2 Questions!

[Madelaine]

How long after your interview did you receive your offer. They told hubby after interview that they want him and will get offer to him and they have confirmed through the recruiter that they still want him and are working on the offer, but we are still waiting it has been about 3 weeks now! How long can it take, really! They are probably not as excited as we are!

Other question - after driving to JHB from Cape Town with my 18 mnt and 5 yr old I am already stressing about the very long flight. You probably dose them!

[Nats123]

Hi Madelaine,

I received my offer the very next day!

3 weeks sound a bit long in my opinion. What do they need to finalise for such a long time?

Is there any way to contact the employer?

Nats

As for the kids I am not sure hey? I have the same issue - my two are 3 and 8. Not really concerned about my 8 year old because I knwo she can keep herself entertained but the 3 year old hhmmmm

[Jordy]

We have an 18 month old. She has learnt the art of throwing tantrums when frustrated, so definitely going to the paed for drugs.........

[Johnsons]

We have a just turned 1 year old.. worried about the long flight too.. but I'm sure it'll be fine, so many have done this before us !!!

[milo]

Have heard that if you have a flight late at night, you let them have a midday nap and then keep them awake until you've said your goodbyes. Apparently they fall asleep before you hit customs!!

Wishing you all a peaceful flight!

[Rose and Terry]

My little boy will be three by the time we go. I am worrying about the fact that he only drinks Goat's Milk (4 bottles a day) and I am worrying about the technicalities of getting there with enough milk and where I will find when we get there (Perth), bearing in mind that milk is one of the thinks that customs is sticky on...not to mention, keeping it cold etc.....

Any thoughts on this, other than trying to wean him off before we leave?

Rose

[Nats123]

Gees Rose I have the same problem !

We have now started enforcing that he only has a bottle of milk when he goes to bed and then again "When the sun comes up".

A friend suggested that we start diluting the milk bit by bit with water so that is starts tasting less pleasant.

We are going to give it a go this week!!!

[Gizmo]

I am also worried about the plane trip. We have a two year old, but she will be three by the time we go.

I guess the answer is to get an overnight flight (not a daytime one), and take with lots of activities.

Oh and don't forget the sweeties that you can use to bribe them into good behaviour!

Edited January 14, 2008 by Gizmo

[Monica_]

Hi Madeleine

I have a 4 and 6 year old. They each had a backpack, and I bought each some toys. For my son, stuff that he could build, a lego robot etc, and my daughter a miniature doll house with furniture, bought it at the crazy store. The secret is not for them to see it untill on the flight. That is the tricky part, but then in the same breath I must say, that they hardly played with any of the toys. Quantas gave each child a little bag with crayons, colouring book etc., and all the latest movie releases was on the plane. We all watched movies, and before we knew it, the flight was over. The kids managed to sleep the whole night, not the parents though... I did not even have to give my kids mootie.

The problem we had with our son though is that he could not equalize, and was really in a lot of pain, especially decending to Sydney (have to add, we did have bad weather), and then also flying to Brisbane. I completely forgot to take some gum or chewies with, so if I can make a suggestion, take some illadin and chewies with.

And another thing, both the kids and I got airsick. Just make sure that the little bag is handy with decending. It all sounds horrible, but in general we had a very good flight, and it was not half as bad as it sounds.

Good luck.

Cheers

Monica

[Polyanna]

The problem we had with our son though is that he could not equalize, and was really in a lot of pain, especially decending to Sydney (have to add, we did have bad weather), and then also flying to Brisbane. I completely forgot to take some gum or chewies with, so if I can make a suggestion, take some illadin and chewies with.

Babies could also suck their dummies to help with this and older kiddies can suck good old lollipops

Edited January 14, 2008 by Polyanna

[SueB]

I'm in the same boat, our kids will be 4 and 2,5 when we go, but I don't think there will be problems. When we went over for our LSD, the other kids on the plane were well behaved and probably slept better than the adults

Just a hint if you get medicine for the flight - it doesn't work for all kids so try it before you fly. Otherwise you might end up with some hyperactive kids instead. I asked my friend (she's a doctor) and she said if something like Ponstel doesn't make your kids sleep (makes mine stay awake!!) then what the paed will give you probably won't work either.

Hope you get that offer soon

SueB

My little boy will be three by the time we go. I am worrying about the fact that he only drinks Goat's Milk (4 bottles a day) and I am worrying about the technicalities of getting there with enough milk and where I will find when we get there (Perth), bearing in mind that milk is one of the thinks that customs is sticky on...not to mention, keeping it cold etc.....

Any thoughts on this, other than trying to wean him off before we leave?

Rose

My son is also still on a bottle and my plan is to try and find an Aus equivalent via the Internet before we go. I'm sure your son can manage the flight without a bottle, although if he has allergies you could also consider requesting special meals for him on the flight.

