Flying halfway around the world

fruehling · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

Hello,

In the next month or two I will be flying with my wife and her daughter
from Latvia to Seattle. Total travel time will be somewhere in the
ballpark of 18 hours. We will have a short 2.5 hour flight to where we
must change planes to fly to Seattle. The 2nd leg will be the doozy of
near 12 hours.

Other than the toys and videos stuff, we are also going to get my wife
and her daughter business class (we can't afford it for me, but i will
be just 1 row behind and we can trade off looking after the kido).

We are also considering Children's Dramamine. What are your thoughts
on that or similar things.

Any other advice would be great.

JJ

Archived from group: alt>parenting

Tracey · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 788

fruehling@bigfoot.com wrote:
> Hello,
>
>
> In the next month or two I will be flying with my wife and her daughter
> from Latvia to Seattle. Total travel time will be somewhere in the
> ballpark of 18 hours. We will have a short 2.5 hour flight to where we
> must change planes to fly to Seattle. The 2nd leg will be the doozy of
> near 12 hours.
>
> Other than the toys and videos stuff, we are also going to get my wife
> and her daughter business class (we can't afford it for me, but i will
> be just 1 row behind and we can trade off looking after the kido).
>
> We are also considering Children's Dramamine. What are your thoughts
> on that or similar things.
>
> Any other advice would be great.

I have traveled quite a bit with first one child and then with two
and on long flights. I have been on flights lasting 5 or more hours
with two children, one as young as 1 and on flights of 4-8 hours
total with children from the age of 3 and above. I *cringe* when
I hear you mention using medicine as anything other than what it's
intended for (if your child gets airsick.) Traveling with young
children is sometimes not a picnic but there are ways to make it
easier on you all.

Take plenty of snacks and a variety of them. My motto is I'd rather
end a flight with tons of stuff that was never touched than to spend
the last hour or two of it with a crying kid because he wants his
M&Ms. Take toys and plenty of them. Do not bring all of the toys out
at once but ration them. Get new toys they have never seen and pull
them out at times when they seem to be starting to lose it. Don't
expect them to sit still for the entire flight. Let them get up and
walk around the cabin. Dress them *comfortably.* When our son and
I were flying to and from Hawaii regularly, he wore his pajamas.
Bring a favorite blanket and pillow of theirs.

Most importantly, have patience. You're gonna need it. Razz

Tracey

Wendy T · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 109

"Tracey" wrote in message @aol.com...
> I have traveled quite a bit with first one child and then with two
> and on long flights. I have been on flights lasting 5 or more hours
> with two children, one as young as 1 and on flights of 4-8 hours
> total with children from the age of 3 and above. I *cringe* when
> I hear you mention using medicine as anything other than what it's
> intended for (if your child gets airsick.) Traveling with young
> children is sometimes not a picnic but there are ways to make it
> easier on you all.

I agree with Tracey. We live in England and it's a 7 hour flight home to
Canada to visit family. My children have flown regularly from 4 months
without the need for any drugs to keep them calm. Toys are good, but the
activites are better - sticker books, books, colouring books, puzzles, games
(magnetised though some of those are quite small and may not be suitable for
a 3 year old, walkmans with music). Take snacks and drinks, my children
were never keen on aircraft food. The younger often fell asleep anyway, so
we always tried to book bulkhead seats so there was room on the floor for
their sleeping bag. The older one always managed to chat to
surrrounding.people and make friends.

Avoid alcohol yourselves. It dehydrates you, makes you tired and less
patient.
These days if I can I eat before flying and then try and read or snooze
straight away without the interruption of multiple meals.

Good luck
Wendy

Cathy Kearns · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 335

You don't mention the age of your daughter. We took 12 hour flight from SF
to Germany when my youngest was 6 years old. Despite the personal movie
screens at your seat (which your daughter most likely will have in business
class) she could not watch them, as she got motion sickness on those planes.
It seems to save fuel those long haul flights tend to cut down on the air
recirculation. For adults it makes them a bit sleepy. Smaller kids might
feel a bit nauseas. This might not be as bad in business class, as people
are not packed as close. We did not try the dramamine, but it might help.

