Trans Atlantic Travel with Infant Advice ~ Update Post #42

[esbrick]

Hi everyone! We are traveling to Ireland for Christmas this year. My son will be 15 months old and we were able to secure a bulk head seat for us which is great! We have flown Chicago to NY & return with him a few times. He is an OK flyer but doesnt like to be confined. (Who does?) This will be our first overseas flight with him and I wanted to see if anyone had some good tips for a 6 hour flight. One thing is that the flight leaves at 6:20 pm and he usually goes to sleep around 7:30 PM anyway. I found a daycare nap sack to bring on the plane with us and I am hoping that he will be able to sleep after dinner. Any other thoughts?

Thanks in advance everyone!!!

More on Post 42 but just wanted to say that I found my brain and have purchased DS his own seat. God, what was I thinking. . .

 

[Janepod]

I have flown round trip to Europe twice (or three times) a year with my son since he was six months old. Are you planning to rely on the fold-down bulkhead bassinet for him? I think that is a big mistake for a toddler. If he doesn't fall asleep right away, or wants to eat, the only place for him is your lap. At 15 months he's way too big for that -- he'll be miserable, you'll be miserable, and the people around you will be miserable.

Other than his own seat, you're doing the right thing flying at bedtime. Pack twice as many diapers and wipes as you think you'll need, a change of clothes for him, a clean shirt for you, food/formula for him (those squeezey packs of baby food are great for traveling). Don't bother packing yourself a book or iPod. Good luck and enjoy Ireland! (Took my kid there at 18 months so if you want specific travel recs let me know!)

 

[aprilgail2]

I would certainly get him his own seat and have him secured in a car seat during the trip. Even when my daughter was very little we always treated the plane like a car- you stay in your seat until we stop moving. Since you are flying at bedtime he could sleep in his car seat for the trip!

 

[esbrick]

I have flown round trip to Europe twice (or three times) a year with my son since he was six months old. Are you planning to rely on the fold-down bulkhead bassinet for him? I think that is a big mistake for a toddler. If he doesn't fall asleep right away, or wants to eat, the only place for him is your lap. At 15 months he's way too big for that -- he'll be miserable, you'll be miserable, and the people around you will be miserable.

Other than his own seat, you're doing the right thing flying at bedtime. Pack twice as many diapers and wipes as you think you'll need, a change of clothes for him, a clean shirt for you, food/formula for him (those squeezey packs of baby food are great for traveling). Don't bother packing yourself a book or iPod. Good luck and enjoy Ireland! (Took my kid there at 18 months so if you want specific travel recs let me know!)

I pretty much figured on what you are saying. He will be flying as a lap baby however we did get bulk head seating and I did get a nap sack for him. I am not intending on putting him on/in the bassinet but on the floor at my feet with the nap sack and the extra room we should be good to go right? I tend to pack extras for flying like you said! Boo on the Ipod! I know you are right, deep down I do, but I so hope I get a little rest. The plan is to take 2 hour incriments of everyone taking care of him. Since there are 3 of us plus my parents I am hopeful but realistic.

My parents have a house in Ireland in Kerry! I spent many summers there growing up so it is a second home for me. Thank you so much for your advise! I truely appreciate it!

 

[Janepod]

I pretty much figured on what you are saying. He will be flying as a lap baby however we did get bulk head seating and I did get a nap sack for him. I am not intending on putting him on/in the bassinet but on the floor at my feet with the nap sack and the extra room we should be good to go right? I tend to pack extras for flying like you said! Boo on the Ipod! I know you are right, deep down I do, but I so hope I get a little rest. The plan is to take 2 hour incriments of everyone taking care of him. Since there are 3 of us plus my parents I am hopeful but realistic.

My parents have a house in Ireland in Kerry! I spent many summers there growing up so it is a second home for me. Thank you so much for your advise! I truely appreciate it!

You're going to put your baby on the floor in a nap sack? Where are your feet going to go? Sorry, that sounds insane. Get him his own seat.

 

[aprilgail2]

You're going to put your baby on the floor in a nap sack? Where are your feet going to go? Sorry, that sounds insane. Get him his own seat.

I agree--OMG just thinking about where that poor child would end up if they hit unexpected turbulance and he is down there unsecured!!!

