Tips for flying with a baby + Effective technique to settle a child.


You truly realise that it is a small world when you look at our family: mum was born in Russia, dad is Chilean, daughter was born in Australia. Needless to say, our holiday destinations are pretty much already predetermined.  What do you think crossed my mind when I was thinking about flying across the world on my own (hubby had to stay home) with 18 months old toddler? I do not think I could possibly be totally prepared for 56 hours in the air with a small child in compound, limited space. Well, there were a few things that helped me to stay sane and actually enjoy our truly bonding experience. All in all it was not bad at all! Our girl did a very good job!



If your child is well, the chances are you will have a very smooth and peaceful ride with your darling. I suggest a week or so before the flight not to take child to public places if possible, boost their immune system with natural solutions and take them to chiropractor before and after the trip.

*Keeping cool head and positive attitude made me realise how blessed I am to be able to travel with such a young child to see most precious people in the world, to show her completely different "planet" that Russia is with all it's beauty, culture, wild nature and AMAZING food.

* I did get super comfortable: sports pants, and yes, I traveled in my slippers. And of course the MUST: change of clothes for me and a few ones for a baby. I took comfy PJs for her to wear on over night flights.

* You are allowed to bring pram on board with you and pick it up on the way out if you have connecting flight to catch. I did not bother. I just checked it in and receive it at my final destination. I took Ergo baby carrier with me which was fine! It helped her to fall asleep on me while seated on the plane. If I didn't feel like carrying her in between flights, airports had carts for baggage which were quite alright to push around. I had a backpack with all our travel necessities. I am quite a minimalist person and packed exactly what was needed.

* For those who breastfeed, it makes it extremely easy to comfort a child while taking off and landing. Also when they are very tired or generally unhappy.

* Food. This is a tricky one. What to take with you that will not spoil and be attractive enough for a picky toddler. All airplanes offer on board baby food. I took food for A with me. I chose her most favourite things at a time: little sandwiches, pieces of fruits, biscuits, tubes with baby food. She also quite enjoyed eating whatever I was having on the plane.

*To keep  my baby entertained was the most effective strategy for a calm and easy flight. She does not like anything to do with screen, so iPad was not an option. I took a few small objects like plastic letters with magnets. She spent long time placing them in and out of a plastic cup, transferring from one cup to another. I also had a couple favourite small books, magnetic board for drawing, and a comfort toy. She also loved scribbling on a piece of paper with small pencils. I packed a soft ball. There are so many different games you can play with it, it won't roll and it eliminates chances of hurting people next to you. These are all light objects and they do not take much space. Everything was spot on and we got a good use out of all of them. I suggest to purchase these toys before the trip and do not show them until you are on the plane.

NOW there is an incredible simple but amazingly effective massage technique I learnt at work to settle children to sleep. Let me tell you, I was very skeptical of it until I saw an incredible effect that it had on children. It worked like magic, children got settled with in few minutes and most felt asleep right away. So here how you do it: you ask them to lay on their tummy and gently place your hand upon their head if needed. Then applying gentle pressure massage their back by drawing two large circles with the palms of your hands. That's all, folks! Try it!!
I realise it might not be very practical on the airplane, but even if they are resting against you, this massage might help them to settle very easily.

I found this article very useful.

Wish you a bon voyage!! God bless you and keep you safe! Thank you for stopping by!

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2 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing the great tips and linking up at our Tuesdays Travels linky.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pleasure!!! Great to be a part of it!!!

    ReplyDelete

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