travelling with a 2 Year old

We recently made a 15 hour flight to the US from Australia.

Here is what I learned:

1. Keep your child ENTERTAINED! A busy baby is a happy baby. Make sure you buy several new, small (and quiet!!!) toys for the plane. We bought a little magnadoodle drawing thingie.

Our little one LOVED this. You can draw and erase a hundred times in 5 minutes. It was infinite fun. A few new small books are great too.

2. Pack LOTS of snacks. and a variety, maybe even including things that are usually a no-no. We saved these for a distraction during melt downs. Plane snacks are usually really bland crackers or nuts, neither of which will go over well for a toddler.

3. If you are travelling with another adult such as a spouse or relative, pass the little one around. Change of scenery helps immensely!

4. Don't hesitate to ask for help from the flight staff. We were given a coloring book and crayons, and they can do things such as heat bottles or they even sometimes have jars of baby food on board.

5. If you have an extremely active/noisy baby and you are terrified that they won't sleep on a long flight, talk to your doctor before the trip about over the counter meds that help with sleeping. We did have to resort to this and it was a life saver. Over the counter allergy meds such as Benedryl have the lovely side effect of drowsiness. ALWAYS OK with your doctor first though! They will give you exact dosage for your child's weight and age.

Hope this helps! I was very scared at the prospect of such a long flight with our toddler, but I survived and retained my sanity as well.

GOOD LUCK with your trip!