Flying with 9 month old to Germany (9 hour flight) any tips?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This will be the first time we fly with our (will be) 9-month old son and I’m kind of worried about how he’s going to deal with a 9 hour flight to Germany.

So far we’ve bought insurance for the trip in case he gets sick and we have to move or cancel the flight, we reserved a bassinet with the airlines (I’m not entirely clear on how these work, BTW, so any first hand knowledge would be appreciated - are they next to your char, in front?).

Any other tips parents? I’m worried about his demeanor, how he might affect nearby passengers, and how safe he will be. He doesn’t have his own seat, so I’m afraid turbulence could get him hurt. I hear people get up and walk around the cabin for a while with infants when they get fussy, what other things would you recommend?

I told the wife I heard a nip of brandy soothes the baby. I’m glad looks can’t kill :wink:

2

Benadryl.

3

It’s been many years since I flew with my infant kids but I recall being able to book the seats right behind the bulkhead and that had extra space from which they would hang the small bassinet. They probably charge extra for all that now. But whatever it costs, it will be worth it.

And I wasn’t (entirely) kidding about the Benadryl.

4

Not Benadryl. Aside from the the fact that you are giving a potentially dangerous drug to a child for your comfort, it can have the exact opposite effect from what you hope.

5

Double check that you are getting the bulkhead seats. We reserved a bassinet and they gave us normal seats. OK, now where do our feet go?

I wouldn’t really be worried about turbulence. If it’s bad enough that they have everyone sit down, then just hold tight. You can easily hold a baby through that.

We did our transpacific when my girl was about 12 months. For the most problem, it wasn’t bad.

Is he still breast feeding? Either breast feeding or giving a bottle on take off and landing help the baby equalize the air pressure. If he has a cold where his nose is stuffy, get something from your pediatrician.

We took a bag of new books and toys as well as some old favorites. We got sponge toys which could be compacted down.

Both going and coming, the flight attendants were really good. Somehow we communicated that we all wanted to work together to make this as least painful for others, and they appreciated it.

They were really good about giving us one tray first so we could take turns eating.

We took along our own trash bags and dumped the tray garbage into that so that we could get our tables folded quicker and didn’t have to wait for the attendants to come around again.

She didn’t cry that much, but for longer cries, I always took her to the back of the plane for two reasons. First, so that the same people wouldn’t be hearing her all the time and second, as a guy, people are a little more sympathetic about me trying to ge the baby to stop crying. People assume mothers can do it magically, I guess.

For the most part, if you are trying to do something, then most people don’t really mind that much.

6

Buy everyone in surrounding rows a drink.

7

I flew with my (then) three-month old not too long ago. Flight time was pretty close to nine hours, but it was broken up over three flights, with space in between. I think that helped. We could get her out of the carrier, change her, let her stretch out.

She was mostly fine with it. We did bring a few bottles with powder formula. Whenever she got cranky, we’d just add water and give her the bottle, which would calm her down. And she always (still) gets drowsy after feeding. I walked her in the aisle a couple of times, which always helps her fall asleep.

As to chemical assistance, I wouldn’t do that. At least I don’t think I would – she’s never had a major meltdown in transit. I do know someone who swears by the old Irish remedy. Order a whiskey. Dip your finger in it, rub the baby’s gums. Baby then drops off to sleep.

I know the child in question. He’s in his thirties now. No sign of alcoholism.

8

Look around. See if there are any other babies (there will be.) Awesome. Your baby just needs to be quieter than the loudest one.

Either he will cry or he won’t-- either way you’ll get where your going. Try not to get too psyched out. Some people are going to give you dirty looks just for existing, but what can you do? Look polite and attentive, and then go about doing whatever seems to work best. You know your kid. You probably aren’t going to please everyone (seriously, my baby cried literally one minute on my last long haul, and the guy behind me felt compelled to make a slew of dramatic sighs,) but most people are going to be helpful and sympathetic.

I’ve had luck on redeyes, but that can backfire too. You just can’t know.

9

We used to travel with 3 stair steps, we did it by car. Before we were to take a trip I would go to the 5 and dime store and buy all sorts of cheap little toys, 3 of each. When the natives got restless , hungry or just plain cranky I would toss them each the same toy. That would keep 'em busy until we found a spot to stop and eat, or let them run . Now a nine month old won’t be running and the old 5 and dime stores don’t exist any more but the dollar stores do. I would go and buy a bout 5 to 9 cheap appropriate toys. That way when the baby gets fussy maybe you could distract him with a new toy. At a buck or two each they don’t have to last , they just have to distract him.

10

Oh and make sure you have lots of his favorite treats , even if they aren’t the best nutritionally.

11

Have a quick chat with the flight crew - they probably have dealt with every situation imaginable with babies. A friend took a 4 yo and 1 yo on a flight to Europe - she walked on-board and just told the flight crew “look what I have on my hands - help me out.” And they did arranged for them to sit in the back, brought them food first, etc.

If your child were a little older, a bag with snacks and brand-new toys will get some mileage. That is what worked for us.

For you, Bailey’s and Ambien.

12

double post.

13

Look around. See if there are any other babies (there will be.) Awesome. Your baby just needs to be quieter than the loudest one.

Either he will cry or he won’t-- either way you’ll get where your going. Try not to get too psyched out. Some people are going to give you dirty looks just for existing, but what can you do? Look polite and attentive, and then go about doing whatever seems to work best. You know your kid. You probably aren’t going to please everyone (seriously, my baby cried literally one minute on my last long haul, and the guy behind me felt compelled to make a slew of dramatic sighs,) but most people are going to be helpful and sympathetic.

