Entertaining a 15 mo. old on a 14 hour plane ride

[yellowbrkrd]

We are visiting South Korea in September. The flight is 14 hours and M will be 15 months old. I need any and all ideas you have for making this as easy as possible. What type of toys should we bring? Food? Any pro tips?

[lolo]

I'd recommend XPing to the international living board. Those ladies are experts!

[pb127]

We did 2 10 hour flights each way to Asia in April with our then 14 month old. For distraction, we brought board books (a mix of old favorites and new, so if the new ones were terrible we'd still have something!), tons of smaller toys (again old and new), and snacks (puffs and yogurt melts) that I would give her one at a time. For our next flight, I'm thinking about getting her something like this www.amazon.com/Quiet-Book-Fabric-Activity-Children/dp/B00000J3LL. which I saw recommended here.

For each flight, I had a rolling carry on suitcase packed with all but 2-3 of the toys, all but 2-3 of the books and the larger containers of snacks, along with extra diapers, an extra straw cup for water, wipes, aquaphor, and an extra set of clothes (3 sets for her, 1 for DH and me). I brought clothes for DD that I wouldn't mind tossing in case they got to be too gross. Oh and ziplock baggies for mildly gross outfits. . At the seat, I packed the pockets and a small carry on bag with 2-4 toys, 2-3 books, straw cup, mini snack containers, 2 receiving blankets and a mini changing pad kit. That gave us room to stretch out but still I could get up and refresh items as needed during the flight.

I also packed some of the toys and books in the checked luggage for the return trip so I'd have some variety on the way back.

She stayed reasonably entertained between the activities, the snacks, and the meal service and flight attendants on the plane. They brought her meal out first so I could feed her and she usually nodded off after each meal. We had a bit of trouble getting enough milk on the flights for her, so we tried to pick something up at the airport on the way back.

Overall though, she did okay. She cried (a lot the first leg!), fussed and was a bit grouchy sometimes, but we tried our best and she had lots of fun on the flights too. I would definitely do it again! Good luck!!

[mrsjrd23]

Will you have a seat for her? God, I hope so.

Our car seat, radian r120 fit perfectly in the seat forward facing and with the tray table down it was perfect for DS to play on. We also successfully rear faced it on a longer plane so he could rest better.

Our flight was not 14 hours but we had recently 8 hours of flying over 2 flights and this is what I had in the large diaper bag/carryon:

diapers/wipes/travel changing pad
extra clothes for DS and me
5-6 board books - 2-3 were brand new
food: puffs, yogurt melts (a LOT of them), animal crackers, pouches, goldfish, graham crackers, some fruit, and granola/yogurt bars. We brought a sippy cup as well.
sanitizing wipes
some of the toys we brought:
mini cars
pad of paper and stickers - I just bought the colorful dots and DS would pull one of my finger and stick it on the paper.
etch a sketch
one of those snack cups that have the lid on that the kid can reach into but the stuff won't fall out when you tip it over - we filled it with the little pom poms you can buy for crafting projects and DS would reach in and pull one out at a time, then put them all back in

we also loaded a few movies up on our tablet.

he spent a lot of time looking out the window and wanting us to turn the light above our seats on/off.

Defiintely bring some napkins and a few gallon ziploc bags in case of grossness. and clothes you don't mind pitching if necessary. We also packed his sleep sack in the carry on so we were sure to have it when we got to our destination since it's huge for him to get to sleep. I dont know if you LO takes a paci but we attached his with a clip so it was always attached to him and not falling everywhere.

[potatopie]

I just flew a 8-hour then an 11-hour flight with my 10.5 month old. I packed a bunch of toys, but he was largely uninterested in playing with his toys. He had more fun with the armrest remote and the plastic silverware. he liked having his books though. Walking/crawling up and down aisles was also a big hit.

Do you think your LO would wear headphones? I got my DS to sit in my lap and watch the tv screen for good chunks of time, even without any sound (he didn't like the airline headphones). I've heard good things about the KidsGear headphones.

[mpc]

We just did an 11 hour flight to Greece with a 15 month old. We got him his own seat and used a CARES harness.

I brought a variety of toys and foods. We brought pouches to fill him up but lots of snacks to keep him busy. Things like goldfish, other small crackers, snap pea chips, etc. Those were really good to give him one at a time and draw it out as long as possible. We basically had to shove food at him every time we wanted to get him strapped back into the seat. For a lot of the cruising portion of the flight we unbuckled him and let him climb on us and back and forth around the seat.

My son starting rejecting all table food on this trip (I think it was him exerting control over the only thing he could with so many other changes happening), so I do wish we had brought more food with us. We found some baby food purees in Greece, but not a lot.

The flight attendants did not bring our food first, but the family behind us had requested kids meals (I guess you can do this online ahead of time) and they got theirs first.

