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_SMS_ 
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 Topic: 1st time holiday to OZ with baby???
Posted: 16 July 2009 at 3:08pm |
We are thinking of taking a family holiday to Aussy next year around October so DD will be about 18 months.
I have never travelled overseas before so have some questions.
- how do babies go on planes??? Do we need a carseat??
- how do people go about prams etc? take one or buy one???
Also just any general info about flying with kids that i might find useful
Thanks 
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RBsMama
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Posted: 16 July 2009 at 4:29pm |
Hiya
Babies under the age of 2 sit on the adult's lap unless you pay a "child" ticket. Only then can you take a carseat onboard, unless you check it in.
Baby gets the same allowance as the parent and this weight includes a stroller and/or carseat. This is on Air NZ, and it can vary on other airlines. Checking the airlines websites is helpful.
A bottle on take off and landing helps with the ears and that's all the info I really have. I'm sure others will have heaps of helpful ideas 
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JoJames
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Posted: 16 July 2009 at 4:50pm |
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At that age you might decide to pay for a child seat cause she will be very wriggly, we found it hard to have a 6mo on our laps for a 4 hr flight so I could imagine an 18mo would be harder. She will be able to sit on the seat fine I think.
Most airports will let you take a stroller (umbrella type) to the gate, which is so good, and then they will either put it in overhead or stow it in the hold, some airlines will have the stroller right at the door when you get or you will get it from baggage claim.
We didn't have much problem with the ears, I have heard this is because they are getting better at pressurising the cabin,
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Hayzie
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Posted: 16 July 2009 at 7:03pm |
I have found Logan (1yr old) to be pretty good on planes. In fact - on our last trip to South Africa (from London around 9 hours) he was easier to travel with than the guy next to me...(my complaining, smelly husband hehe...)
Seriously though...my advice
- get a cheap stroller - we have taken our mntn buggy before and it just gets messed up
- we took a capsule for car trips and it worked well. If you are renting a car some companies provide car seats. We checked the capsule in (no cost)
- up to you - but I wouldn't get an extra seat
- Like Jo - haven't had any troubles with ears...maybe cos Logan still has a dummy  (I am a big fan of the dummy strap on flights too!)
- Oh - and for an 18monther...food, food and more food!
- One friend I know wrapped little presents for the trip but all Logan needed was food!
Have fun!!
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sadie
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Posted: 16 July 2009 at 7:39pm |
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We took DS to Sydney a couple of weeks ago, he is the same age now as your DD will be when you go.
We just got an infant ticket for him and he sat on DH's lap for the take off and landing. Both directions we were given an extra seat in between us which we parked him on during the cruise time. Definitely ask at check in if they can block out an extra seat for you.
On the way there we could keep our little umbrella stroller to the gate, on the way back we had to check it in - they offered us a loan one though but we declined. Pick up at the other end is with bags - we flew Air NZ.
We had no problems with ears, but did offer water on take off and landing. The BEST investment we made though was a portable dvd player, just a godsend. Kept him nice and quiet for most of the flight, much more occupying for him than the seat back TVs.
For the carseat, we just hired one with our rental car. I suppose we could have taken one, but hiring was so much easier.
Have a great trip x
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kakapo
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Posted: 16 July 2009 at 8:40pm |
We took DS (19 months) to Melbourne last week and I was freaking out about it beforehand. He was pretty good considering the long days - we had a connecting flight to/from Hoki/Chch also. Both ways they gave us an extra seat between us, but he actually preferred to sit on my lap. He spent ages playing with the remote control and watching kids programmes on the TV. Food was also a good distraction, as was a spare extender-belt that he spent ages trying to put together and pull apart. And we let him have his dummy during the flight.
The worst part was midway to Aussie when he had a tantrum and started screaming "PUSHCHAIR boo hoo hoo" repeatedly for several minutes. The problem was he wanted to sleep, but not on my lap obviously! He did eventually sleep on my lap, but I wished we'd *practised* that before the trip - perhaps by going on bus rides around his nap time?