 

[Poohforyou]

I pretty much figured on what you are saying. He will be flying as a lap baby however we did get bulk head seating and I did get a nap sack for him. I am not intending on putting him on/in the bassinet but on the floor at my feet with the nap sack and the extra room we should be good to go right? I tend to pack extras for flying like you said! Boo on the Ipod! I know you are right, deep down I do, but I so hope I get a little rest. The plan is to take 2 hour incriments of everyone taking care of him. Since there are 3 of us plus my parents I am hopeful but realistic.

My parents have a house in Ireland in Kerry! I spent many summers there growing up so it is a second home for me. Thank you so much for your advise! I truely appreciate it!

Trust me, there isn't that much extra room with the bulkhead seats. I definitely wouldn't put my child on the floor & I doubt you'd be allowed anyway. That is only done if you're going to crash.

We flew home from China in bulkhead seats when dd was 9 months. She had never been in a carseat so we weren't going to try one for a 16 hour flight. If we had to do it again I'd get an extra seat even if it just meant room for us to stretch out. Once dd was home & used to a carseat we flew with one and everyone was much happier.

 

[mdsoccermom]

Sorry, but this is a time when you pony up the money and get your child a seat. The one thing you don't do is lay your kid on the floor of a plane. There are reasons they require items to be stowed.

Good grief, of all the insane ideas. Let's hope while your child is lying on the floor (and who knows what the flight attendants will have to say about that) there is no sudden turbulence.

 

[maxiesmom]

If you have any type of toy that makes noise, you must have headphones for your child. Or else you will have to have the volume off.

I have to agree with some other posters, there is no way you will be allowed to leave your child on the floor of the airplane. And that is a long flight to try and hold a 15 month old on your lap the whole time. Also, the bad thing about a bulkhead seat is that you won't have a place for your carry-on bag, except in the overhead. Which is kind of a pain, to have to keep getting out of your seat to get your stuff. Especially if you hit turbulence and are not allowed to get out or open the bin.

I have to say, I think it will not be a good flight for any of you, but I wish you luck.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have the same sort of family situation, and we've done the flight several times with the kids. I prefer NOT to fly out of Chicago, we like to start the over-the-water leg somewhere on the East coast. (We are not in Chicago, but it is the nearest Int'l hub for us; we prefer to keep the OTW leg as short as possible as we cannot fly non-stop to Ireland.)

The problem with lap-toddlers on an overnight flight is that the adults will need to sleep as well, and you cannot trust a toddler not to wander off if you are sleeping. That is where the carseat proves its worth: you can strap Jr. into it and know that he won't get into any trouble if you go to sleep. (I personally don't have much of an issue with letting a child nap on the bulkhead floor if you put extra pillows down, but I doubt that he would be allowed to spend the night there if the adults were also sleeping.)

 

[padams]

Don't be cheap. Buy another seat for your child.

Would you drive in a car with your child unsecured on the floor of the car?

I doubt the flight attendants will allow the child to be on the floor if the seat belt sign is on.

 

[Magic Mom]

I have to agree with every one else, buy another seat. That way the baby can lay on the seat next to you with the armrests up. That will also give you more room for some small toys. Being on the floor is dangerous and to be honest a little gross.

I flew alone from Tampa to Frankfort (via Atlanta and New York) with DS2. It was a marathon flight. He had his own seat and I was so thankfiul for that. It gave him room to stretch a bit. I also packed a new backpack with lots of small new toys to play with. That was long before portable dvd players so no movies or video games, LOL. It worked out just fine.

 

[mnrose]

I do not believe you will be allowed to put your child on the floor. I flew a long haul flight in the bulk head seats and at one point, sat on the floor to stretch my hamstrings. Not for very long, mind you, but a flight attendant came by and politely told me that wasn't allowed. Anyway, I'm pretty sure they would have something to say about a baby on the floor. Also, on the return trip of that same trip where I was once again seated in bulk head, we had turbulence for maybe 75% of the flight (which completely sucked!). The gentleman seated next to me had a 9 month old baby, for which he had not purchased a seat, and the baby ended up in his lap for the vast majority of that flight as babies must be removed from the bassinets during any turbulence requiring illumination of the fasten seat belt sign. You need to think about that too. A 15 month old is quite a bit larger, AND "movier" (I know that's not a word!), than a 9 month old.

Seriously, I think you need to buy seat. As a side benefit, many overseas carriers will offer a discounted ticket price to small children, such as yours.

