Anyone else dread flying with their little one? Personally, for me it is the worst part of the trip. You never know what kind of day you are going to have and you definitely don’t know what kind of day they are going to have. Then on top of that you hear all of the horror stories of delays, cancellations, etc. I am a very planned person and uncertainty is definitely not my thing! What I can control and plan, to the best of my ability, is which flight to book. Below I’ve highlighted what has worked best for us, and included the pros and cons of the dreaded but sometimes beneficial layover.
Picking Flight Times:
Flying domestically, West to East on a 4-5 hour flight with a 2-3 hour time difference, I never recommend taking a red-eye. It sounds like a good idea because you think your little one (LO) will sleep the whole way and they probably will sleep a good portion of it, but the problem is they get woken up in the middle of the night. When you land it’s morning at your destination, bright and sunny, but LO is tired, confused and grumpy with only 4-5 hours of sleep. I prefer to take morning or mid-afternoon flights so that when we arrive we can still do Jacob’s bedtime routine and put him to bed as usual. Your LO will most likely nap on the plane at some point, but then going to bed at their normal bedtime will be key for getting a good night of rest.
Flying domestically from East to West, I also prefer morning or mid-afternoon flights. I like to get settled in and be able to put Jacob to bed at a reasonable hour to allow him a good night of rest.
Flying Internationally, I’ve found that overnight flights are best. If I can’t find a non-stop fight to our destination, I try to find one that has a short flight during the day, layover, and then a long flight around bedtime. This way I know Jacob is getting at least one good, long stretch of sleep. Once we land, I don’t stress too much about sleep, I just follow his sleepy cues. My advice to you, use daylight to your advantage and the same with night time.
Layovers:
Layovers can be a blessing and curse. First of all, flights with layovers are 9 out of 10 times cheaper when flying from coast to coast or internationally, and you’ll usually have at least one if you’re traveling into a smaller airport. In my opinion, they suck, but if you look at the bright side they allow LOs to get out and move. I am all for letting little ones crawl on airport floors, play on a mat (love my monkey mat) with all of their toys, and run around (within reason). Everyone is holding it together on the plane so I think it’s acceptable for everyone to let off a little steam during the layover. If you’re traveling with a lap child, this can also be good to get out and stretch, giving you a much needed break. However, the downside is if you’re like me you just want to get there! You don’t want to pack up, unload, reload, settle in, take off and land again. You don’t want a 5 hour trip turning into an 8 hour trip and you definitely don’t want to get to your destination with an overly tired and cranky kid. Did I mention the possibility of your connecting flight being delayed? Ugh.
When traveling internationally, especially from the West coast there is really no way of getting out of a layover. But what you can do, and what we do is keep them short and to a minimum since you are already traveling for such a long period of time. I would also make sure that if you are doing an overnight flight, as I recommended above, that the first layover is not in the middle of your travels, but rather only a few hours into the flight so that on the second flight your little one can get a good stretch of sleep before you arrive in the middle of the day at your destination. Again, layovers can be good for all of the reasons mentioned above, but if not timed right they can interfere with precious sleep time.
If you can’t already tell – I am a huge proponent of sleep. Sleep is SO important! It’s important for everyone. It’s affects your health and mental stamina and everything is better and everyone is happier when they’ve had sleep. You know your child best and you know what’s best for you – and whatever that is, that’s the best option.
Smooth Flight Travels!
Little Globe Hopper