Flying with a 17 month old.

[JOwen72]

We are flying for the first time with our 17 month old son, to San Diego to board the Spirit for the Baja Cruise. We have some concerns over potential ear problems on the plane and was wondering if anyone has experienced sea sickness in their small children before. Any advice would be soo very helpful! Thank You!

[Irish90Cruiser]

Hi!

 

I've found that giving the child something to suck on helps the most with ear pain/pressure on planes. Either a pacifier or a bottle or depending how old they are a lollipop would work too. We have also given the kids a dose of Benedryl before a flight, if they had a cold and we were worried about the pressure. A flight attendant told us that if you pull down on your ear lobes that can help with ear pain too. My daughter has done it on herself when her ears are hurting and she says it does help.

 

Our middle child doesn't get sea sick but threw up on every single trip we took for the first 7 years of her life - cars, planes, even the Disney bus taking us to the Magic Kingdom :eek:. I always carried ziplok bags (freezer bags are better than storage) and some paper towels because we really didn't find anything that would prevent it. Luckily she outgrew it!

 

Have a wonderful cruise!!

 

Katie

[cb at sea]

Most very young children do not experience seasickness...they are used to being "unstable" and wobbly.....

 

As far as the flight goes...ask your pediatrician what would be good for ear problems...assuming your child has a problem with their ears! Decongestants will certainly help with the flight, if the child does have stuffiness...but your doctor is the one you should ask!!!

[JOwen72]

Thank you so much for your response. Our son is a pacifier boy so that will be a benefit and we already stocked up on lolipops. Thank You!

[RoadTripFanatic]

The pacifier will be a life saver for his ears. I honestly didn't break the habit until after one of our vacations because it helped DD with her ears. Just encourage him to suck on the pacifier. Hold off on it until just as you are taking off and let him have it. Also when you notice your ears starting to feel that pressure when it's close to landing time hand it to him asap! Also a sippy cup is good for this too!! (Just fill it with water after going through security)

 

My biggest piece of advice for flying with a small child is to pack 2 changes of clothing for the flight! One for you and one for him! Make sure you pack them in a ziplock bag so you have somewhere to store the soiled items.

 

DD never had problems with motion sickness when she was little when we cruised.

[Colorado Kat]

When we flew with our twins, we would always carry extra juice boxes for them on take-off/landing. But definitely bring extra clothes/diapers as well. We discovered, that more juice than they are used to will cause diarhea. (Sorry - TMI!)

[sharktums]

My daughter is a frequent flyer and didn't have any problems with ear pain till she turned 3.5 years old. From what I had read online it doesn't usually affect babies and toddlers as much as preschoolers and school age children.

 

We don't usually give her any medicine now unless she also seems a bit stuffy.

[newbiecruiser09]

When our kids were younger w e used these things called Ear Planes. YOu can get them at the drug store. They are like ear plugs and really seemed to help. We found with our DS that sometimes he did not want the pacifier, our couldn't suck it hard enough because he was crying cause his ears hurt.

[JOwen72]

Thank you so much for the advice & tips . . much appreciated!!

[JOwen72]

No not TMI, great reminder!! Thanks!!