The trading off thing may or may not work, as some airlines are quite picky
about having people share business class seats. However, I'm guessing if
the choice is to spend the whole flight with the child, or sit in coach, the
business class option looks pretty good. Smile

The Watsons · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 336

wrote in message @f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Hello,
>
>
> In the next month or two I will be flying with my wife and her daughter
> from Latvia to Seattle. Total travel time will be somewhere in the
> ballpark of 18 hours. We will have a short 2.5 hour flight to where we
> must change planes to fly to Seattle. The 2nd leg will be the doozy of
> near 12 hours.
>
> Other than the toys and videos stuff, we are also going to get my wife
> and her daughter business class (we can't afford it for me, but i will
> be just 1 row behind and we can trade off looking after the kido).
>
> We are also considering Children's Dramamine. What are your thoughts
> on that or similar things.
>
> Any other advice would be great.

You won't need the dramamine, honestly. Take tylenol cold in case of an ear
infection or your average cold, but you won't need the dramamine. Toys,
snacks, books, a security blanket/toy, and lots of water. And maybe nasal
spray, depending on how long you're actually sitting on the plane. She may
very well surprise you and sleep through the entire trip-all the white
noise. If she doesn't, no big deal.

Jess

shinypenny · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 1299

Cathy Kearns wrote:

> The trading off thing may or may not work, as some airlines are quite picky
> about having people share business class seats.

Yes, an excellent point. When I was on my flight and got up to walk
around and stretch my legs, I got stopped when I tried to enter
business class (I was trying to do laps around the plane). I was told
that after 9/11 folks in coach are not allowed to enter business class
under *any* circumstance.

Spooked me, too, because it was not an airline attendent who stopped
me. It was a woman who *looked* like a regular passenger but was
probably one of those trained guards they have now. She got all jumpy
when she saw me headed towards business class at a brisk pace (I was
trying to get the blood flowing again in my legs!). She even reached
under her coat, which made me wonder what she had under there......
maybe she was going to poke my eyes out with a plastic fork?

Even when I told her what I was up to, and showed the prescription
muscle relaxants I had in my pocket, and explained that my doctor
advised me to do laps every hour, she was very insistent I turn around
and head back the other way. So a wife and baby in business class may
*not* convince them otherwise. They are pretty strict about it on
U.S.-owned airlines, especially lately with the recent scares with
flights being re-routed due to people being on the no-fly list.

jen

The Watsons · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 336

"-Calliope-" wrote in message @207.217.125.201...
> If the child suffers from motion sickness, tylenol isn't going to cut it.
> Since it sounds like they don't really know if she has that problem or
> not, having the dramamine at least on hand would be advisable, IMO.
> (Recalling a flight home from Germany to the US that would've required
> gallons of the stuff)

Ok, let me rephrase that-they won't need something to make her sleep the
entire 18 hours. An overseas flight is not that horrendous, and there will
be plenty of white noise to put her to sleep when she does get tired. If
they really want to drag along an entire medicine cabinet, well, they're the
ones carrying it. I'd be more concerned with a carseat.

Jess

Richard · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 4

fruehling@bigfoot.com wrote:
> Hello,
>
>
> In the next month or two I will be flying with my wife and her daughter
> from Latvia to Seattle. Total travel time will be somewhere in the
> ballpark of 18 hours. We will have a short 2.5 hour flight to where we
> must change planes to fly to Seattle. The 2nd leg will be the doozy of
> near 12 hours.
>
> Other than the toys and videos stuff, we are also going to get my wife
> and her daughter business class (we can't afford it for me, but i will
> be just 1 row behind and we can trade off looking after the kido).
>
> We are also considering Children's Dramamine. What are your thoughts
> on that or similar things.
>
> Any other advice would be great.
>
>
> JJ
>

Last July we flew from New York to Taipei with a similar stopover in
Seattle with our then 21mo daughter. Because of delays, terminal to
terminal time was about 24 hours. We also flew business class and
brought DD's car seat, which fit very nicely into the business class
seat (though the cabin crew was at a bit of a loss -- I ended up both
installing and removing it, and one crew member told us we couldn't
take it on the plane; we had to explain that it was her seat).

We also used a "no jet lag" herbal, safe for kids (the manufacturer
claims children under three don't suffer from jet lag. They're correct,
children under three don't suffer from jet lag, their parents suffer
when the kids wake at 3am ready to go, wanting to play!). More info
at http://www.nojetlag.com. I have no connection with this product
and have nothing to gain by your purchasing or using it.

It seemed to work well, though, as our daughter adjusted fairly
quickly. We did as well, but I find a 12-hour shift easier than
the six hour change (for us) to Western Europe.

I'd also suggest some familiar toys AND some new, unfamiliar
toys. The familiar ones will give her reassurance and the new
ones will break the monotony.

