OMG! i think i'm crazy! (flight advice please!)

hey guys,

thanks again for the advice. i was initally hoping for korean, but they are fully booked and i even asked the agent for "any day that week or the week after"

on one hand, i thinkt hat the front seats/bulk head would be better as my son can't bother the person in front as much. but as you said the armrests don't go up. so i think that i'll stick with a middle row. it would be great if we get 3 out of 4 seats and then no one sits in the 4th. that way we'd get an entire row. my daughter is small enough that i can rest her on the seat beside me without the bassinet. although i'm going to check seatguru.com to make sure i get the seats that i want.

i just got a double pram for $250 HKD. i can take that up to the gate with me, then check it in there. that should mean that i'll get the pram back at every stop. that way, i'm not carrying either of the kids (it would be impossible with my back). i think that i'm going to take the $ that i would have spent on a new pram and put it towards a new portable dvd so that my boy can watch dvds. i really wouldn't care if he watched them the entire trip... that would make life so much easier for me.

i've already been to toys'r'us to stock up on a few new goodies for him.

i will also stock up on some yummy treats for him for the flight.

thanks for the reminder for change of clothes. i actually hadn't thought of taking some for me until last night when i got a huge baby vomit down my top, between my breasts into my bra... yuck!! after that, i thought... I NEED TO TAKE SOME FOR ME TOO!!

thanks again guys. keep the suggestions flowing!
 
I just did a trip from HK to Canada yesterday. I had my mom help me on the first leg, and the second leg I was on my own. I know for sure that there is a flight from vancouver to regina on air canada. I have one peice of luggage that is lost when I arrived home. My children are age 1 and 3, so from my experience I wish I had a portable DVD player. Several people had them, even adults without children. My 3 year old loves stickers, and sticker books kept him amused for a long time. I agree with the specail treats. Call the airline ahead to request the childrens meal. It is brought out earlier so it gives you a head start on getting your 2 year old fed before your food comes. I had a three hour wait between flights in vancouver and the plane was 1 hour late on arrival, so I had 1 hour and 50 minutes from landing, until my next flight was scheduled to leave. I barely made it. I got to the gate at last boarding call. And my mom had gone ahead of me throught immigration and had all the luggage ready to go for me. Remember that the strollers are brought out last when you take them to the gate. I am almost always in the last group of people to get out of the plane because of that. Luckily my second flight on my own was short, so didn't need a bathroom break on the plane, but I am really not sure how I would have peed myself. I have to lift the three year old onto the toilet, while holding a 1 year old! Maybe the flight atttendates help you, I am not sure. I find that kids did not nap or sleep according to their usual shedules because of all the stimulation and activity going on, so keep that in mind too. I think you just have to go with the flow and let them nap when they feel like it. My three year old was very wound up and would not steetle to sleep on the HK to Vancouver flight, he finally slept at about 1000 Pm and he did not nap at all that day. Normally naps and sleeps hours earlier. I would take up any offers of help that you are given!! Good luck! we had three seats in a 4 seat row and the attendants tried to offer the 4 seat person the 1 empty seat else where on the plane and the woman refused because the offer was not the aisle, I think most people would move though

Good Luck!
 
I second the recomendation for some 'sleepy juice'. Dr Siu at Island Health gives us Atarax. It is an antihistamine which makes hyper toddlers nice and sleepy. Test it before you go, as sometimes it can have the opposite effect. I have also tried Phenergan but found she woke up in a fould mood - probably with a headache.

Good luck
 
re: stroller, pls call the airlineS and make sure that they can take it out at your transits. some can only do when you arrive at your FINAL destination, cos the tag on the stroller says your destination. so pls make sure that you will get your stroller at EVERY transit.

i seriously don't think ANYONE in their right mind would wanna sit next to you when there are other seats available on the plane (LOL). so do call the airlines & check, if the flight isnt full, you can bet that you're gonna get all 4 seats to yourself.

then bring sth for yourself to eat (dry food, like sandwish, crackers, sth cold, non-spill & easy to eat.) when i fly, i cannot eat the tray of hot food next to my child, she'll lean over & knock off everything. i agree with capital, be prepared that little boy won't nap along with his usual schedule. and bring extra milk (is 2 yo on formula?) my daighter refused to eat whenever we fly. over the two 13 hours flight +12 hrs layover (last sept we flew from Vancouver- HK via london with a 12 hr layover) she only drank milk, water & ate fruits. she was already on formula, so i was glad I had a full pack of extra formula in my hand carry. what i did was i transfer the milk to a ziploc bag & clipped it close (so it's lighter) then put it in a "lock & lock" container.
 
thanks guys!
he does drink formula. i was hopinig to break him of this habit and get him to drink regular milk. i was going to try the "oops, mummy forgot"...i was wanting to do this for a couple of reasons.

1) i dont' think they do formula for 2 yr olds in canada
2)saves me the hassle of bottles/nipples/mixing, carrying bags of powder etc.


now i'm starting to think this may be a bad idea...
 
Don't mean to scare you more, but one other thing to think about is getting your husband to write a letter to inform immigration that you have his consent to travel alone with the kids - see http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/before/children_travel-en.asp
There's a sample letter in there that you can copy.

I travelled alone with my daughter to the UK and Hong Kong from Canada and they have checked on a few occasions. The first letter I produced was not notorised/certified and they questioned that too but I just told them I was not aware it had to be notorised. A friend travelling alone with her baby to Vancouver from Hong Kong was detained for a few hours when she arrived because she didn't have a consent letter.
 
thanks, i know about the letter. i had one with me last time and it was computer printed with my hubby's signature. the immig guy in vancouver said that i should have my hubby handwrite it next time.

i guess i'll have to get one notarised...what a pain inthe neck!

thanks for the warning!
 
Regarding milk, they do have formula for toddlers in Canada but you may not find the same type as what you're using in HK. If your newborn is on formula, make sure you take enough for the whole trip. Organic whole milk is so cheap there compared to HK, I would use this!
 
i just talked to my mum and she told me to throw out all the bottles tomorrow. the only time he uses them is for his milk.

so, i'm going to buy a special cup that's "for the airplane" i'm going to start mixing the formula with fresh milk for a few days and then over the next 10 days, switch to only fresh milk from a cup.

hopefully this will prevent any tantrums and it'll be much easier once we are airborne. i'll take the special "airplane cup" with us....
 
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