For the toys we brought on the plane - lots of small cars, Tegu blocks that someone posted about on here, flash cards, small magna doodle, books, coloring stuff, play cell phone, apps on my real cell phone, play remote, etc, etc. Honestly we only got about 15 minutes from any one item before he was done with it. A lot of his entertainment came from pushing the buttons on the tv screen, pulling all the magazines out of the seat back pocket, climbing all over us, walking up and down the aisles. I tried to get him to watch a movie but he only had a 5 minute attention span with that.

We gave him Benadryl on the flight there (pedi's recommendation). It was a redeye and we wanted him to get as much sleep as possible. It took about an hour to really kick in, but it did tire him enough to calm down and fall asleep. For the flight back we didn't use it, but we did end up getting him to take a 3 hour nap that was glorious. Once he seemed pretty tired (later than his normal nap time), I held him until he fell asleep, then laid him down across his seat.

Definitely take a change of clothes or 2. We brought his pajamas to put him in "overnight". We tried to keep his bedtime routine as similar as possible. We packed a bunch of extra diapers in the carryon, but also had a small pouch with 2-3 diapers in it, a packet of wipes, and a disposable changing pad - it made it very easy to grab the pouch and take just that into the bathroom for all diaper changes.

Good luck! You can do it!

ETA: just wanted to add that we also brought his monkey that he sleeps with on the plane too.

[holly116]

Thanks for posting this! I'm flying solo to Germany with a 10 month old in a week and a half. I'm starting to get a tad nervous. Mostly about the logistics of getting all the stuff that I think I'll need on to the plane while being as minimalist as I can.

I'm gate checking the stroller and wearing the baby in the ergo. My diaper bag is backpack style but I think a rolling suitcase will be too much to drag around on top of it all. I need to go through our luggage and see if I have something that will fit under the stroller. Or just plan on treating the stroller as a rolling luggage cart?

Please, someone tell me pouches will not be an issue with security at all.

[mpc]

Jul 11, 2014 8:23:48 GMT -5 holly116 said:

Thanks for posting this! I'm flying solo to Germany with a 10 month old in a week and a half. I'm starting to get a tad nervous. Mostly about the logistics of getting all the stuff that I think I'll need on to the plane while being as minimalist as I can.

I'm gate checking the stroller and wearing the baby in the ergo. My diaper bag is backpack style but I think a rolling suitcase will be too much to drag around on top of it all. I need to go through our luggage and see if I have something that will fit under the stroller. Or just plan on treating the stroller as a rolling luggage cart?

Please, someone tell me pouches will not be an issue with security at all.

Pouches are not an issues at all. I also had his water bottle full of water, and they let that through too since it was "for the baby".

I flew with a regular Jansport backpack and purse, and I was able to fit everything I needed for me and DS in there. OK, except my DH carried the diapers, but I could've fit them if I had to.

ETA: we brought tylenol, advil, and benadryl for him. They weren't all under the 3 oz limit either, but they went through just fine too.

[holly116]

Jul 11, 2014 8:27:12 GMT -5 mpc said:

Jul 11, 2014 8:23:48 GMT -5 holly116 said:

Thanks for posting this! I'm flying solo to Germany with a 10 month old in a week and a half. I'm starting to get a tad nervous. Mostly about the logistics of getting all the stuff that I think I'll need on to the plane while being as minimalist as I can.

I'm gate checking the stroller and wearing the baby in the ergo. My diaper bag is backpack style but I think a rolling suitcase will be too much to drag around on top of it all. I need to go through our luggage and see if I have something that will fit under the stroller. Or just plan on treating the stroller as a rolling luggage cart?

Please, someone tell me pouches will not be an issue with security at all.

Pouches are not an issues at all. I also had his water bottle full of water, and they let that through too since it was "for the baby".

I flew with a regular Jansport backpack and purse, and I was able to fit everything I needed for me and DS in there. OK, except my DH carried the diapers, but I could've fit them if I had to.

Great to hear. DH is going for work a week early so I'm going to send a lot of the baby stuff with his check baggage just so I don't have to deal with it at all. He's also in charge of tracking down diapers, pouches etc in Munich so I can hopefully just bring the amount I'll need for the plane alone. Luckily we're still nursing and he's perfectly content just in my arms most of the time so I'm banking on that.

[frlcb]

I would not do Benadryl unless you have tried it ahead of time, it often has the opposite effect on kids.

We have been flying overseas with our kids since they were born. Bring a change if clothes for all of you, Ziplocs bags, triangular crayons that won't roll off the tray table, lollipops are good for ears, lots of snacks and water, more diapers than you think you need. New toys/stickers/ books. The coloring books that have the marker that changes the color (but the marker is white) is awesome. Band aids and window clings are good for putting on window/seat and easily coming off. I bring a small pillow/blanket. And order the kids meal, it comes out first and is more kid friendly.

[yellowbrkrd]

Thank you for all of the great ideas! He will have his own seat and we are bringing a car seat. My question is, do I put him forward facing so he can use the tray to play, or should we rear face for safety reasons?

