travelling 13hrs on plane

[Satellite]

I will be travelling about 13hours or more with my baby of 8 months on a night flight to UK. Normally my baby sleeps well at night but on occasions, he will scream for as long as an hour before sleeping.

I was thinking of getting some baby sleeping pills if there is such a thing. Does anyone know if such things exists? Can I request them from the paediatrican? Also how did you cope with a difficult baby?

 

[Ting]

no, i dun think there r such things as baby sleeping pills.
omg, why would u wanna give tt to your baby?
r u travelling alone??

if not, take turns with your hubby to take care of baby.

 

[meiteoh]

My dear, DRUGGING your baby is not the answer. I know it can be tough trying to mind a screaming baby but you can find out why he's screaming - not enough attention, discomfort, etc - and do your best to comfort him. Sometimes screaming may be his way of letting out his frustrations and such. Give him a pacifier, offer him your breast, carry him, spoil him and so forth but don't drug him.

 

[annie]

must u fly at night? cant fly in the day? i always try not to take overnight flight with my girl as i dun wan her to be lack of sleep... night sleep is very impt to babies..

n yes.. i wont even think bout giving any kind of drugs to my baby!

 

[jasobias]

I will be travelling about 13hours or more with my baby of 8 months on a night flight to UK. Normally my baby sleeps well at night but on occasions, he will scream for as long as an hour before sleeping.

I was thinking of getting some baby sleeping pills if there is such a thing. Does anyone know if such things exists? Can I request them from the paediatrican? Also how did you cope with a difficult baby?

hmmm..no they dont give sleeping pills to babies.Its dangerous.Nothing u can do abt the crying so must as well just bear it a while.U cld try a pacificer.I have travelled with my kids at 9 months but thankfully they remained sleeping most of the way..it was a 22 hr flight to the USA.

 

[annie]

wah lucky u... my girl dosent sleep on plane one lor. even if she naps its only a short catnap. but the thing good bout her is even though she dun sleep in plane, she is not cranky either. she will be busy climbing everywhere n crawling everywhere n playing with the toys the stewardess gave her n then smilling to other passengers haha

 

[Satellite]

well... none of the replies are helpful.

For the record, of course my preference is not to drug my baby but surely you must be able to see my desparation for a difficult baby. All these suggestions like pacifiers, hold him close etc. are not things I haven't tried. As I said, I am travelling with my baby. My husband will meet me there. So he will not be able to be on the flight with me.

He is worst in the day so I have decided to travel at night as he sleeps most of the night.

I seriously think from your replies that you have not encountered a difficult baby. I really hope that someone will have a feasible solution as I cannot imagine what all the passengers will feel like having us ruin their flight, not to mention my poor baby crying all the time, risking getting wind.

Speaking of that, does anybody know if we can bring things like non-prescribed liquid onboard the aeroplane such as ointment and gripe water to alleviate wind? Or are liquids still not allowed?

 

[Lynnie]

I can imagine the frustrations of the other passengers with a crying baby especially on a night flight. Been one of those passengers myself before too...

Maybe you can check with your PD what can be done should your baby start wailing on board.

Sometimes the flight attendants will clear the space near the jump seats, cordoned off by the curtains to soothe/play/entertain babies/children.

So long as your liquid does not exceed 100ml, you can bring it on board.
Hope you manage to find a solution to your issue.

 

[Ting]

well... none of the replies are helpful.

For the record, of course my preference is not to drug my baby but surely you must be able to see my desparation for a difficult baby. All these suggestions like pacifiers, hold him close etc. are not things I have not't tried. As I said, I am travelling with my baby. My husband will meet me there. So he will not be able to be on the flight with me.

He is worst in the day so I have decided to travel at night as he sleeps most of the night.

I seriously think from your replies that you have not encountered a difficult baby. I really hope that someone will have a feasible solution as I cannot imagine what all the passengers will feel like having us ruin their flight, not to mention my poor baby crying all the time, risking getting wind.

Speaking of that, does anybody know if we can bring things like non-prescribed liquid onboard the aeroplane such as ointment and gripe water to alleviate wind? Or are liquids still not allowed?

well, 2 BEST solutions.
1) dont bring your baby along.
2)book the WHOLE plane for yourself and your baby.


yes, not EVERYONE have a difficult baby. BCOS, we dont see our baby as being a difficult child.
some baby just canot cope taking planes, even some adults cant take flights.
we learn to DEAL with it.
well, since you want to travel with your baby, then learn to cope with the stares and everything else.
if you really cant cope by yourself then get your hubby to fly back and take an extra trip with you.
baby are not difficult to deal with in the beginning, you just need to find the RIGHT way to soothe your child.
every child is different. some just need more effort.
we are just giving you SUGGESTIONS since you ASKED for it.
drugging your baby is a NONO. even your pediatrician wont allow that.
anyway, i assume its your first flight with your child, so u wont know how he is gg to react, might as well give it shot.

