10-hour flight with a 5 month old

[idigchaitea]

Okay I know this thread has probably been done before, but I wasn't sure if there's been one concerning such a long flight. I am scared to death about flying so long with my first baby! I've made the trip several times, but never with a baby. Please help me! What can I do to prepare for this trip? I've decided to do sposies for the trip just to make one little thing easier for me. I've also purchased a MT that I'll wear him in during the flight. My hubby will be with me so that makes things a lot easier! DS is breastfed so no messing with bottles. One thing I'm concerned about--how do I adjust DS to the time change? There is an 8 hour difference in time. Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

[tonileg]

Don't worry about your baby...In my many years of experience of hugely long flights, I noticed that the kids have NO jetlag. They eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are tired. I just flew from Honolulu to Lyon, France yesterday, by myself with my 18 month old (I proudly cloth diaper ) and it is already my third time this year (5hours to LA, 12hours to Frankfurt, 1hour to Lyon) and my son is already at daycare and doing great...while I'm dragging myself around town in a tired haze.

Babies and children are so lucky that they don't know about 'jetlag'
You'll be fine! Just breastfeed when you take off and land if your LO starts to cry because of the pressure.

Little note, take twice the amount of diapers that you think you'll need! There are no diaper stores when you're in the air.

Goodluck

[kezoo]

Yes, as pp said, no worries - you baby will adjust MUCH better than you will, LOL! We flew to Australia from Michigan when Gavin 4.5 months old - that's approx. 28 hour trip (including the 14 hour flight LA-Sydney), and he was on Oz time in no time flat. I was all messed up for at least 4 days! And since you're bf'ing, that's easy, too. See if you can get a bassinette seat on your flight -they are located at the bulkhead (usually only 4 or 6 per 747), and you'll have to request it through your airline. With such a young baby, you should get priority for one. With our super long trips to Oz, we use sposies, because we just don't have the storage space (for clean AND dirty) for that length of trip on top of the other baby supplies & carryons! We did pack about 1.5 days' worth of cds that we used while in Oz, though. make sure you pack at least 2 spare outfits for baby in your carry-on and at least 1 spare shirt for youself in case of motion induced spit-up (I've been there!) Honestly, that age is one of the easiest to travel with!

ETA: Oh, and they'll probably make you take baby out of the MT and just hold him for takeoff - supposedly it's safer Some airlines will let you request a seatbelt extender and then you loop it through your seatbelt and then around baby's waist for takeoff so he is tethered to you, but is NOT sharing your seatbelt. I would at least ask for it - if it is a big flight, they may not even question you about it. The Australian, NZ & British airlines even offer them to you, they expect you to use it. I had a huge argument w/ Northwest - they said it was unsafe and wouldn't give it to me. Crazy. Just holding your baby is NOT safe if the plane even stops suddenly - you cannot physically keep hold of your baby at those forces. Best case: have a seat for the baby that you can put your carseat in.

[skueppers]

I actually disagree with what everyone else said -- both of my kids flew overseas at 5 months, and neither adjusted well to the time change. I'd say it took about 5 nights before they were sleeping in a way that wasn't making us horribly sleep-deprived.

Regarding the flight itself, I prefer a ring sling for flying, because I can unthread it for takeoff and landing but leave it in position, nurse during takeoff, and then thread & tighten once the baby is asleep without moving him/her. I've flown many times using this method. Neither of my kids would have wanted to be in a vertical position, while they were happy to be lying in my lap -- just like they often were at home while nursing/napping.