I need some advice. We are leaving on the 24th to fly to Georgia for Christmas. Yay!!!!! My parents are beyond excited about seeing Meredith. And us, I guess, but we're secondary to their beloved grandbaby.
I've never flown with a baby, obviously. Any tips? I plan to nurse her on takeoff and landing to help with the ear pressure thing. I also plan to jam my diaper bag full of toys and goodies, and I plan to bring toys she's never seen before.
My Mom said they used to recommend giving benadryl to babies for flying, not only to help them sleep, but to help keep their eustachian tubes clear. Has anyone ever done this? I don't know how I feel about purposefully drugging my child, but if it makes for a nice trip, then why not? :)
Also, what about our stroller? We have a ginormous stroller. I know you can take them right to the gate, but how are we going to get it through security if it won't fit on the scanner thingie (I have really good vocab these days)? Should I just go buy a cheapo umbrella stroller?
I rebel against holiday hysteria and try to keep Christmas as stress-free as possible. But flying is always stressful, let alone flying with a child. I'm starting to get a little nervous.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Advice needed
Scribbled by Kelly at 3:40 PM
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I would recommend borrowing or buying an umbrella stroller, for the airport and especially so it doesn't take up as much trunk space when you are driving around in Georgia. Will never had any problems with the ear pressure thing, although I was pretty nervous about it...he didn't even notice.
Finally, something I can be helpful with. My dad was a special agent in charge of civilian security at the Salt Lake Airport for years. {Just had to let you know I speak with some authority and knowledge. :)} Anyway, you can take your stroller through security. They will just search it by hand. As far as the Benadryl goes, my pediatrican recommended that I give it to my daughter every day as a preventative to ear infections which she was so prone to. It's so mild that she'll be fine if you choose to give it to her. Anything you can do to prevent that ear pain from the pressure changes I would do. Just check tsa.gov and make sure you stay within the allowed guidelines for liquids. Good Luck and let me know if you have any other questions. (Sorry for the novel of a comment. I just should have called you.)
Kelly, I have flown a lot with kids and although we have tried Benadryl (my doctor recommended it) it didn't quite work the way I was hoping. I guess it made them perhaps a little less active, but I don't think they went to sleep. If she sleeps well while nursing I would just stick with that. I would try and condense as much as you can, therefore, if you need to get a smaller stroller I would. The airport is the worst part for me- taking shoes off/on, checking for liquids, etc. it's so hectic. Let alone carrying a carseat,a stroller, Meredith, diaper bag and any carry-ons. I am scared to do it with three now. Although, we just need to put on a DVD for the boys and they're good. Also, if it means keeping Meredith up, or skipping a nap so she will be extra tired on the plane I would do that too.
I'll do everything I can to help ya out!!! I'm excited!
All the advice I have you already know. I would just take the stroller you have...I'm sure you're not the first person to bring a huge stroller through security. Good luck! I'm sure Meredith will be perfect. Just take it as it comes. Oh, and do your best to ignore all the horrible looks when people see you brought a baby on the plane. After it's all over, they will look at you and say "oh, she was so good". Everyone just gets worried that she'll cry the whole time.
The whole benadryl idea might work for some...it didn't for us! When Josh was 15 months, we gave him a dose and thought he'd sleep. It was more like a bad acid trip - he cried for HOURS.
The dirty looks I got walking onto the plane continued as I was walking off...but I'm sure things will be much better for you :) If you're going to use benedryl, I would do a trial run first because some kids actually get hyper from it. Mags gets really tired, but since she refuses to sleep if she's not in her crib, it just seems to make her more cranky. My pediatrician recommended tylenol, which I'm trying this time. And I would strongly recommend YOU taking a strong sedative because the anxiety of worrying about her having a meltdown is the worst part. Good luck! Oh yeah - I'm going to be in Utah from Dec 21st till Jan 6th, so we'll have to maybe meet at Wes's when you get back or before you leave.
We took a huge stroller when we flew to Disneyland, and it was nice to have a bigger one to carry everything on! We even put some of our luggage on it. You might want to check out the website www.travelingwithkids.com. They've got some super cool stuff on there! (though at this point it might be too late to get it by then! sorry!)
flying with an 8 month old is probably harder than with a 3 month old but I used a sling and borrowed a combi umbrella stroller that had a strap on it- very helpful. If you can request the bulhead seats your airline might have a baby bassinett that goes into the wall. Our flight was 12 hours and Mad did great on take off and landing- I didn't need to nurse or anything- she even had an ear infection so I know it must have felt horrible. Banadryll(sp)- works great. She went through three outfits and like one diaper every 1 1/2 hour- I hated having so much stuff on the plane. I wished I had a blanket with a zipper pocket to hold diapers wipes and an extra outfit. Don't be embarrased to walk up and down the isle with her, I hung out in the back with the flight attendants and bounced her around. Good luck!
I heard of somebody that brought a bag of homemade cookies and passed them out to everyone around them as a peace offering when they got on the plane. Then that way if M does get kind of fussy everybody already likes you and won't be so irritated:) Good luck!!!
I don't have any advice, but I wish you much luck!
My friend Lizandra flew home with her 8 day old baby and she said she was fortunate that he slept the entire time. Good luck with mer, cant wait to see you!
Okay, I know I already commented on here, but I just finished flying to Utah and I really wish I'd brought some cookies on the flight because people were shooting me daggars the whole time. My new piece of advice is to stand in the back and rock them. This was the only thing that would quiet Mags down, but then my back and arms started to feel like they were going to break, so I would just have to sit down and endure the screaming and daggars for a breather. GOOD LUCK!!!
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