 

[meiteoh]

Well, if you continue seeing your baby as "difficult", I'm afraid s/he will pick up on that vibe and be exactly what you imagine him/her to be.

We are all mothers here and some of us have been put in the spot before in public with a screaming baby/kid and everyone eyeballing us as if we are crappy parents so please dont't make it sound as if you are the only one who has a hard time dealing with a screaming baby/kid.

I flew on a direct flight from France to Singapore when Eva was a month old. She was fine until we hit somewhere over India and there was plenty of turbulence. She couldn't sleep because we had to keep taking her out of the bassinet and hence, started fussing. Towards the last two hours, she was going into full blown crying. Hubby and myself couldn't eat in peace or do anything in peace but we stayed calm and I? I spent at least 30 minutes to 45 minutes pacing up and down the aisle with her in my arms, just so she can sleep and this was before each turbulence and such. When the turbulence was over, I would start the pacing again. I also offered my boobs to her as a pacifier more often than usual and especially during landing/take-off. I never see her as being difficult because it's her first flight, she couldn't sleep and hey, people do get cranky when they can't get enough sleep so what more a baby?

As for the other passengers, well, I have been on many long haul flights with babies and while it can be annoying to a degree to be stuck on a night flight with a crying baby, back then, I honestly didn't want to be the mother handling the baby because of the stress and her suffering from lack of sleep. Not everyone will hate your baby and you because he cries all the time. If this is your baby's first flight, he may find the place strange and the crazy number of people to be frightening to say the least. Plus some babies dont't take changes to environment like air pressure and such easily. If you're concerned about the other passengers' welfare, like Ting said, dont't travel with your baby. You can't please everyone.

Your best option right now is to find out why he screams for one hour before sleeping. Is he uncomfortable? Unhappy? Frustrated? Or what? Try not to see your baby as being "difficult" - babies dont't talk and so sometimes screaming/crying is what they do to grab our attention. By labelling them as difficult, we are ignoring the reason as to why they are crying in the first place.

If you can't figure out why, then frankly, you'll have to just bear with it.

 

[annie]

my girl is very used to taking flight and has always been very co operative in the plane though she dun sleep much on it. she will play alone n smile to other passengers or air stewdess but then... i jsut came back from a trip to hokkaido from tokyo n dunno y she is not very co operative this time round esp on the flight back. she is crying n fussing througout the flight. even when i carry her, she will keep pushing me away n then kick n swing her arms everywhere n then arch her back n all.. she spilled hubby n my drink as well. dunno wat happened to her but well... they are babies! even if they are always easy dosent mean they will forever be. same goes to your bb. maybe that day your bb will eb extremely coperative? hard to say...but then... if u worry bout other passengers then i wont suggest u take a night flight since every passengers need to rest... if u take a day flight at least they are well rested...

 

[holeyman1]

babies sense different enviornment very well. most probably not used to the sound. i'll try to sit somewhere before the turbines. they seem to cause alot of noise especially when its "lights-off"

 

[wlin]

dear satellite ...
can't give you any practical advice, as i did not have a difficult baby on plane before.
if you already have problems dealing with you bb on land, when he gets difficult sometimes (eg. crying before sleep), there really isn't anything magical or different you can try in air.
however, i will advise you to just concentrate on taking care of your bb if he really starts getting difficult. don't worry about other passengers' disapproving looks or comments. Really, it is not your fault that you cannot settle your bb. so they have no right to be angry with you. don;t feel too apologetic, then you will feel better. This is the strategy i use in similar situations to relieve my own stress.
i understand.... it can get really stressful dealing with a difficult bb.

 

[Satellite]

wlin,

it's not so much as having disapproving looks as being worried for my baby. Now my mother looked after all 4 of us and is good with babies.. so if she has a hard time putting him to sleep, (and other people who are excellent with babies) then it is a major problem that he has. I dont' think any ofyou really understand what I mean.. you just have to see it in order to understand.

