Overnight flight with toddler advice please!!

[Maki]

Hello Lovely ED'ers,

I am going on a v last minute trip with my nearly 2 year old to SA, an 11 hour flight. We won't be taking the buggy which is the only sure way of getting her asleep and as she is under 2 and I am traveling on my own with her we will only have our seat and a bit of floor.

I am now panicking - how on earth am I going to cope for 11 hours with a 2 stone dead weight on my lap? How will I go to the loo?

She has always been a light sleeper and regularly gets out of the habit of sleeping (was awake from 10pm to 5am on Sunday night) and this is something else that concerns me.

Does anyone have any good tips as to how to get her to sleep?? I know she won't sleep if she can see me so I'm bringing a sarong and some double sided sticky tape and pegs!! But I have no idea if this will work in reality and also unless I get a spare seat next to me there won't be any spare room on the floor.. Any other ideas??

I'm bringing a bag full of goodies that she's not seen before in case she doesn't sleep, but given we've a 2 hour train journey to get to the airport first I think most of these things will have been exhausted by the time we get on the plane.

Any tips would be much appreciated!!

[Au'Lait]

Drugs

[Au'Lait]

Kiddy Drugs

[lightweight]

I flew about the same amount of time in the opposite direction with my 21 month old and we weren't allowed to let her sleep on the floor due to 'health & safety' as if the oxygen masks came down, i wouldn't be able to reach to pick her up after i'd put on my own mask. i did try and argue the toss with the steward for quite a while seeing as my daughter had been awake for 9 hours straight and finally fell asleep on the floor, but it was a no go!

[Pickle]

I've also been told that kids can't sleep on the floor. You may be lucky and end up with a spare seat beside you - certainly on Singapore Airlines flights they try to do that if possible when you're flying with a little one on your lap.

[ClaireClaire]

oh dear, this sounds really hard! We've been on a couple of long distance flights to new zealand, and I really don't think I would have been able to cope on my own..... err, sorry, not very helpful info I'm afraid!

The only thing I would say is to ask/beg people to help you, for things like going to the loo, or eating your own meal. The attendants should be willing to try and help you as and when they can fit it in, and there's always someone around who'll take pity on you and hold your daughter while you're eating your meal etc.

Also a good idea to try and check in as early as possible and explain to the staff your situation and hope that they'll try to give you a spare seat for your daughter... I know that you're not entitled to it as you've only bought one, but they may be able to see that it's in everyone's best interests if you can get her off to sleep!

We've relied heavily on movies/TV as well, so maybe that will help you too.

good luck!

Claire

[alieh]

Hi Maki! So nice to see you and sounds like an exciting adventure!

You might be lucky and get a spare seat. Beg and plead for this from the moment you check in, and don't take no for an answer until the very last minute.

I've had the same experience re: sleeping on the floor - this is a no go. Also, I'm afraid, they wouldn't let me rig up a blanket to cover him because apparently they are responsible for him while he's on the flight so need to be able to see that he is breathing, isn't smothered, etc. Not sure if a different airline will be more lenient about this.

With regards to sleep, even a spare seat has not been enough to guarantee sleep for us - you know S and A are very alike in their (non)sleeping ways! I did an 8 hour flight to Canada in the summer on my own and managed to get 1.5 hours sleep with him in the sling. Could you spend the time between now and your flight getting her used to kipping in a sling? Even 30 mins here and there might be enough to save your sanity.

If it were me, I would mentally prepare for no sleep on the flight and then any sleep you do get is a bonus! It is hard, hard work but it does end.

Are you taking a carseat? Because if you get a spare seat they might let you bring on your carseat, so at least you'll have somewhere to contain her and she might even sleep in it??

Will she pay attention to DVDs for any length of time? If so, I would bring a laptop or one of those mini DVD players.

[Helen GV]

I remember one book that entertained well on the last nz trip was a cloth one with a mirror so that G could look at himself! he was 17months at the time (and he still likes looking in the mirror 9 months on..)

have fun, hope it all goes well

[Maki]

Thankyou all so much for the advice!

I should have guessed that H&S would dictate no sleeping on floors anymore.

I guess the way to go is to beg to be allocated next to any spare seats, to take some drugs (for me too!), and not to expect too much. Unfortunatley I have lent my sling to another one of our friends for their hol Alieh!!

It's silly, but I don't fly long haul too much and I find it exciting normally and get really keyed up to try and stay awake to watch as many films as possible snd I'm a bit sad that my stance has now changed so dramatically! Oh well!

The way back will be something else though as we're getting a bus from Heathrow back to Stroud (4 hours). Ha! I must be a little nuts..

[missd]

Who are you flying with? If BA they do a really good car seat type of seat that attaches to the wall (where a bassinet would have gone). We recently flew to SA with our 16 month old and I gave him his milk when we got on the flight and then gave him a dose of calpol before putting him in the seat. Sometimes when I just pat his tummy gently it helps him nod off (if he's in his buggy etc) so I did that and he went to sleep in his seat.

If not BA then I would still recommend a dose of calpol and try to get a spare seat beside you. If you don't seem to ahve one it's worth saying to the air stewardess (once you're seated) that if there are any seats at the back you'd like to move. Sometimes there are some empty seats right at the back so it's always worth trying that

[craigy]

we flew to dubai overnight this time last year with a 2 and a half yr old and although he had his own seat the flight was pretty empty so we had lots of extra seats.. however, the little man did not sleep a wink all night even with drugs(!), just too much going on around him, on several occasions we thought he was going to drop off but he never did! he was very sweet and just sat on our knees watching tv or chatting to the cabin crew... he fell asleep within 5 mins of getting in the car at the other end...

[Maki]

I'm flying with Virgin - does anyone know if they have this car seat thing??

I am all set to beg and plead - I'm even going to dres her up in her cutest outfit to see if that helps our cause!

[Link]

I flew with Virgin to SA when my daughter was 18 months. We could have had the seat attached to the wall but my daughter was too long for the basinnette, they have weight/height restriction. Luckily, the man beside me happily gave up his seat as the plane has lots of empty seats around. I would check on Virgin website for more info just to put your mind at rest. Virgin crew members are generally helpful though.

[alieh]

Maki, do you want to borrow a sling? We have an Ergo and a long gauze wrap thingy (Calin Bleu I think). You are more than welcome to one or both. I could pop in the post if there's time?