We took our own carseat (checked in) as were being transported around by several different people over the week. They (Air NZ) also let us take our umbrella stroller onboard both ways. A little stroller is perfect for containing a toddler in long queues at check-in etc. Which reminds me, the lovely people at biosecurity in Chch let us skip the massive queue due to having a grumpy toddler  - we had to ask though.
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boys.boys.boys.boys
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Posted: 17 July 2009 at 2:18pm |
Oh yeah, being able to skip all the queues is great!!!
We took the carseat on the plane (got a extra child seat) which we found was great as he was used to sleeping in it in the car so it was perfectly normal for him to sleep nearly the whole way over there and it kept him contained....!!
Only thing we did find was that we took him out of the seat part way over and went for a walk for something to do and he got really airsick  , apparently there is some stuff that you can get to prevent it (cant remember the name!), it didnt happen on the way back though when we left him in the seat. (the seats have to be airline approved)
And, take some of your own food that you know she likes as we found Micah hardly ate any of their food then was hungry later...
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4 boys!! 7 years, 5 years, 2 years and 8 weeks...
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jaz
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Posted: 19 July 2009 at 10:50am |
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We flew to LA and back a few weeks ago with Caleb just under 2. We paid 10% of an adults fare on the provisio that he sat on our knee but there were plenty of spare seats so he had his own seat there are back.
If you can get by with a stroller in Aussie then take it on the plane, its much easier than carrying an 18 month old or hoping they will walk. If you need to take a bigger pram you will need to check it in. We took our bigger pram because we were planning long days out (Disneyland etc) and some bigger walks in National Parks so wanted something Caleb could lie down in and sleep in, as well as something that could take a few knocks.
I would definately take your own snacks on the plane as you can't guarantee they will like or eat what the airlines provides. A bottle on landing is vital to help their ears pop.
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 19 July 2009 at 7:11pm |
how do babies go on planes??? Does depend on the airline as to what you are offered - We flew with Andrew at 3 months and they gave us the seat for his capsule. Last year I flew with Pacific Blue Josh was 18 odd months and they gave me the seat as well, but Josh had to be seatbelted to me with take off and landing.
Do we need a carseat?? If you can't get one in OZ I would take one with you, but check it.
- how do people go about prams etc? I took my umbrella pram and checked it when I flew last year.
take one or buy one??? As above
You will find if they can give you the seat you will get it. I have flown the "budget" airlines before and they were great. I am now flying a premium airline from now one and it will be interesting to see if they are better.
Emma is on her way over to OZ again and is doing research for Oh Baby so keep an eye out for her article.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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lovingmummyhood
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Posted: 19 July 2009 at 7:43pm |
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This is great! I was wondering the same things. We're off to Brisbane 11 Sept and DS will be 12 weeks old.
Sorry to threadjack - was also wondering about time difference and routines?? Is it easier to keep things at NZ time and just sleep, get up etc earlier or somehow adjust him to OZ time? This is of course assuming we have routines sorted by then lol. We're going for 16 days.
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 19 July 2009 at 8:39pm |
 funlvn wrote:
Sorry to threadjack - was also wondering about time difference and routines?? Is it easier to keep things at NZ time and just sleep, get up etc earlier or somehow adjust him to OZ time? This is of course assuming we have routines sorted by then lol. We're going for 16 days. |
E we took Andrew at that age. We found the time difference (2 hours) didn't do anything to him it was more us that had to adjust. We went with time change but with feeding I let him fed when he wanted to.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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tishy
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Posted: 19 July 2009 at 9:09pm |
I've flown domestically and internationally (Ireland) with my DDs and we've always taken the buggy. With the long haul flights we were able to take the buggy to the gate but for the domestic flights we had to check it in. But then I have a dbl stroller so it's bigger.
If I am driving in the car and I want the girls to stay awake I tend to give them an apple to munch on. This works great for us. We are flying to Tauranga at Xmas an this is what I plan to do on that flight with them.
We always take dummys on board as well and dummy straps are a must! Last Xmas , when going to Ireland, we left NZ with 6 dummys and got on our last flight back with just one dummy. Thankfully a kind passenger came running after us with the dummy that had been dropped!
We found sipping on water worked well for takeoffs/landings as well.
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1st time holiday to OZ with baby???
