Guest Kate10 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi guys, Just a whinge! We are flying out to Perth on Monday and while I am excited to get moving I am just dreading the flight ....will be 28.5 hours from the time we leave Ireland to landing in Perth. Will be 34 weeks pregnant and travelling with my husband and our 2 year old. Just looked at our booking and the plane is in a 3 groups of 3 seats layout, so no chance of a fourth see to allow 2 year old to lie down (has anyone ever had a 2 year old sleep sitting up on a plane??). Plane is pretty booked out too so I think that we have no chance of snaffling another seat. In fact I was told when I rang customer service that nearly all seats are allocated and we can't even sit together!! Hope that this can be sorted out at check in because my lo will want to be with me and managing her by myself while the size of a house will not be fun! Whinge whinge whinge. ...I know this is boring but just dreading it! I suppose the only good thing is is can't possibly be as bad as I am expecting! Thanks for reading! : ) Kate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest popkins Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi guys, Just a whinge! We are flying out to Perth on Monday and while I am excited to get moving I am just dreading the flight ....will be 28.5 hours from the time we leave Ireland to landing in Perth. Will be 34 weeks pregnant and travelling with my husband and our 2 year old. Just looked at our booking and the plane is in a 3 groups of 3 seats layout, so no chance of a fourth see to allow 2 year old to lie down (has anyone ever had a 2 year old sleep sitting up on a plane??). Plane is pretty booked out too so I think that we have no chance of snaffling another seat. In fact I was told when I rang customer service that nearly all seats are allocated and we can't even sit together!! Hope that this can be sorted out at check in because my lo will want to be with me and managing her by myself while the size of a house will not be fun! Whinge whinge whinge. ...I know this is boring but just dreading it! I suppose the only good thing is is can't possibly be as bad as I am expecting! Thanks for reading! : ) Kate. OMG I really don't envy you, we went from Stanstead in London, the plane was pretty full, there were some little kids that slept on the floor at their parents feet on a pillow they'd brought as part of their hand luggage, if it was possible to alter your booking to business class then you'll be so much more comfortable, if not walk around as much as you can, you'll need it in your condition, we barely slept as the seats are so narrow, i hated every minute of the journey, take an extra pillow for your own comfort too, lightweight blankets in your hand luggage and neck comforters & don't forget your flight socks. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kate10 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Thanks popkins! That's really interesting about children sleeping on the floor - I didn't know we'd be allowed to do that! I will definitely bring her a pillow and light blanket. I expect that I will be pretty uncomfortable but to be honest that will be manageable if she sleeps. If she is awake and miserable then the only place she wants to be right now is on my lap ...no room there at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Yes they can lay on the floor but only if the fasten seat belts signs are off. If the plane encounters turbulence and they ask people to belt up then you have to put them back in their seat. When this happened on our flight most toddlers were upset at being moved and started crying. Some people are very intolerant of kids, but most (having been parents themselves) understand. I think I got more stressed/disturbed when I was dealing with my little ones (now 18&20!), than I ever have by anyone elses kids. Having said that in your condition with a little one in tow I would think any decent cabin staff would take pity on you and help as much as they can, just be charming and very grateful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieVixMole Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 You haven't said who you are flying with, that can make a lot of difference to how comfortable you will be on the flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flybyknight Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 get on the plane last. dont speak to the boarding people wait until you are on the plane then chat to the stewardesses. there are usually cancelations, if you get on last the stewards will have the flex to move you. do make sure you're last on though, they can only work with what they see, when all the sheep are in their allocated seats, the stewards can see plain n simple if there is room for your party. im sure they will make the effort for you. just dont fill little one full of E numbers or play up the flight too much. best to be a model 2 year old hehe. good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FatCats Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I bet the flight staff take pity on you, your bump and little one and find you a more comfy seat! Even if there is just one comfier seat, take it. You can always take it in turn with your hubby. Good luck and safe flying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiamilo Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I have every sympathy with you as we are flying out in December and also have a 2.5 year old who is a nightmare on flights and I won't be 34 weeks pregnant! Has she flown before as you might get a nice surprise and she might just sleep in the seat when she is tired. Our older daughter was a star on flights from 18months old and would just fall asleep without any fuss unlike our youngest!! We flew to South Africa earlier this year which was a night flight so we got our youngest ready for bed but then had to wait for her to collapse on me from exhaustion. My advice is not to worry about what other people think and if you think she might be occupied by the films get some childrens headphones for her as they won't keep the ones provided in their ears!! The other option is to get 2 seats together and one seperate and get your husband to sit with your daughter!!! That is the one I might opt for when we go!!!!!:wink: Good Luck with everything. Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 A two year old will be able to curl up in a single seat with it's head on one of the adult's lap. This won't work in a bulkhead seat though because the arm-rests are fixed. I completely disagree with flybynight. talk to the people at the check-in desks about sitting together. They can and will shuffle people about, but they need the time to do it. You may be issued with provisional boarding passes and told to speak to the staff at the boarding gate to pick up your proper ones. If that doesn't work, THEN talk to the staff on the plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerdaisy Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi Kate, I've flown to Aus a few times and there are always a few spare seats. I have always been able to move around and change seats. Hope things go well for ye. I have just applied for parent temp 173 visa and hoping it will not take the 12-15 months that the immigration sites say. Best of luck and try to enjoy the flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flybyknight Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 A two year old will be able to curl up in a single seat with it's head on one of the adult's lap. This won't work in a bulkhead seat though because the arm-rests are fixed. I completely disagree with flybynight. talk to the people at the check-in desks about sitting together. They can and will shuffle people about, but they need the time to do it. You may be issued with provisional boarding passes and told to speak to the staff at the boarding gate to pick up your proper ones. If that doesn't work, THEN talk to the staff on the plane. spose so, i mean what have you got to loose eh! ive just never had any joy doing it that way, but im usually a bloke flying alone, not pregnant with a young un in tow. id have to agree, try both ways! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellybr Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi Kate, We flew with singapore when we came out 6weeks ago. They didn't have the seat we wanted when we checked in London for our boading card as they can't give them to you in Dublin. They block booked out a row for us so the 1yr old got a seat as far as Singapore. Singapore - Perth we had not only the bulkhead but another extra seat for him unfortunatly they split us up with me and bubs down one end and DH and the 4yr old down the other. Aerlingus managed to but us all in different rows. Like who puts a 4yr old in a row on his own! The airhostess were great and got someone to move cause the flight was chocka. I know some people don't agree with it but if you are worried about her going nuts I gave my little fella a little Phenagan a doctor advised me to do it when we lived in New Zealand. It helps when they are about to hit the celling it just makes them a little drowsy so they are better able to sleep. Watch the kids meals they are full of sugar, the choclate brownie the 4yr eat sent him to the moon. Singapore also provide childrens earphones. Good Luck with the flight, my friend came over from the UK when she was 34weeks with a bairly 2 yr old. I think her husband did all the running around after the toddler. Make sure to drink loads of water and look after yourself its a rubbish flight when you aren't pregnant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kate10 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Hi everyone, Thanks a million for all the replies, comments and brilliant advice! Feel a bit encouraged knowing that everyone struggles with kids on long haul but we all survive it! My lo did sleep on a flight to Spain earlier this year but only in my arms which def won't work this time around! We are flying with Singapore so hopefully if I beg and cry they willnput us together! : ) will bring pillow with Dora pillowcase and mini DVD player with multiple Diego dvd's plus drowsiness inducing antihistamine recommended by my gp sister and keep my fingers crossed!! Breaking all the rules of good parenting but anything to get through it!! Thanks guys again for the advice and happy flying! Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest59652 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 good luck - just sit down relax, drink lots of water, follow your dr's advice and go with the flow!!! enjoy the trip - never been to perth heard its very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebrol Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Depending on the airline, they can be quite funny about children sleeping on the floor. Some will allow it and others are total Hitlers about it. I know the dreaded feeling, flying with a 3 yr old and a 9 month old last year, but wasn't as bad as I expected. My 3 yr old did walk around the plane a lot but I thought, she isn't disturbing anyone, surely it has to be better than her screaming because I am trying to confine her to her seat! As others have said most people are understanding, and those that are not - well it is only 1 day-not a lifetime! They'll get over it! My advice about medicine to make your lo drowsy - just make sure they have taken it before and they don't have an altogether different reaction. My friend also recommended phenegan but another friend did this on a long haul and it made her lo hypo - I mean seriously hypo! I am sure they will find you seats together - most airlines