I’ve had luck on redeyes, but that can backfire too. You just can’t know.

14

Make them doubles.

15

First of all, don’t. This cannot end well.

If you must, you will need to bring all of the V group vitamins, V1, V2 (hey you said it was Germany) and V3, Vodka, Valium and Vicodin. Not for the baby, but for yourself.

16

You never know. We brought our 9 month old adopted daughter back from China to the east coast (18 hours from initial takeoff to final landing). We were part of a large group, ten infants and their new families all in the last four rows. I still tear up when I think of what was going through those babies’ hearts and brains. Some cried for ten hours before falling asleep exhausted. Our daughter fussed a bit, pooped four times in the first two hours of the long flight, then slept for most of the remaining flight, except for the times she woke up hungry.

17

I once heard a story of a woman flying to Germany with 5 kids to visit her husband, who was stationed at a military base. Upon arrival she was asked if she had any drugs, alcohol, or firearms. The exhausted woman looked at her kids and said, “If I had any of those things, I would’ve used 'em by now!”

18

I have adopted two children from Korea, flying both of them back. One was a 14 hour flight and the other a 17 hour flight. They were roughly 10 months old and we just met them 12-18 hours before.

My advice is:

  1. See if you can get an extra seat next to you by having someone move. Even ask the flight attendants if someone can be moved around. This will allow the kiddo to sleep in the extra chair.

  2. Get up and walk around with the kiddo quite a bit.

  3. Take an Ipad to play videos.

That is about it.

19

OK, it’s been a while but I did 14 hours with 6 month old twins and then a connector flight. I have done at least 10 trans pacific flights with either one or three of my girls.

First, make sure you are squared away so you don’t have to worry about yourself on the flight. Comfortable clothes, snacks and all that. Make sure you’re well rested in case you spend the entire transit time dealing with it.

Second, if your child uses a soother, have several back ups that you can “quick draw”.

Third, have too many diapers and changes of clothes ready. And I mean quick draw ready if you’re taking off or there is turbulence and you have a “code brown” or worse to deal with. Me, I wore cargo pants, hand a bunch of diapers and soothers and at least one onesie stashed in various pockets, .

Fourth, same thing with formula if you’re using formula. Have a bunch of bottles with the powder pre measured. Bring bottled water. The plane will have boiling water, so have a general idea for how much boiling water + room temperature bottled water ends up with something your kids will drink. Ditto if he/she is eating anything like soda crackers. Order the infant meal in advance but prepare all you will need within arms reach as well.

Fifth, if you want to use an anti histamine such a Benadryl, test it out a week or so before. Some kids like mine took Benadryl and went straight to sleep and then about 3 months later acted like they had snorted about 6 lines of coke and 6 months later were back to sleeping after a dose. YMMV. Test it first.

Sixth, do NOT try the sleep deprivation trick as it could backfire horribly. Stay on schedule as much as possible. kids like schedule.

SEventh, airlines might take pity on you and give you access to the business lounge or keep an empty seat next to you. Just ask politely.

Eighth, the bassinets only work in the bulkhead seats in my experience. If you have a bassinet, then you should be in the bulkhead. The bassinet attaches to the bulkhead. Definitely order this in advance. 9 months is probably kinda old for a bassinet. The bassinets are not real big and have a weight limit, but if your child fits in and can sleep, its awesome. There are straps with Velcro so junior can’t go flying around the cabin with turbulence.

Ninth, I highly recommend baby bjorn or similar kangaroo carrier. I did one flight with one twin in the carrier almost the entire 14 hours. Strap em in and then walk the aisles of the plane.

Tenth, do your best to minimize annoying other passengers by taking care of your child. If your are are proactive, most other passengers really don’t care if your kiddo cries for an hour. If they do, seriously take a deep breath, “We’re doing the best we can and I ask your understanding” while under your breath say “fuck off and die loser”. There is NO need to feel like you have to buy drinks or give everyone ear plugs. Kids are part of flying, other passengers need to deal with it. That said, it is waaaaaay annoying when parents do not appear to be doing everything they can to help their kiddos. And don’t bitch in a loud voice how you’ll “never fly economy again” or other self centered bullshit. Just do your best to help your child, and that helps everyone.

I apologized many times to folks that sympathized and said “they are so much better than mine were…”. Don’t sweat that piece.

Tenth, if your son likes a tablet with cartoons, bring it. Along with some favorite toys and ANTHING that helps keep him a happy bunny. Again, I wore clothes with tons of pockets and stored stuff everywhere within reach. As well as the kid bag in arms reach with 3x more than what was needed.

Eleventh, bring standard meds like Tylenol that you might use on the flight. Nothing like 1 hour into a 9 hour flight and discovering Junior feels “really hot” to the touch.

I’m sure there is more but this pretty much covers it. Hopefully it will go smoothly, and just make sure you’re ready in case satan’s spawn decides to show up and throw up for 9 hours. You’ll do fine.

20

When ours were small and likely to get bored waiting to board we used to sit at a different gate. That way if our kids do become noisy they are annoying a completely different set of passengers. When you do board you hopefully won’t have as much resentment to deal with.

On a flight from Boston to London we had a guy complain to the hostess when he realised he would be sitting near a toddler and a baby. He was quite aggresive and demanding to be moved but it was a full flight. Our kids slept most of the flight and caused less disruption than he did. He actually came looking for us in the baggage hall and apologised for being such a jerk.