6 Month Old On A 7 Hour Flight???

[x Alanna x]

Hellooo Everyone

As the title says really... i was thinking about going on holiday to new york.. for my 25th in october.. but.. by then.. my bump will be a lively 6 month old lil boy!!.. lol..

im just wondering if anyones took their baby on a plane so young.. how did it go?? im scared of his ears hurting on the plane??? 7 hours is a long time for me.. nevermind a baby!!.. i probably wont do it but if theres any positive feedback on it then i might think about going for it..

would love to know if anyones flew with their baby at such a young age and what the experience was like??

cheers for reading.. xx

 

[Love3Hope4]

I haven't done it.....yet! But I will in July. My bump will then be a 4 month old little girl and it will be a 9 hour flight from Germany to Georgia.....I'm interested in the advice in this post as well!

 

[crazyguider]

my friend took her 5m old to LA and she was absolutely fine
slept all the way

 

[Rockell8788]

We took our DD on a 4 and half hour flight at 6 months and she was fantastic didn't bother her at all. At a year on a 5 hour flight however different story absolutely awful as she was crawling and wanted to move about not flown since. 6 months is a good age not movin about yet so willing to sit for long periods

 

[popat]

I'm going to be doing it the opposite way when baby is 2 months - will let you know how I get on but will probably be easier with a younger baby I guess!

 

[moonbeam_sea]

I haven’t taken my son on that long of a flight, but when he was 7 months old, we went to visit my in-laws via plane. The first segment was a 3 hour flight, and the second segment was a 2 hour flight. We had a 3 hour layover in between legs. My son did great on the plane and in the layover. The only thing I would have done differently was to have bought him a dedicated seat, just so I could have had him strapped in his car seat for his nap. The ear thing was fine except for the very last landing upon returning. We got my son to drink some watered down apple juice (1 part apple juice to 4 parts water if I remember right) for takeoffs and landings, which worked great as he would only drink his regular fare when he was hungry, and the flight segments weren't lined up to coincide with his regular eating times. However due to turbulence, they dropped the plane very quickly and much earlier than they normally do. My ears hurt for a couple of days after that flight and that’s never happened before when I’ve flown. My son started crying, and cried for the whole end of the flight. As soon as we landed, he stopped crying and was back to normal. Thankfully the folks around me all were really nice about it, and said they had kids at home and they understood. I thought I’d share our experience just in case it helps you out somewhat.

 

[Lucy0945]

I'm interested in responses too. We plan to fly for 7 hours when my son will be just less than 4 months old.

 

[Birdie747]

Hey ladies.......

Never actually done it myself but I am an ex long haul flight attendant so have experienced alot of first time flyers with little ones. As was mentioned before, you may be able to book an extra seat to take your car seat on but you're best checking with the airline as every one is different & have different rules. I worked for a well known scheduled airline & we didn't allow car seats at all in the cabin. You were however allowed to purchase an extra seat for LO but if under 2yrs old, they had to be strapped onto your lap for take off, landing & turbulence if the seatbelt sign was on. Just a few tips to make your flight alot easier: 1- Take PLENTY of entertainment for them as they can get bored quite easily. 2- As mentioned before, LO's ears can hurt during the flight as their eardrums are still very sensitive, so make sure you have a bottle/dummy for them to suck on to ease them a little. 3- Take your own milk/food/juice/nappies etc for your LO, don't always expect the airline to provide them as they don't always do, & if they do, they are not always the best brands or brands you would usually use. 4- Be prepared to get dirty looks/snide remarks from other passengers if your LO is having a bad day & crying alot. It's not nice to have this done to you but unfortunately cannot be avoided. To sum up, out of 11 years of flying, I never came across any parents that had a nightmare time with their LO's, they generally had very pleasant flights.

 

[Birdie747]

Also forgot to mention, alot of airlines offer bassanet cots for babies up to a certain age/weight (every airline is different) but you have to book these early so best checking with the airline & these cots make one hell of a difference to your comfort on a long haul flight

 

[x Alanna x]

thanks for all the replys.. very helpful.. i think i will probably go for it and have a nice holiday .. will find a decent airline too so we dont struggle too much , hopefully my lil man will be tired throughout the flight lol xx

 

[Chantibug]

Alanna, try booking a flight at times when LO is most likely to sleep, so by 6mo probably an overnight flight. Also, as others have said, with the ear issue make sure he has a bottle or pacifier to suck on to help with that (like gum with adults). Also, dont let nasty looks from passengers get to you - you can't help it if the baby is crying, it's how he communicates - and tell the other passengers that if you have to! I know I would rather fly with a baby than with a 3 year old screaming and kicking my chair anyway haha. Have fun, and make sure you take him to the zoo in Central Park , he'll love it

 

[abstersmum]

I took our first to Florida when she was 3 months and I'm doing the same with this one it's the best flight I've had I would recommend feeding them on take off and landing as this will stop their ears from hurting hope you go and have a fab holiday