are pretty good and we have flown several times and never been seated apart! Good Luck and hope all goes well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabo Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Personally, I wouldn't have let any of my kids sleep on the floor of the plane. Way to dangerous. I have not been on a flight when I have seen a cabin crew let this happen either (Qantas, BA, Emirates) - may be it is discretionary, but I bet no cabin crew wants to stand on a kids head in the middle of the night. All of our kids happily slept upright - economy seats are kiddie equivalents of business class seats. And most kids will watch telly until they fall asleep. Try your drowsy drugs out on the kid before you fly. My 2yo went hyper. He kept the cabin entertained for a few hours before it wore off. Left us time to deal with the 6 month twins in bassinets with a passenger between mum and dad on the bulkhead. Happy days!:wubclub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieVixMole Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Depending on the airline, they can be quite funny about children sleeping on the floor.Travelling from Europe to Australia you will cross through 3 jet streams - bands of very fast moving air that cause turbulence that cannot be accurately predicted - and the inter-tropical convergence zone - which produces enormous clouds called cumulonimbus, aircraft avoid these whenever possible as they are incredibly powerful but sometimes, despite weather radar, they can't be detected. In 99.9% of flights the turbulence will be no more that light jolting but in some cases it is severe and people get injured, those people are the ones who don't wear their seat belts all the time while they are seated. A child sleeping on the floor is at a risk so most airlines don't allow them to sleep on the floor. As Fleabo points out it is also dangerous as you do risk your child being injured by another passenger, most Europe to Australia flights are during a natural sleep period for a large part of the flight, the lights are kept low and all the blinds are down even when it is daylight outside to aid sleep. On such flights I've lost count the number of times I've tripped over a leg or piece of rubbish close to the aisle. Most airlines now issue low-powered torches to their crew so they can see, passengers aren't so lucky and some may be less steady on their feet a few hours in :wink: Apart from that, the carpet on aircraft floors is washed about once every 12 months, the rest of the time the cleaners give it a quick once over with the hoover, they are filthy :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Well, we've flown lots of times with young'uns. In fact, when we moved to Aus our now-7 year old was two and a half. Start right away lobbying for 3 seats together, preferably 3 in the outboard rows. Most airlines only pre-book a certain percentage of seats and keep others to allocate at check in. If you can't persuade them to pre-book you, turn up at the airport really early and try again at check in. If check in can't help, try at the gate--and try the flight attendants as a last resort. I don't see the hazard with the child sleeping on the floor so long as only your family is in the row. Keep the child well in from the aisle and nobody else is there. Except when the seatbelt lights are on we've never once been queried by flight crews on doing this and we've been on Air New Zealand, Singapore, Thai, Turkish, US Airways (never again), Air Canada (never, never again) and several others at various times. Now the controversial bit. I don't know how you fell about medicine but, years ago, we asked our GP (who was a family man who travelled a lot) and he recommended a sleeping potion for kids. His choice was a prescription one called "Vallergan" which is actually an antihistamine but one actually endorsed to help kids sleep as well. Five mil or so at dinner time had the young one sleeping like, er, a two year old an hour later and even coping with moving up to the seat with his head on Daddy when the seat belt light came on. The result was a child who received compliments from flight attendants and fellow passengers...and who was far less affected by jet lag than the grown ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Some kids do react badly to phenergan though- I remember ours did. We take lots of stuff like lego etc when we travel with young kids ( grandchildren these days) Could you not stop off en route? Overnight in Singapore, for example or even Dubai or wherever. Did you have to get a dr's cert to be allowed to fly? - I am not being nosy but I remember having to do this and I was only going on a 2 hour flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supa Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 If you can get a window seat then do. My OH and daughter were split from me and our son (then 4). We sat in a middle row of 4 with Emirates and when the couple (who were probably early 50's) sat down next to us and saw that they would be sitting next to a 4 year old, they offered to swap with my OH, especially as the trade-off was a window seat. My advice would be that when you first to sit down put your little un down next to the fellow traveller - people will suddenly start to be happy to move, especially if the child is crying - I know I would. Being split up isn't always bad though as you can take turns looking after the child while the other gets a rest rather than him/her climing from one lap to the other all the time. I would echo OP and say that we always get on as late as poss, not least of which because you are going to be on the plane for long enough as it is and the kids get bored even before you take off. The downside of course is you may have a bit more trouble finding space for the hand luggage. Many airlines won't change your seats once you have checked and will only do so when you arrive at the airport, so if this is the case, don't check-in online because it's more difficult/impossible to change once you've done it. Always wear/put your child in easy-to-remove shoes as you will probably have to take them off in security both in the UK and the stopover place (Dubai, Bankok etc). It's all a bit of a slog unfortunately but you just have to get on with it. I liken it to childbirth, you have to go through it to get what you want. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarby Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hi, We flew with Singapore Airlines to Perth recently and the 9, 6 and 4 year old all fell asleep on the seat just snuggled up, but also if you are going with Singapore Airlines they have a swimming pool in the airport that you can use its $13.00 each and you get a towel and showers, I took swimming cossies for us and a bag to put the wet costumes in and a change of clothes, we only had 4 hours in Singapore but it flew by and had a great swim and used up lots of energy then showered them and got them changed for the next leg of the flight so it worked great. Hope this helps, Celia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Some kids do react badly to phenergan though- I remember ours did. We take lots of stuff like lego etc when we travel with young kids ( grandchildren these days) Could you not stop off en route? Overnight in Singapore, for example or even Dubai or wherever. Did you have to get a dr's cert to be allowed to fly? - I am not being nosy but I remember having to do this and I was only going on a 2 hour flight. Yup. I had a daughter who reacted badly to Phenergan. Vallergan is very different. It's a prescription drug (in the UK...it's a "pharmacist medicine" in Aus) so you can get your doctor's advice when you ask for it. As I said, it was strongly recommended by our UK GP who used it on his own kids when travelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hi, We flew with Singapore Airlines to Perth recently and the 9, 6 and 4 year old all fell asleep on the seat just snuggled up, but also if you are going with Singapore Airlines they have a swimming pool in the airport that you can use its $13.00 each and you get a towel and showers, I took swimming cossies for us and a bag to put the wet costumes in and a change of clothes, we only had 4 hours in Singapore but it flew by and had a great swim and used up lots of energy then showered them and got them changed for the next leg of the flight so it worked great. Hope this helps, Celia Just to say you don't need to be flying with Singapore airlines to take advantage of the airport facilities in Singapore like showers and pool, hotel rooms etc. Just pay the fees. Singapore airport is great though with lots for kids like play areas and a butterfly garden etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 I totally understand where you are coming from with the stressing out about the flight, but really it will be over before you know it. All you can do is try and keep your lo distracted. It is a long flight, but just imagine that you were at home for a whole day. You would find plenty to do, just translate that to the flight. Lots of colouring in and drawing, I gave our eldest a little wrapped present for every hour that she had been good (just a little 50p/1GBP toy or magazine). I took chocolate and biscuits and all of the things that they shouldn't eat (plus some fruit), my reasoning being that if she didn't want to eat plane food (which she didn't), at least she was having something which would stop her from getting grumpy with hunger. Don't worry about other people on the flight. With the engine noise, no one but the few people directly around you will hear your lo even if screaming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibella Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 We flew when I was 28 weeks pregnant & my kids are older 9 and 5, but we stopped over in Singapore for 3 nights which was the best thing we could have done. I hate flying on a good day, so being pregnant I was dreading it as I couldn't take any medication. Don't bother taking a blanket and pillow as these are provided on the flight. Remember your flight socks and doctors letter that you're able to fly - I had to have one at 28 weeks. Ring the airline before to organise your seats - we tried to book seats online but there was a problem with their website and they helped us over the phone. Then go to the airport EARLY and sort out seats together. Also Singapore Airlines let people with kids go on the plane first (after first / business class) and I liked this because we could then settle the kids and have enough space in the overhead lockers. My kids are TV addicts and each seat has their own so they just watched movie after movie and then eventually fell asleep on top of each other with the arm rests up. I didn't even let them sleep without their seat belts nevermind on the floor as the turbulence was quite bad and I wasn't going to take a chance. I can't sleep on a plane so I walked on the spot a lot and drank lots of water and went to the loo often - which is the best thing to do when you're pregnant. Don't sit still for too long and rather let your little one lie on your husband's lap otherwise you might end up sitting still for too long. I also sucked a lot of ginger sweets. Also if you are hungry between meals ask - they will bring you some sandwiches & fruit. I found this helpful as the meals were not really filling enough for pregnant me!! Also when you get to Perth make sure you get plenty of rest. Even with our stopover it felt like I was moving for about 2 weeks afterwards! I even went to the dr but she just said plenty of rest and water and eventually it went away. Good luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.