He knows that we are trying to put him to sleep and that is when it starts. He would cry till his face turns red, and sometiems blue as he holds his breadth. This is very prominent as he is very fair and it is very scary to say the least. We brought it up at KKh and they said that if he holds his breadth (some babies tend to do that) when he cries hard for more than a minute or two, to call the ambulance. I certaintly cannot do this on teh aeroplane. So faced with two evils, a sedation pill would be the better choice.

For those who gave sacastic remarks, remember that what goes round, comes round.

 

[Ting]

i am not being sacarstic, IF u are pointing to me that is.
but like wlin said, if u cant handle him on land, then it makes NO different in air.
as u mentioned, your baby knows u r tryin to put him to slp, thus he will start crying right? then dont put him to slp.. let him fall aslp on his own pace.

to be honest, pin was a easy child. she doesnt give me problems with slping, eating, drinking water, heat rash n whatsoever til now.
but i do hv my fair share of the lil trouble she gives, that u will understand when your child gets older. though pin wasnt a difficbult baby, but ive seen many that r in my family, trust me, i know.


as abt your mum n your son. i duno if u believe in this, but i somehow do believe to a certain extent, its the ba zi. why i say tt?
my aunt, is also very good with babies, n love babies. she doesnt hv children of her own, but she still tc of me n my sis, n my other cousins from young.
when pin was born, she doted pin to bits! n took care of pin the first 2 mths, during my confinement time too.
on n off, she will visit us often. but when pin was abt 4-5 mths old, she cried each n everytime she sees my aunt. its like an instant thing. she can be playing happily but when she see my aunt,she cry immediately. n this happened for abt 1 year until pin was old enuf to understand n recognise ppl. now she is happy to see my aunt cos her hb will drive pin in his car n they hv a big teddy in the car for her.


why i dun agree in using sleeping pills? becos one thing is, u will get reliant on using it each time u travel with your child. side effects? (i hv a fren who took sleeping pills n slpt for 2 days strat w/o waking up! n it was the doc's prescribed dosage)

now that u mention your child hv these holding breath thingy, my next suggestion to u is, call up the hosp n ask them for advice. like is there anything equipment u can bring on the plane to help your son in case he goes breathless, or call up the airline n ask them if they can arrange medical assisstance in any case that u might need for your child.
i dun know if they hv such services, but no harm tryin.

 

[just4bubs]

I've travelled with my baby on medium haul flights starting from 4 months and in his first year, we had about 3 trips already. If you will be travelling alone with a baby keep in mind:

- have a variety of snacks (biscuits, bread...) to keep him occupied
- have many bottles of milk and water. You need to make sure that he drinks when ascending and descending. Keep in mind that the descending portion starts even before the seat belt sign goes on
- If he takes a pacifer, bring alot of spares along
- Order baby food for him on the flight just in case he gets hungry
- Ensure that you get a bassinet seat. Also make sure that he is within the weight limit to hold a baby
- Think how you will handle him when you need to go to the toilet.
- Bring snacks for yourself on the plane. You will find it difficult to eat if you need to handle him at the same time
- Travel light. You will need a spare hand to carry your luggage as well as handle your little one. Consider how you will pick up your luggage from the carrosel and entering and exiting the plane
- Bring toys he is familar with. Tire him out to get him to sleep if necessary
- Consider if you want him to sleep in the bassinet. If the seat belt sign goes on you will need to take him out leading to an interrupted sleep for him.
- Have plenty of rest yourself. You will probably not get much sleep during the flight
- If your child is used to strangers try getting an air stewardess to handle him while you take a break.

It is difficult to handle a child alone on any flight so be prepared. Presonally, I admire anyone to travels alone with baby. Try to get someone to fly with you or at worst, travel another time. Whatever your choice, anticipate what the situation will be and be prepared for it. Practice as if you're on the plane and always arrive early for the flight.

 

[jtay72]

i am sure that everyone who has posted here are just being helpful. and the advices given may and may not be useful to each individual. for my experiences, i have travelled with my son when he was 5 mths and 18 mths old, on a 24+ hrs long haul flight, not forgetting a 4 hr transit wait. i thought of all the worst possible scenarios before all my flights, but surprisingly, my son was alright..and also both flights, we had understanding passengers who sat near us. but i will say this, be prepared not to sleep at all coz you will be walking up and down the aisle with your baby for most of the flight. bring a baby sling if your baby still fits in it, it helps when you need to walk and pacify your baby during the flight. honestly, if you really have to make this trip, and if your baby is difficult, as you have mentioned, there is really nothing much you can do. 13 hr flight isn't too bad, before you know it, you are already at your destination. my son's PD said babies will be babies, most passengers will understand.