You've probably already booked the tickets, so it's probably too late, but since it's such a short flight, I would have booked the tickets to coincide with their normal naptime, or late in the evening when they should be tired/sleepy. Try to get a bulkhead seat with the bassinet ahead of time. You can also try feeding them or having them drink something during takeoff and landing in order to help with the altitude adjustment. I've done long trips between Asia and Houston twice so far, and 2 additional shorter flights as well. Generally it will depend on the personality of the kid, if they're not big criers to begin with, it shouldn't be too bad unless they're really uncomfortable. If they do cry a lot, you'll probably end up walking around with them a lot during the flight.
Seriously 3 months is nothing. My kids have traveled a lot though and we have never had an issue with crying or any of that. I flew with a 10 month old last month and mostly it is just giving a variety of things to look at and hold. Hell, we spent a good hour looking at the AC vent, reading light "on...off", and cool things about the seats. Also, plenty of snacks will help. Teaching them to play checkers is stupid. You should start with chess since those games can take longer.
I was just going to post something like this this morning. We got orders and are flying back to the States from Okinawa with our 2 year old. Straight flight from Naha to Chicago is 14 hours. Not really looking forward to this one. Good tips in the thread. Thanks!
Last summer, I went to Europe with a 6 yo, a 4 yo and two 20 month olds. And it sucked. The older ones were okay. But, one of the twins was so excited he couldn't stop moving, and the other was so distressed she wouldn't stop crying. I guess I'm saying I have no advice for you, lol. I'd say that Benadryl trick doesn't work at all. Never worked on any of my kids. Having something to suck helps. My best advice is this: work up a good loathing for all the childless people near you who will roll their eyes as soon as they see you sit down. They'll want to think all sorts of bad things about you, so you need to preemptively think bad things about them. Show no mercy. On top of everything else you may have to deal with, you don't need the burden of worrying about how you inconvenience others. **** 'em. They're assholes who deserve everything they get. If you can hate them from the start, your mind will be much more at ease.
God forbid people are annoyed by your little ****bags inconveniencing everyone who isn't an inconsiderate *******.
Liquor. Get one from a stewardess. A little underneath the gums and they'll be lights out in no time.
Pacifiers won't work during takeoff and landing - they need to actually be swallowing. So give them something to drunk during takeoff and landing.
First off, something to keep in mind is that airlines only have 4 breathing masks per three seats. If you and your wife are both flying with infants in your lap and there's another person in your row, one of you and one of the kids will be forced to move. You might consider buying a third seat or getting seats across the aisle. My wife and I got hit with this when we flew with our 22 month old and 3 month old. I have flown solo a couple of dozen times with one of the kids at age 3 or less. At 10 months, it's tricky to distract them with toys but that will work to a degree. Do pack items that they will chew on or play with. They will get dropped a lot, so it's helpful to have clean ones ready as well as a change of pace. I used to roll with 6-8 pacifiers so they would always have a clean one ready. Different colored ones are nice so you can keep mental track of which ones are clean and dirty. Something I have discovered is that the back of the place has a ton of small kids. I seemed to get seated there by default when I purchased tickets with a small one in tow. It helps when other people nearby have little ones. You don't feel so terrible if they start to cry because a lot of other passengers seated nearby are in the same boat. I also like being in the back because you can stand up and kind of retreat back where the stewardesses to hang with one of the kids. Being able to walk a bit and rock them while standing is a lot easier than trying to calm them while in a cramped seat. Overall, the thing I will say is that if you make a reasonable effort with your kid, people are very forgiving on planes. Even with two small kids, I get annoyed when I see people on planes unprepared and unresponsive to unruly kids. If they are armed with toys, pacifiers, and snacks and are making a sincere effort to comfort their kids, I and most people on planes will overlook it. I was bugging the first few flights with the kids, but after that, I just kind of rolled with it, prepared but without too much worry. The only thing that sucked for me is that when I fly with one of the kids, I don't really get to sleep on the plane and flying usually knocks me right out.
Well, I suppose I could take an iPad and have them watch an Astros game? LOL, looks like Juan's satire went right over Al's head...
Currently on the plane with the two grandsons. Best way to travel with them? Be the only one in the family group to get bumped to first class.
Flying with kids under 2 isn't actually that bad. It is when they hit 2 to 3 years old that it becomes a huge pain.
This - the bottle is an absolute must. I flew from Houston to Perth Australia and back about 3 or 4 times with my twins before they were 3 years old. That was a freaking nightmare. In all honesty, even if everything turns bad for you, it is only a short flight. A few tips - if he uses a pacifier, get one of those little chains that pins to his chest, then you don't have to worry about getting it spat out on the ground. Buy one of those cheap little "umbrella strollers" from target that fold away and can be stored in the overhead - much easier to handle in the airport, and you don't have to worry about lugging your normal stroller around. Take handwash - no doubr he will be crawing around in the airport touching everything he can. I woldn't use any drugs - wil probably backfire on you and screw up sleep habits at your destination Have at least one isle seat - ou will most likely have to get up and walk around with him - this makes it easy. Good luck!
