Hi, On Tuesday we will be going on a short flight (2 Hours). I was wondering about my 9 month olds ears and the pressure. Is there anything I can do to help her? I know sucking would help, but she does not take a pacifier and not really a bottle. Do any of you special people out there have any ideas on what I can do to make this easier for her? Thanks.
Thanks everyone. We had a brilliant flight. There were only about 24 people on the plane : ) Made things very simple. We gave her puffy crisps to suck on, on take off, and she loved them, on landing she had her bottle. We had no problem at all, no tears or discomfort. Thanks again for all your advice.
Hi H. -- I brought along a Baggie-ful of Cheerios which I fed to my daughter one at a time so she would have to chew and SWALLOW frequently. Seemed to help somewhat.
Bon voyage! L.
I nursed my little one too, worked like a charm.
You said she does not really into a bottle so maybe you are nursing?
I nursed my son on take off to help with his ears, it also put him to sleep for an hour of the flight.
We also used Earplanes for both of my children, they are supposed to help regulate pressure and we put them in their ears before take off and landing.
We also gave my son motrin before the flight, this is what his pediatrician recommended.
I was also armed with a bottle for each flight in case the pressure changed. On landing I gave him small sips of water from my water bottle and small finger foods to chew on.
Try to give her anything that will make her swallow and try the earplanes and use motrin or tyleonol. With these three things together we had great, pain free flights.
Are you breast feeding? If your comfortable enough latch her on if she starts to fuss. It always seemed like mine would fall asleep during taxi and lift off and it was never an issue. I'm guessing it had something to do with the engine noise and vibration.
Have a good flight.
I breastfed my son for take-offs. No one complained :)
Unless she has congestion or fluid in her ears it probably won't be much of a problem. My son never even noticed the pressure changes at that age and still generally doesn't. But if she does seem uncomfortable, get her to breastfeed or even just munch on a little finger food, anything that gets her moving her jaw and swallowing.
I don't know if this is my sons peculiar thing or actually has some merit but I rub his ears on the way down...He takes a bottle on the way up and is normally ok but on the rare occation that he gets discomfort in landing I rub his ears. ( we travel a lot so he might also be used to the up and down pressure of the aircraft.)
I'd have to disagree with the mom who suggested giving your child drugs. This is not a medical reason to give drugs. She may not regularly use a bottle, but if breastfeeding, put her on! Or a sippy cup. I didn't check where you are, but in MN, it's your legal right to put her on when and where you need.
It may not even bother her! Bring along some toys, a DVD player if she watches videos. Don't be aprehensive, she will pick up on it.
Have fun!
The bottle and pacifier really helped my daughter, but if your little one does not take either then is there anything else she chews or sucks on like a blanket or toy.
There are also baby/infant ear planes or plugs that are suppose to help. Maybe call your daughter's pediatrician to see if they can recommend any. I have not used them yet, got them at a drug store and they say 1 year old or older, so ask if there are some meant for under age 1.
If your little one cries it will help relieve the pressure so be prepared to have a crying little one. Give her comfort, lots of hugs and kisses and hopefully she will be able to recover quickly. Ignore anyone who is giving you 'dirty' looks, they either don't have kids or do not understand that this actually helps infants relieve the pressure. Most people that travel a lot are use to it and know that it happens and will not look or say anything.
The pressure change may or may not effect her, every child is different. Congestion will make the pressure change worse so fingers cross she will not have a cold when you go.
When our daughter was 8 1/2 months old we took a 4 1/2 hour flight to Florida with her. She didn't even seem to notice or care about any aspect of flying. It must affect kids different than it affects us. I wouldn't worry too much. Just have a sippy cup, bottle, snacks, and toys handy in case she is in any distress.
