Originally Posted by
Petrus
I was told to try and get the baby to swallow during take off, climb, descent and landing to pressurise the ears automatically. That would mean either feeding from mommy or from a bottle. Which leads to the next question:
Breastfeeding? How do people do it? Myself and SWMBO agree that at home or if with our close relatives we're not that concerned about privacy (obviously no need to flaunt it). However, in public it's a different matter.
If in a private seat like 1 A/K or 64A or the row 20 pair no one should really notice the feeding, unless they physically join in the seat...
The loo's are out of the question for obvious reasons
Congratulations on your baby and also on surviving the first few months - it only gets better from now on
I think everyone has to deal with where they are prepared to breast feed - very subjective. Personally I went from hiding in friends' bedrooms to not really giving a stuff where I fed - life is too short to waste it tucked away from other people and I didn't want to use bottles.
I found that if you wore a jumper or T-shirt, rather than a buttoned shirt/dress, that it was really easy to feed without anyone noticing what you were doing. You just lift the jumper, pop baby on and it really looks like you are just cuddling, unless anyone looks closely. (Their problem if they do). I wouldn't have thought anyone would notice at all particularly in J or F, where it isn't crowded.
Definitely feed or use a dummy during landing or takeoff - it really does clear their ears and stops them crying. A saline solution is very good for clearing blocked noses as well, if they get a cold - (water and salt and just a few drops). We travelled extensively with children - did one round the world trip with 3 under 7. Babies are pretty easy to travel with, particularly if breast fed, as you don't have to worry about food - it is there on tap.
We always tried to still keep to a normal routine -within reason of course and difficult with time changes, but quite worthwhile.
When Baby gets a bit older, remember nothing beats paying attention during a flight - however much you might wish to enjoy your meal, or a movie, being prepared to take turns quietly reading or playing games will make the flight much nicer both for you and the people around you. With our youngest now 19 we are really looking forward to travelling on our own, but we did enjoy our "family" trips.