And be sure to give your daughter time to get up and walk around
and amuse the other passengers. Both she and they will enjoy
the break.

Richard
Micaela's dad

DrLith · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 419

wrote in message@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Hello,
>
>
> In the next month or two I will be flying with my wife and her daughter
> from Latvia to Seattle. Total travel time will be somewhere in the
> ballpark of 18 hours. We will have a short 2.5 hour flight to where we
> must change planes to fly to Seattle. The 2nd leg will be the doozy of
> near 12 hours.
>
> Other than the toys and videos stuff, we are also going to get my wife
> and her daughter business class (we can't afford it for me, but i will
> be just 1 row behind and we can trade off looking after the kido).
>
> We are also considering Children's Dramamine. What are your thoughts
> on that or similar things.
>
> Any other advice would be great.

You may want to think about a sturdy backpack-type carrier as an alternative
to either a megastroller or expecting the child to hoof it along with you.
The vantagepoint can make crowded, hectic places less intimidating to
littles.

Also, and jumping out on a limb here, you seem in general like a person who
feels a need to do a lot of planning, preparing, and predicting. Such types
are sometimes the types who also get unnecessarily anxious about the future.
It is good to be prepared ahead of time, but once you're on your way, it's
good to be able to marshal the opposite tendancy, which is to relax and go
with the flow.

I've done a lot of travelling with my kids at every age along the way, much
of it as a solo parent, and including 16-hr nonstop cross-country drives,
22-hr international plane trips, and 2-day overland soujourns on third-world
microbuses. Shit happens, sometimes literally, and it helps to just remind
yourself that you're not going to die, you're probably the only one who will
reminder the trauma 10 years from now, and it's going to be over with soon
enough.

Jeanne · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 22

DrLith wrote:
> wrote in message
> @f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
>
> You may want to think about a sturdy backpack-type carrier as an alternative
> to either a megastroller or expecting the child to hoof it along with you.
> The vantagepoint can make crowded, hectic places less intimidating to
> littles.
>
> Also, and jumping out on a limb here, you seem in general like a person who
> feels a need to do a lot of planning, preparing, and predicting. Such types
> are sometimes the types who also get unnecessarily anxious about the future.
> It is good to be prepared ahead of time, but once you're on your way, it's
> good to be able to marshal the opposite tendancy, which is to relax and go
> with the flow.
>
> I've done a lot of travelling with my kids at every age along the way, much
> of it as a solo parent, and including 16-hr nonstop cross-country drives,
> 22-hr international plane trips, and 2-day overland soujourns on third-world
> microbuses. Shit happens, sometimes literally, and it helps to just remind
> yourself that you're not going to die, you're probably the only one who will
> reminder the trauma 10 years from now, and it's going to be over with soon
> enough.
>
>

Good point. Apparently, I traveled a lot as a baby and throughout my
childhood, and my mom's main remark was travel was easy on the babies
and children but hard on the parents.

She said that we (the kids) were generally okay with long (18 hours)
flights. As infants, toddlers or preschoolers, we would just fall
asleep when the lights were turned off. When we were older (10 and
older), we knew not to disturb other passengers. It was when we were
between the ages of 5 and 8, we would get into mischief (I remember
putting ice cubes onto the stewardess's seat...)

I would say, be prepared (pack Children's Dramamine and whatever else
you may need) but don't unnecessarily pre-drug the child.

Jeanne

rkbose · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 841

fruehling@bigfoot.com wrote:
> Hello,
>
>
> In the next month or two I will be flying with my wife and her daughter
> from Latvia to Seattle. Total travel time will be somewhere in the
> ballpark of 18 hours. We will have a short 2.5 hour flight to where we
> must change planes to fly to Seattle. The 2nd leg will be the doozy of
> near 12 hours.
>
> Other than the toys and videos stuff, we are also going to get my wife
> and her daughter business class (we can't afford it for me, but i will
> be just 1 row behind and we can trade off looking after the kido).

Toys...absolutely. Roughly one new toy for every hour of travel time,
concealed where she can't see them, and being pulled out and given to
her when the previous one gets boring...

If you keep her awake on the first leg, she will likely sleep for a
good part of the long flight. The trick is not "using up" all her sleep
during the flight and airport down-time.

Rupa

The Watsons · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 336

wrote in message @g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> If you keep her awake on the first leg, she will likely sleep for a
> good part of the long flight. The trick is not "using up" all her sleep
> during the flight and airport down-time.