Hope you sort something out

SueB

[Michele R]

My little boy will be three by the time we go. I am worrying about the fact that he only drinks Goat's Milk (4 bottles a day) and I am worrying about the technicalities of getting there with enough milk and where I will find when we get there (Perth), bearing in mind that milk is one of the thinks that customs is sticky on...not to mention, keeping it cold etc.....

Any thoughts on this, other than trying to wean him off before we leave?

Rose

Hi Rose.

I don't know if this might help, but you can contact the airline you're flying with and try to organise him some milk for the flight. I'm vegetarian, but also have a dairy allergy, and I was told I just need to phone them and try to organise a special meal for me. The plus side to this is, you get your food first!

I've asked about milk replacements in Aus, and it sounds like they have a wide variety of products available.

Hope this helps!

Michele

[Guest Bronwyn]

Hi there

I flew alone with my daughter to England when she was 18 months old, and I got some meds from the GP to calm her down and make her sleep. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect and she screamed and ran around the plane the whole night - totally out of character. She was actually grabbing food out of other people's trays and eating it

I would say if you want to try some calming medicine definitely give it a test run first!

Secondly, I found out after my return that she had major blockages in her ears, and couldn't equalise on the plane. Due to pain in her ears she really performed on landing. She was screaming and trying to claw her way out of the window, it was so upsetting, and everyone looked at me as if I was a bad mother!!!

Maybe you can just have your child's ears checked before you go, my daugher needed grommets urgently and I didn't know! To this day she has bad scarring in her eardrums and every doctor she has seen since, has commented on it. She is now 12, but still has painfull ears on take-off and landing.

Other than that, make sure they have something to suck or chew (like a bottle or a few non-sugar suckers) this will help a bit.

Regards, Bronwyn

Edited January 14, 2008 by Bronwyn

[odelia]

Hi there

I flew from Wellington, New Zealand to visit family in SA. My boy was 1 year old and my daughter 2 and a half. I flew alone as I was home sick and couldn't wait for my husband to get leave. The flight from Wellington to Sydney took 4 hours. Then there was a 2 hour wait and a 14 hour connecting flight from Sydney to JHB. The flight from Wellington took off at 6 am NZ time. Needless to say, by the time we had to board my son was crying, he was strapped on to me in a pouch and i dragged my daughter by the hand. I got Vallegran from the GP, which I believe is the strongest you can get. I decided to only give it to them on the Sydney JHB flight as it is quite strong.

As we were in the departure terminal, my boy screamed. Passengers started looking at me. i decided to stare them down. SO, if people started looking at me, I stared back until they looked away. In the plane he settled with his bottle. in Sydney i asked for assistance and the crew were always very nice.

On the flight to JHB I decided to give the drugs. My daughter passed out and fell into a fitful sleep, waking every few minutes, (we sat at the front with the bassinet so the arm rests couldn't be adjusted.) My boy was like a buffalo, he didn't want to go down. Every time i thought he was asleep, his head would come up out from the bassinet and he would howl, I gave him another dose. He didn't sleep much. Eventually i gave him to male passenger who stood in front of me to stretch his legs and asked him to rock him to sleep. He kindly obliged and he fell asleep as we descended!

At JHB we got assistance again and we got through first. My family was exstactic to see us, the only problem, my children were drugged up and only woke up properly when I was exhausted and wanted to sleep.

My advise, no drugs, lots of entertainment, ie books, pencils, etc, sit at the back where the arm rests can be adjusted so that they can sleep on your lap.

I am dreading the flight to Melbourne as hubby will probably leave before me but am trying to convince him otherwise.

Good luck, i just kept saying to myself, this is like labour, you will get through this!

[OZSAFFER]

Hi Madelaine!

1) Waiting 3 weeks for an offer is not unusual. I waited about 5 weeks from the date I was interviewed. Keep the faith - if they said they are working on it - they probably are. You didn't mention if sponsorship is involved or not, because if it is, they probably want to comply with some legislative requirements before they make the offer.

2) My wife will be flying out on 10 Feb from JHB to SYD with our 3 1\2 & 1 1\2 year olds. If Dennis the menace has a female version - my youngest daughter is it. Suggested to my wife to see the paedeatrician for some to assist the cause.

Will inform you of the outcome.

Cheers

Nick

[Mara]

Goats Milk in Australia - available at any Woolworths, Coles or Safeway supermarket at around $4-25 per litre, pretty expensive. I use it daily as I have a problem with dairy milk.

[Nilo]

Just an idea for the mommy's with children, I heard that if you hold cups (plastic ones like the ones they give you on the plane) to cover the ears it makes decending much less painful. Don't know if it really works but worth a try.

