crawling/walking whatever, and then you walk in, sit in your seat, and are practically taking off. I mean, once you're on the plane, you're stuck, ya know? And what settling in do you need to do besides shove your carryon underneath the seat and strap in? But that's just me. :):)
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