[mpc]

Jul 11, 2014 10:07:06 GMT -5 yellowbrkrd said:

Thank you for all of the great ideas! He will have his own seat and we are bringing a car seat. My question is, do I put him forward facing so he can use the tray to play, or should we rear face for safety reasons?

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's any point in rear facing on an airplane. It's not like we're concerned about rear-ending someone. As for forward facing, I think I've others say that the tray might not go down all the way if he's in a carseat. I don't know though, we haven't tried it.

And just me, but I wouldn't want to bother with the carseat on the plane on such a long flight. I guess if you plan to have him buckled in the whole time it could help, and maybe it would be good for sleeping. We unbuckled DS for a lot of the flight and let him walk back and forth between us on the seat. It helped him feel like he had some freedom and he got in some moving around time. 

[CloudBee]

- paperback sticker book that is cheap enough you don't mind trashing after you get off the plane
- divide snacks up in ziplock bags so you they can "serve themselves" out of the bag
- you can never pack enough wipes
- cheapie paperback books because they don't take up much space
- consider a show for your iPad like Sesame Street, because it's 50 mins
- in between "activities" go to the bathroom so it breaks things up and when you sit down again it feels new
- book with textures/holes, like "Pat the Bunny"
- pack a pop-up water bottle cap, so you can buy bottled water anywhere and not need a sippy (from old water)
- remember with snacks to pack both sweet and savory
- teething toys at that age were helpful
- for DS's backup outfit, it's always pajamas, one piece, easy peasy and less digging around for parts
- remember your doggie bags for dirty/soiled items
- avoid toys with lots of pieces
- get a tube of cheapie dinosaurs or plastic figures, toss a handful in your bag, you won't care if you lose one
- DS likes this toy in the car: www.amazon.com/Toysmith-Wacky-Tracks-Assorted-Colors/dp/B002XH7WYK/ref=pd_sim_t_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1VEP21ZDMXAEM6H64PZ2

[CloudBee]

Jul 11, 2014 10:07:06 GMT -5 yellowbrkrd said:

Thank you for all of the great ideas! He will have his own seat and we are bringing a car seat. My question is, do I put him forward facing so he can use the tray to play, or should we rear face for safety reasons?

If he's a tummy sleeper, I wouldn't bring the car seat onto the plane.

When DS has his own seat, he flips onto his tummy and sleeps with his little bum in the air as he would at home.  He wouldn't be happy in a car seat for that long.  A bonus with no car seat is that he can even stand in the space in front of his seat to stretch his legs once in a while and you can avoid excessive trips up the aisles.

[CloudBee]

Oh my goodness, if you pack a straw cup, be careful! Sometimes the pressure in the cabin is too much, and when you open the cup for the first time liquid shoots out of the straw. I had milk spew into my face and all over my lap on our last flight. To be safe you have to open them very slowly, like a soda bottle that's been drop.

[frlcb]

Jul 11, 2014 12:09:38 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Oh my goodness, if you pack a straw cup, be careful! Sometimes the pressure in the cabin is too much, and when you open the cup for the first time liquid shoots out of the straw. I had milk spew into my face and all over my lap on our last flight. To be safe you have to open them very slowly, like a soda bottle that's been drop.

You need to unscrew the top, then pop the top, then rescrew it. I have learned this the hard way!!

I wouldn't bring the car seat on either, but if you do I would ff it.

[janetplanet20]

We just returned from Maui yesterday, which is a significantly shorter flight obviously, but we bought some new board books and brought some old favorites, as well as a few of his small toys. My son (13 months) is obsessed with the StoryBots alphabet videos, so we downloaded that app to our iPad for him to watch on the plane. We brought bottles too, even though I was trying to wean him from the bottle, to make naps easier and to help with the altitude change. I bought the snack pack of crackers, cheese, cookies, etc that was sold in flight for some snacks.

Other than that, lots of patience. I tried not to care when people gave us looks if he cried or shrieked and just focused on helping him be comfortable and entertained. We walked the aisle a few times, read books (my son is obsessed with books and cars, so we brought lots of books about cars), watched StoryBots, and he took a nap.

[yellowbrkrd]

Hm I thought he would sleep better in a car seat than the CARES harness. He does sleep on his tummy, bur I can't picture how he would sleep on his tummy in the seat? CloudBee can you explain?

Again, thank you for all of the tips. I really need to start making a thorough list of what to bring and where to pack it.

[CloudBee]

Jul 11, 2014 21:37:11 GMT -5 yellowbrkrd said:

Hm I thought he would sleep better in a car seat than the CARES harness. He does sleep on his tummy, bur I can't picture how he would sleep on his tummy in the seat? CloudBee can you explain?

Again, thank you for all of the tips. I really need to start making a thorough list of what to bring and where to pack it.

No CARES. 

What I care about most on flights, is having a happy baby and happy passengers around me. 

[EllieArroway]

My kids spent hours playing with these on our last flight: www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Vehicles-Reusable-Sticker/dp/B00B3U7SMO