[DK615617]

We are going on a trip up north to see the family. It will be the first time that Tiffany meets her aunts, uncles & cousins. We are so excited.
But we are so nervous about the flight. It is 2 and a half hours. What are we going to do with her on a plane for 2 & half hours?????
(we aren't nervous about flying, just flying with her!!!)
I have been told to BF her on the way up and on landing. Or give her a bottle of water. I have also been told to use earplanes on her. (special earlpugs.) has anyone tried this. Does it help???? Someone said a decongestant. Or saline drops in the nose?
Will her ears hurt the whole time we are up in the air????
Any advice will be appreciated.

[KR258]

I took my daughter on a plan tons of times now. Everytime I gave her a bottle on the way up and on the way back down or a binki even worked. She never had any ear pain. Once we were up we played peek-a-boo, I brought her a few books, but mostly she slept. I made sure she had her favorite blankie and stuffed animal and she did fine.

[QueenAngie]

Sounds like you are planning a lovely trip to see all the aunties & uncles. They will really enjoy seeing your darling.

Just be prepared as KR258 suggests.

[heidiwc]

2.5 hours should be pretty "easy". We've done several trips, mostly around 6 hours each. Make sure you bring a few favorite toys and of course food. If your baby takes a bottle, feed her on the way up and down, or use a passy. Our baby recently rejects the bottle and passy, so we tried to bring a lot of chew toys and that seemed to work.
One thing to consider is the flight time. We tried to time it so he would be starting his nap as we were taking off. The hum of the plan and light movement had him sleeping for quite a while! Southwest is great since there are so many kids on those flights anyway

[siageah]

BF on the way up and the way down if she will. Have a sippy or bottle ready too incase she won't BF. Bring pacifiers and anything else she normally uses. My daughter's ears never hurt at that age but I made sure she was swallowing *something* at every pressure change. Her ears won't hurt in the air unless the pressure changes. If you need to swallow, most likely she needs to as well.

Most likely, she'll sleep. There is a lot of white noise on a plane. If she doesn't sleep and she cries, don't worry. Everyone has been there and you'll only be seeing the other people on the plane for 2 1/2 hours. They'll live. If your child screaming for a couple of hours is the worst thing that has happened to them that day, they've had a pretty darn good day.

I'd avoid decongestants as they are fairly controversial now. Only if your doctor recommends it.

Good luck!

[DK615617]

We are back from our trip!!! It went great! She nursed on the way up and down, and we "entertained" her for the 2 1/2 hours. And on the way back home there was an empty seat so we put her in her car seat next to me (once we were up in the air), and she slept the whole way home!!!
As far as the rest of the trip it was so nice!!!! She got to meet the rest of the family. She did so good letting all of the "strange" people hold her. She seemed to enjoy herself.
We got so many pictures of her. My MIL is into photography, so we took about 250 pics!!!
Thank you to everyone for all the advice! I appreciate it!

[KR258]

I am glad it worked out and she was good with all those people she didn't know. I know I always think my daughter will get upset when she's around my family because she barely knows them but she never gets upset and gets along with them very well. Maybe because I am so relaxed when we're around them.