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Flying w/ toddler: questions/advice needed!
We're going to Europe with our 16 mo old in a week & I have a few questions & am looking for any tips on making the trip easier:
- we're flying overnight & instead of lugging around a little cooler w/ milk I'm thinking of bringing those toddler milk/formula packs to just make on the plane (& have some for our trip) - or will they have whole milk on the flight? Also what about warming the bottle during the flight?
- Any suggestions on toys for the flight? I have a few books, etch a sketch, & crayons so far.. (coming home will be tough since we're flying during the day - he may not sleep much....)
- any suggestions on getting our LO to adjust to the new time? I'm worried he'll be up until 2am every night.. 
- we're flying coach with him as a lap infant & the plane looks packed now. We could pay $99/pp to sit in the area that gives you 5 extra inches & then we would most likely get an extra seat for LO; I'm thinking of buying one of those Cares harnesses (http://www.kidsflysafe.com/) in case we do get the seat to strap him in. Has anyone used this? is it worth buying?
- any other tips/advice??? thanks!
Re: Flying w/ toddler: questions/advice needed!
Ask the flight attendant for a cup of hot water to use to warm up the milk.
We always have gotten DD a seat for travel and brought along her car seat (but we needed the car seat on the trip) - for a trip to Europe I would def. get in Econ Plus if you can, but don't count on spare seating... Not sure a 16 month old woud be happy with the cares system if he's never used it, and I don't have any experience with it.
DD liked me to sing songs with/to her on flights, and is always fascinated by the activity around. We also have a portable DVD player. a NEW toy will also help.
We thought about bringing the car seat - but the airline said we can only check either a stroller OR car seat for free - otherwise it's $70 if we need to bring both! =(
We need to reconfirm w/ Budget car rental in Germany if they will have a car seat for us - but otherwise we weren't planning on bringing one...
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We brought our car seat on the plane so DD could sit in it - but she had a paid seat. She slept well in the car seat.
good luck!
I posted on your toddler board but here it is again:
We fly to Europe often with our kids. They will most likely NOT have whole milk on the plane, so bring what you need with you.
I wouldn't assume you will get an extra seat if you upgrade, this is Summer and the busiest time of year for travel to Europe. I would upgrade for the space, but be prepared to not get an extra seat.
We fly with CARES all the time, it can make sleeping more difficult but it is doable. I like the CARES.
When you get there go with your child's lead. We let our kids nap when they need to, and not on a schedule. Spend time outside as well, that helps.
Also, I would check the stroller and the bring the car seat to the gate and gate check it. Or vice versa. They won't charge you to gate check.
Check with the specific airline about milk. The 1st time we flew with them I assumed the airline would have milk and didn't find out until mid-air that they didn't. From then on I just purchase it once we're past security in the terminal.
If you travel a lot it would be worth buying the CARES. We didn't buy them, but rented them. We typically fly with them 1-2 times a year, so for the time they were in the weight range for it we used them maybe 3-4 times, so it wasn't worth it for us. But if you plan to fly multiple times a year every year it would be worth it.
How did you store the milk during the flight? I don't want to have to drag a cooler along; will the flight attendants keep it refridgerated for you?
Also, where did you rent the Cares from?
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You can rent them off ebay.
I have never seen them refridgerate milk for anyone. Buy the horizons box milk that you don't have to keep cold, or get an ice pack.
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Sticker books are a fun, quiet activity.
At Toys R Us I've seen travel packs of Play-Doh. They come in plastic bags, so they're lighter than the usual tubs.
I would try to bring a lot of toys to entertain the kid. That's a long flight.
You might not be able to bring it along, since it's a liquid.
wow - really? I asked the airline (United) about this & they said they have changing tables... I cannot imagine changing poop...!
and for pp about bringing liquids - you can bring as many liquids as you need for the baby - there's no limit in this sense.
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We flew Delta and nope no changing tables. It was awful! I hope for you United has them. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.
I wonder if they didn't have changing tables b/c Hawaii is domestic...? I'm going to call United again to check... that would be a big pain...
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We flew to Europe last year when DD was 16 months old. We did get her a seat since we could not get a guaranteed upgrade. The first leg we used her car seat. She was pretty much on my lap the entire time anyway. The actual flight to Europe (DC to Paris) we got a very last minute upgrade to business but not for DD so she ended up be a lapchild. We brought her a bunch of meal pouches from Wal-Mart and she didn't want to have anything to do with them. She nursed a bunch and had some of our food. She slept for maybe 4-5 hours. We got in around 7 am and then had to drive to the Netherlands (about 3.5 hours). She slept for most of that. We got to my parents house around mid day and we took a nap for a couple of hours while they watched DD. She ended up falling asleep for another hour and I woke her up. She went to bed her usual 7 pm bed time and adjusted right away. On the way back she was up at 3 for about 3-4 nights and we would get up, keep the lights low and do some quite activities and go back to bed around 5 then sleep til 7. Our trip back across the pond was actually not bad at all. It was during the day. She slept for about an hour after take off and another 2 prior to landing. She slept for most of the last leg (at which point it was the middle of the night for her). We read some books but she mostly played with the little baggy with toothpaste/socks etc that we got when we got upgraded.
If you don't have a guaranteed seat I would probably not bother with a Cares harness. I would gate check the car seat if you can. If you end up being lucky enough to get an extra seat you would be able to use that. Chances are he will be on you anyway. I haven't traveled with a stroller since she was about 6 months. I just use the Ergo. I always gate check our car seat since it gets handled a little better and I want to be sure it gets to the other side. European car seat are different (no 5 point harness I think) so you might be more comfortable with your own (I am anyway).
I just used the Cares harness for the first time (Dd just turned 2) domestically and she did fine. Not sure if she will sleep in it but she slept on the seat when the seatbelt sign was off). She is very used to flying though so I am sure that helped. If you do even a couple of flights a year I would just invest in it. EBay rents it for $15 not including shipping. So do that a 3-4 times and you have paid in rent what it would cost to purchase. Resale value on eBay is awesome.
Your LO will likely do fine. I think we tend to worry about how they do a lot more than necessary! Good luck and have fun on your trip!
sucredee - thanks so much for the tips! Upgrading would be nice... but I don't think that's going to happen
We did buy the seats in economy plus so we'll have extra leg room. We're visiting my family in Poland & they have a car seat for us, so we don't have to bring ours (then we'd have to pay extra anyways for checking the stroller and the car seat). I did buy the Cares harness & if we don't end up getting an extra seat I'll just return it when we get back. I'm last-minute on this & no time to rent from e-bay since we're leaving in a few days.. 
I hope DS adjusts to the time change as well as your LO did!
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