[sa2auz]

Hi there

Most flights from Jhb to/via Sydney are night flights leaving SA around 5:50pm. I ordered Gluten free food so we got served about an hour before everyone else so that was great. My eldest son gets car sick so I went to the chemist and asked for some travel sickness medicine and he gave me some great stuff that also makes them drowsy but not zonked. They turned the lights off on the plane around 11pm and my eldest son went straight to sleep. The little one was so excited about the remotes, telephone, the socks etc he could have stayed awake all night. Once I told him everyone was asleep and we had to sleep, he slept until we landed. I would suggest taking a few toys that can get lost if they fall between the seats or something, maybe a sticker book or two. Also take a emergency bag, toothbrush, deo, undies etc, tons of people I know have been delayed for like 30 hours. Another thing my eldest son was petrified of the toilet on the plane so maybe you need to make the whole thing really exicting and buy an aeroplane picture book or something that you can help them understand if they are old enough. Also the chewy stuff is important it help my kids with the taking off and landing.

Good Luck all, don't stress you will all be fine.

[Rose and Terry]

Goats Milk in Australia - available at any Woolworths, Coles or Safeway supermarket at around $4-25 per litre, pretty expensive. I use it daily as I have a problem with dairy milk.

Thanks Mara, that's a relief.

I think we will definitely have to start weaning off at that price. We won't be able to get off it completely as he doesn't tolerate cow's milk either, but we will have to cut down from a litre per day.

[DeonJ]

Regarding the flight with the kids, I got the following advice from people that went over with a 7 year old and 3 year old. The wife was on her own with the kids as the husband went over earlier to settle.

They booked a flight on Malaysian airlines. The flight to Kuala Lumpur was during the night, about 12 hours and then their connecting flight to Brisbane was only in the evening the following day. The airline booked them into a hotel for the day. Thus mommy and the kids could rest and strech their legs from the morning for the whole day and got onto the flight to Brisbane early evening again flying through the night and arriving in Brisbane in the morning.

It may be a few hundred rand more expensive (not really), but atleast you get there relaxed. Singpore Airlines also do it. Just ask the travel agents about it.

My wife and I discussed the IOM option of 40kgs per person, but it is going to be very difficult for her to handle 120 kgs of luggae and a 5 and 3 yearold on her own. I am also going earlier to setup home before they arrive. Thus if you don't want the 40kg luggage, then you can use the option of the stay over.

Don't know if it will work for everybody, but it did work for our friends and we sure as hell are going to try it.

For those husbands that might do the same and fly out first, Emirates offers quite a cheap option aswell. Then you can save the money to pay a bit extra for the wife and kids to have a more pleasant journey. Just remember Emirates is a very long haul.

Edited January 15, 2008 by DeonJ

[Jordy]

This thread is why I love this forum...... just nice caring people sharing helpful info with others.

Good on ya Mates!!!!!!!!!!!

[Madelaine]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies, I will cover all bases covering bribery, Vallegran and everything in between!

About the offer, they finally made one and we accepted, hopefully we will in Perth in a couple of months! Looking forward to meeting people on the forum living there!

[SueB]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies, I will cover all bases covering bribery, Vallegran and everything in between!

About the offer, they finally made one and we accepted, hopefully we will in Perth in a couple of months! Looking forward to meeting people on the forum living there!

That's fantastic!! We are also going to Perth in a 457 sometime in March/April, so we might see you there

SueB

[andrea_vk]

Hi, I have been flying with my son alone since he was a baby. He is now 3. I rarely had a problem with him, and never gave him medicine. I think when he was a baby I gave him Calpol a couple of times but did not do anything. I heard some people give them Stop Pain (or something similar), but when I went to get tit the chemist asked me if I really wanted to give that to my son.

He has been very good, he gets entertained with the phones and sleeps. I must say sometimes you must just go for a walk around the plane many times, but you cannot expect the child to sit still for so long. And if you are lucky you get friendly passenngers that entertain your child if he/she is ok with strangers.

I flew during the day and at night. I did have a problems sometimes when he was a baby with the ears, but remember to give dummy or bottle, and should be okay.

He loves planes now. Maybe you can buy books as suggested or planes (toys) to get used to. And In general in all flights I have been all children behave well.

Also he loves taking his own rucksuck and helping me with a small suitcase. It makes him feel important.

As for milk if they drink the milk powder (NAN, Nido or whatever) take lots of milk powder and just ask the airhostess for hot or cold water. They will rinse bottles for you also. They also have normal milk in the plane. I am not sure about the goat milk.

The toilets are a bit uncomfortable to change nappies, but if he had only a wet nappy I changed it in the baby cot or in the seat.

Good luck and do not stress. Remember children realise when you are stressed and it is worst.

Andrea

[Dan Tanne]

Interesting things on this thread. thanks everyone for the input.

We fly out on Wednesday via Sydney (to Melbourne) and will be flying with a 7 year old, a 5 year old, and an 18 month old.

My 18 month old has also started the tantrum stage, but we going to give her 10ml of Stopayne (as we know it works for her).

Not really looking forward to the trip over especially after all the tears at the airport, but as has been said above, we will get through it. Time moves on.