brunton@hplabs.UUCP (R. Scott Brunton) (01/03/84)
My wife and I will be taking our 4 week old son with us on
a trip from San Francisco to Toronto next week. The flight is
about 5 hours long.
I would appreciate any tips on how infants react to pressurized
aircrafts and how best to deal with it. The only advice I have
received so far is to feed the baby during ascent and descent.
I also found out from Air Canada that they have bassinets that
fix themselves into the bulkhead of the plane. Unfortunately, these
particular seats (on a 767) are located in the smoking section only!
I was so upset by this that I fired off a heated letter to Air Canada.
Has anyone else had similar experiences? In addition, they do not
confirm that a bassinet will be there for you. It's merely a request
that you submit.
The first of probably many battles as a new parent,
Scott Brunton {ucbvax!hplabs!brunton}burton@fortune.UUCP (Philip Burton) (01/05/84)
On our first air trip with our daughter, then five months old, she "pooped"
just as we were about to take off. A real messy one, as any experienced
parent knows.
I grabbed the first thing in sight, to stow the dirty Pamper. (By the way,
Huggies beat Pampers hands down. One man's opinion.) It was a barf bag.
It sealed up nicely and was waterproof and helped keep the smell in.
Moral: Scour the plane for barf bags. We used them everytime we were not
in the house and needed to change our daughter, and now our son.
Good luck on the flight.
--
Phil Burton, Fortune Systems:
-- (415) 595-8444 x526
-- 101 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City, CA 94065
-- {allegra,ucbvax!amd70,cbosgd,harpo,hpda,ihnp4,sri-unix,VisiA}
!fortune!burtonajs@hpfcla.UUCP (01/08/84)
#R:hplabs:-210700:hpfcla:32700002:000:1201 hpfcla!ajs Jan 6 10:21:00 1984 We've taken our daughter on a couple of plane trips already and she's not even eight months old yet. I've noticed her being a little uncomfortable on the way down, but feeding and holding helps a lot. On the way up she seems to "depressurize" nicely, especially if I hold her at the window and let her get all excited looking out. The biggest problem is getting an extra seat so you have some room. Of course kids fly free until they're two years old (on most airlines), so you're not "entitled" to anything. Sometimes if you get to the check in counter early and ask nicely, AND if the flight isn't close to full, you can get them to "block" or "hold" the seat next to you (those are the proper terms they use). This means they give it out last, so if the plane leaves less than full you MIGHT luck out. (Sometimes they say "sure" but don't actually block it, watch out.) Having the extra seat makes a world of difference, especially if you are served a meal. After about six months old, little kids get VERY grabby! Happy [con]trails, Alan "Diapers AGAIN?" Silverstein PS: Yup, if you must use disposables, Huggies are nicer than Pampers and cheaper too.
bhyde@inmet.UUCP (01/10/84)
#R:hplabs:-210700:inmet:18800002:000:202 inmet!bhyde Jan 8 19:20:00 1984 On one of my holiday flights the ride was very bumpy, the two children in the seat in front of me you would say "weee!" during each bump. It made me feel very dumb for getting so uptight. ben hyde
bob@onyx.UUCP (Bob Toxen) (01/11/84)
I flew five planes over the holidays and on each one most or all of the young children (under 4 years) started crying (screaming sometimes) during descent. It seemed the worse on a flight that rapidly decelerated and I assumed it was fear. I think now that is was more due to pressure changes. Feeding infants will distract them and, due to the movement of their jaws, releave the pressure build-up in their ears. Gum helps. I'm sure your airline would be happy to advise you.