Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Happy days are here again

Well, after my last posting, Miss C decided that we (mama and daddy, that is) were going to win the bed time discussion so she pretty much caved. Caved, that is, as much as any 20 month old can after 36 hours of frustration with wanting to sleep on the couch. Its really no big deal now but boy, what a rookie mistake! We should have known better, should have kept her in her bed but when your little one gets sick, its hard to not give them basically anything they want to make them feel better, ya know?

Other than that, we have been doing just fine. We are planning an exciting trip to visit a ton of family in a couple of weeks. We can only go for the weekend but Miss C will have a chance to meet Aunt A and her cousins there and see Aunt L and Uncle W and their little one. We also plan on visiting a couple of other friends in the area and perhaps one or two more family members, not sure of the schedule yet.

To help on the trip, I got Miss C a harness for her airplane seat so we don't have to carry a car seat on to the plane. I also plan on bringing a portable DVD player and some stuff to watch in addition to our normal travel fare of coloring books, paper, crayons, tons of her favorite books, snacks, etc. I admit I am a little nervous because this is the longest flight she has been on (4.5hours on the way there, just under 5 on the way back). I know how fidgety I get, I can only imagine how difficult it will be for her. That's one of the reasons we got her a seat rather than taking advantage one last time of being able to have a lap infant. In case you are wondering, we fully intend to have her pacifier handy to help her clear her ears, that or a sippy cup always make it easier to fly.

So, here is my question to you all. For those who have endured air travel of this duration, do you have any recommendations or words of wisdom?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you're doing everything right so far, with (a) getting Miss C her own seat (it will make it so much easier for you!), and (b) the portable DVD player. I usually try to buy something new & small that I can toss in my carry-on, and I don't show it to her until we're on the plane, so it keeps her interest longer. On our last flight, I got 3 books from the $1 bins at Target. She LOVED them.

And, uh, this really doesn't make me Evil Mommy because I had a pediatrician tell me it was ok, but I've also given her 1/2 teaspoon of children's Benadryl to help her sleep on the plane. I use the portable Benadryl - I can't think of what they're called, but they come in single-teaspoon servings (no measuring cups/syringes necessary). I just only let her have roughly half of it, and I toss the rest.

Hmm... Not much else I can think of. As long as you have food and entertainment, she'll probably be fine. Good luck!

Cat said...

If at all possible, I like to get the bulkhead seats because you can let her get down on the floor and play a little while you're flying. If you can't, then take frequent walks up and down the aisle with her while she's awake. She'll find it fascinating.

LizardBreath said...

Thanks! I picked up a little toy to give Miss C on the plane and while we don't have a bulkhead row, we do have seats with a little extra leg room so we might be able to swing playing at the seats. We're also making sure we grab enough food since she eats like she has a hollow leg. i am really looking forward to this trip, however short it may be.