And if you can keep her awake long enough, she'll conk out when you arrive
and you won't have to deal with her and jet lag at the same time. Wink

Jess

Tai · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 214

Tracey wrote:
> fruehling@bigfoot.com wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>>
>> In the next month or two I will be flying with my wife and her
>> daughter from Latvia to Seattle. Total travel time will be
>> somewhere in the ballpark of 18 hours. We will have a short 2.5
>> hour flight to where we must change planes to fly to Seattle. The
>> 2nd leg will be the doozy of near 12 hours.
>>
>> Other than the toys and videos stuff, we are also going to get my
>> wife and her daughter business class (we can't afford it for me, but
>> i will be just 1 row behind and we can trade off looking after the
>> kido). We are also considering Children's Dramamine. What are your
>> thoughts
>> on that or similar things.
>>
>> Any other advice would be great.
>
> I have traveled quite a bit with first one child and then with two
> and on long flights. I have been on flights lasting 5 or more hours
> with two children, one as young as 1 and on flights of 4-8 hours
> total with children from the age of 3 and above. I *cringe* when
> I hear you mention using medicine as anything other than what it's
> intended for (if your child gets airsick.) Traveling with young
> children is sometimes not a picnic but there are ways to make it
> easier on you all.

I know, it sounds awful to drug 'em up, doesn't it? However, living where I
do we're used to hellish 24 hour travelling times to get where we want to go
so the *very* occasional use of an OTC antihistamine type drug on a
long-haul flight, with a doctor's approval of course, is fairly common.
Often the bottle stays unopened in the flight bag but it's nice to know it's
there.

And do all the other useful things you suggested, too.

Tai

Tai · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 214

Wendy T wrote:
> "Tracey" wrote in message
> @aol.com...
>> I have traveled quite a bit with first one child and then with two
>> and on long flights. I have been on flights lasting 5 or more hours
>> with two children, one as young as 1 and on flights of 4-8 hours
>> total with children from the age of 3 and above. I *cringe* when
>> I hear you mention using medicine as anything other than what it's
>> intended for (if your child gets airsick.) Traveling with young
>> children is sometimes not a picnic but there are ways to make it
>> easier on you all.
>
> I agree with Tracey. We live in England and it's a 7 hour flight
> home to Canada to visit family.

All I can say to that is that 7 hours is a relatively short hop and nowhere
close to an 18 or 24 hour endurance exercise. I wouldn't consider giving a
sedative to a child for that short a journey, either, unless they were
unwell and had been prescribed one by a doctor for the (presumably
unpostponeable) journey.

Nor would I routinely sedate a child for any journey without a doctor's
advice. However, there are children for whom it might be kinder for all
concerned to consider it as an option.

Tai

Donna · Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 575

"Tai" wrote in message @individual.net...

> I know, it sounds awful to drug 'em up, doesn't it? However, living where
> I do we're used to hellish 24 hour travelling times to get where we want
> to go so the *very* occasional use of an OTC antihistamine type drug on a
> long-haul flight, with a doctor's approval of course, is fairly common.
> Often the bottle stays unopened in the flight bag but it's nice to know
> it's there.

Well, you can't drug a kid for 18 hours, but I have to say that I never take
short-haul (6 or fewer) hour flights with kids without a bottle of benedryl
in my diaper bag. Like Tai, sometimes I never need it, but sometimes I do.
Why not make it easier for a miserable kid to sleep, rather than be
awake, cranky and unhappy?

Donna

Flying Dreams I'm looking for the author and title of a children's novel I read in the late eighties - about a village of children who share a series of simultaneous flying dreams. One protagonist is an overweight boy who is lowly during the day, but at

Flying with a 3 month old (and a breast pump)? I have a chance to go to an out of town workshop in a few weeks, which happens to be in a place that we have friends who haven't gotten to meet Alli yet, so DH and I are planning to fly up for the weekend. It's about an hour, non-stop flight. This will be

Rea|-time trading alert 0n flying penny st0ck Rochester, NY, Apr 11, 2005 (M2 PRESSWIRE via COMTEX) -- "Stock Watch A|ert" this morning are Wysak Petro|eum (WYSK), Key Energy Services, Inc. (Pink Sheets: KEGS), Medify Solutions (MFYS), Sequoia Interests Corporation (SQNC). Wysak

Hi, All WORLD Bonjour! I am French. You will do chat with me. You want to learn French. Come on i will help you. Thanks(Marci)

i'm not end of the world my rhinoceros is so good for buttons