2 Questions!

[MelbournePienaars]

Just my 2 cents worth... we have a 2 year old and we have flown with her since she was 5 months old on 6 international trips, all over 8 hours - the longest being 14 hours direct back to Dubai.

We had one trip where we landed up in the bassinet seats but the couple next to us's little one was not a happy camper and literally screamed the whole way back, porr baby she was not well. Poor Chaeli-Jade kept getting woken up by either the screaming babs or the parents bumping her bassinet to sort their little one out (they were doing the best they could and it was the first time any of them had flown internationally - so they were all a bit nervous) or due to turbulence. When we eventually landed back in Dubai she was a mess. Truly - have never seen the child in such a state! I was crying, she was crying, didnt know what had hit her.

I decided then, it was more unkind for me to give her nothing, than to get something which knocks her out - she has her sleep and wakes up happy camper the other side. It took her a week to get back into routine and to her normal self. It was very hard as she has been the easiest most darling child - temperament wise. The lack of sleep & constant interruptions to her sleep just wrecked her bodyclock. For other trips we got something i think called Pediclorol on our India trip -worked a charm, but get it prescribed with correct dosage.

I say, if you can get something - get it. BUT like someone else said sometimes these things do the opposite - so try it at home first, have heard some horror stories of it doing the opposite and causing them to get hyper.

Also - just remind yourself that you will have grumpy folks on the flight not happy to be near toddlers or babies. You just do the best you can and let their grumpiness be just that - theirs :-) Sometimes their ears hurt or they are just confused or whatever and you just do the best you can to calm them down. At the end of the day you will get there and start your new life there and it will all be in the past.

All the very very best for your family!!

[ronfire]

Just felt I had to add my two cents'. My boy is 3 now, and we've been flying with him since he was 1. Dec 2007 was the first time he flew without diapers and we had bit of a problem with the toilets on the plane....until he asked us not to flush....poor chap! The flush IS a bit noisy inside a tiny box when you're just 3! So, we both made it a point to let him finish up, send him to the other parent and flush once he was out of earshot.....he was absolutely fine after that!

My recommendation - get a night flight. Much easier to get them to go to sleep. We used ear plugs on him for the take off and he was fine. Day flights - big problem, cos kids like to move around a lot. Not very feasible in economy class! Also, do an online checkin as soon as this opens (24 hrs before the flight) - if the airline permits - and you can pick the seats you want.

We're probably going to fly to Perth on Emirates, with a stopover in Dubai. It's the best fare I've seen so far, plus you can check in online without any trouble! (Also, lotsa flights!)