Oz with a 1 year old

[netty.m]

I am going to be flying to australia with 2 children ( 2 and 1 year olds). I am not that worried about the 2 year old but I am dreading the flight with the 1 year old. I have booked a flight cot but have been told he will be too big.

Has anyone done a long flight with small children and have you any tips for remaining sane.

[jno]

If he starts to howl during takeoff or landing, it's because the change in air pressure is hurting his ears. Try giving him something to suck on, which helps counteract the effect. But in general, he won't know he's flying. He'll just eat and sleep and fill up nappies much as he does at home, and his much shorter sleeping/waking cycle means he shouldn't suffer from jetlag so much. It's just you who will have much less room to cope in (and a 2-year-old on your spare hand).

[HM]

We went to Florida with my sister and her 16 month old daughter at Christmas.  We didn't know how she would be on the flight but she was an absolute angel.  However, we packed small Christmas presents in our hand luggage (books, milky buttons etc) so if she started to get bored we gave her a present to unwrap.  This kept her entertained for a while, then she'd play with her new pressie for quite some time.

Hope that may help

[RevShirls]

My wee girl is 19 months now and the flights we make are really just a couple of hours long (between Sweden and Scotland), but I always have to have a bottle of milk/v�lling/juice handy for take off and landing to cope with the pressure in her ears. According to my doctor, the ear pressure is more severe for wee ones. My wee girl is not happy with a cup for flights. She prefers a babybottle so she can suck and drink at the same time (just as jno suggested).

[jno]

Re sanity, Rescue Remedy calms fractious babies, and seems to work for adults too... but as a parent you probably know that already.