My son just slept through his 40th flight, and that wasn't by accident. This is extremely common for our 15-month old, but there are things I do to make it happen.
Scheduling Your Flight
People say to schedule your flights around your baby's nap schedule, but that just is not realistic. Flight delays happen, cancellations happen, sometimes the cheaper flight is at dinner time. We just have to make it work. This is not an area to plan and stress around because there are too many unknowns in the travel day. Let's look at areas that you have control over. I'll break this down for you by morning flights, daytime flights, and night time flights.
Morning Flights (Before Breakfast and Normal Wakeup Time)
Early morning flights are sometimes the way to go - you get to your destination with time to explore, you aren't spending the entire day traveling and sometimes it is just the only option. With a baby, this can seem complicated, but it doesn't have to be. Here are my top tips for an early morning flight:
Wake your baby at the very last minute - the car is loaded, everyone is ready, and now we are just doing a quick transfer to the car to get to the airport. Have a bottle ready to go for your little one to go right back to sleep in the car to the airport.
At the airport your child will likely wake up. This might be before their normal wakeup time, but don't panic. This should work out well for you. There is so much going on at the airport and their little brains are going to be stimulated. Have items ready for them in case they decide this is the moment for a meltdown. The last thing you want is to try and go through TSA with a screaming baby or toddler. Do they have a favorite stuffy? Hand it to them. Do they want an extra bottle? Fill it up. Do they like a little snack bar? Hand it over. This is not the time to be stingy with rules or structure.
Try to keep them awake at this point until you are on the plane. Go walk around and look at things. Talk about what is going on at the airport. Go change their diaper, put them in day time clothes. I would absolutely not push this if they are so tired they are crying. If that is the case, let them go back to sleep and enjoy your quiet morning in the terminal.
Once you are on the plane, it is time to get organized and ready. Have a blanket handy in case it is cold. Have a full bottle ready to go for take off. If they are awake, let them play and talk and look at things. If they are already asleep, great work - you are on your way to a successful sleepy flight.
Daytime Flights
1. We start our day like normal. I'm keeping breakfast, wake up times, etc. on track.
2. Try to get outside to play. Do something new. Check out a new park, take a new route, bust out a new toy. Let them explore and play hard. This is the time to extend that wake window if you can. For example, my son usually naps at noon, but if we have a 2:00 flight I am pushing that as far as I can.
3. Airport time - germs are nasty, but inevitable. I bring toys for my son to sit on the floor and play with. I let him climb up and down the chair 17 times. I let him crawl from one side of the row to the other. I let him walk when we aren't in a hurry.
4. Food - make sure your baby or toddler is well fed and not hungry at all. Give those little ones snacks. Make sure they eat lunch and dinner and breakfast.
5. Plane Time - once we finally get on the plane, it's still play time until that sucker takes off into the air. I let him play with toys, pull all of the pamphlets out of the back seat and put them back in, etc. As soon as we start taking off, I have him on my lap with a FULL bottle ready to go. This is when the magic happens.
6. Take off - I hold my guy close, give him little kisses on his forehead, and let him have his baba laying down in my lap. This usually does the trick, he's asleep by the time we are at 10,000 feet.
Nighttime Flights
Honestly, nighttime flight routines are not much different from our daytime routine - I just extend the wake window on the nighttime end. The trickiest part of nighttime flights is once you actually get to your destination, your baby thinks they have just had a nice nap. They might be awake for a little bit while you settle down and are beyond ready for bed. Focus on dim lights, soft music, reading books, having a bottle, etc.
Flying Routines
These routines work 85% of the time. 15% of the time, he is awake and that's just how it goes. Keep them busy, keep them fed, keep them hydrated. Godspeed.
Comments