 

[Lynne M]

I pretty much figured on what you are saying. He will be flying as a lap baby however we did get bulk head seating and I did get a nap sack for him. I am not intending on putting him on/in the bassinet but on the floor at my feet with the nap sack and the extra room we should be good to go right? I tend to pack extras for flying like you said! Boo on the Ipod! I know you are right, deep down I do, but I so hope I get a little rest. The plan is to take 2 hour incriments of everyone taking care of him. Since there are 3 of us plus my parents I am hopeful but realistic.

My parents have a house in Ireland in Kerry! I spent many summers there growing up so it is a second home for me. Thank you so much for your advise! I truely appreciate it!

My mother and I sat next to a mother and baby just about your son's age on an overnight flight to London. She thought the baby could sleep on the floor, too. She thought the baby would fall asleep at her bedtime, too. Her baby didn't like to be confined, either.

I don't think anyone in our section of the plane slept. They wouldn't let her put the baby on the floor. She tried to put her in the bassinet. The baby kicked and screamed. She tried to hold the baby on her lap. More squirming and screaming. Six hours of squirming, kicking and screaming. The poor little thing finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion an hour before we landed. Mom and I? We spent out first day in England sleeping. We still shudder when we talk about that flight. I still remember the baby's name, because we heard it 27,000 times that night.

They absolutely will not let your son sleep on the floor. There's no way to secure him in case of turbulence. He'd become a projectile.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

15 months is NOT an infant. You have a child that needs his own seat.

 

[Kaspar Houser]

Sorry there is no way the FA will let a child on the floor. Just buy him a seat.
You will have to deal with angry people that will ask you to shut up you're child when he is screaming for hours.

We fly over the ocean for years and we did see parents in tears because they were to cheap to buy a seat and after ten hours a child is a dead weight in their arms and finally other passengers started to ask the FA if they could dump the kid because he/ she screamed all night. There will be no tolerance.

 

[aprilgail2]

I don't think anyone in our section of the plane slept. They wouldn't let her put the baby on the floor. She tried to put her in the bassinet. The baby kicked and screamed. She tried to hold the baby on her lap. More squirming and screaming. Six hours of squirming, kicking and screaming. The poor little thing finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion an hour before we landed. Mom and I? We spent out first day in England sleeping. We still shudder when we talk about that flight. I still remember the baby's name, because we heard it 27,000 times that night.
.

I think I would come off the plane twitching if there was 6 hours of a screaming child. I always bring music and headphones now in case there is so I can just pop in the music.

 

[khertz]

I would spring for the seat for your toddler and let him sleep in the car seat. Much safer for baby, and he might actually sleep better that way. Granted it was no international flight, but DS has slept through long flights before just fine in his car seat. And then like another poster said, you don't really have to worry about watching him while you sleep because he can't go anywhere. For an overnight flight, you need to try to sleep too! I just can't imagine putting your child on the floor to sleep is anywhere near safe.

For what it's worth, we found DS did much better on the flights where we were in the very last row. The noise of the engines drowned out everything else, and no one could pull on his seat and wake him up (happened on our flight to CA, I was one aggravated mama!), so he slept the whole flight and I don't think anyone on the plane even knew he was there.

 

[Patience]

We flew home from China with a 17 month old. Get the extra seat! You will be very glad you did. If you don't want to bring a car seat, get a CARES (child aviation restraint system) for him. CARES is for children 1 year old and older who weigh at least 22 pounds and is FAA certified for air travel. Amazon sells CARES. When you are finished using it, just pop it into your purse.

 

[Lynne M]

I think I would come off the plane twitching if there was 6 hours of a screaming child. I always bring music and headphones now in case there is so I can just pop in the music.

It wasn't just the screaming. The poor little girl couldn't get comfortable on her mother's lap, and she'd doze off for a few minutes, and then wake up howling and thrashing, kicking her mother and the person in the next seat. We started trading seats every so often so one of us could get away from the kicking for awhile. Mom and I offered to let her stretch out across our laps, that didn't work either because by that point, she was so exhausted and cranky and upset that all she wanted to do was cling to her mother and sob. There's just not enough room in an airline seat for a child that age to be comfortable on a lap for 7 hours.

We felt very sorry for the mom, but really, really wished she'd paid for a seat for her kid. By the end of the flight, I'm sure she did, too.