Travelling to NZ with a 4 month old?

essexhoney

gingercordial wrote:

And even then 12 hours near a crying baby was almost more than I could bear. It is a sound that we are designed to respond to!

my god that came across to me as being really small minded. how do you know the OP's baby cries much? if it did it is highly unlikely that it is going to cry for 12 hours! My daughter is now nearly 15months old and she DOESNT cry sounds stupid i know you will get the odd whimper out of her but she does not cry, i have never heard her cry. Maybe your post wasnt intended to come across as it has but if i was the OP i would have found that post offensive

OP my advice to you would be to do it just make sure you are well prepared and have everything that you need with you. Best of luck with it

Scarlett1

just remembered something, when I flew back from oz and boarded the plane at kuala lumpar a couple were having a row with an air stewardess cause they had booked a sky cot, but the row of seats facing the cot hadnt been booked for them, and the couple had been seated in the row behind the seats that faced the cot

worth thinking about if any sky cots are needed in future

pickle

Hester - I can't see your original post but IMO go for it. The only thing I would do is a one or two night stop-over for a rest in Asia somewhere. I intend going to Australia when my baby is born (probably at 6 months or 1 yr of age) and frankly I couldn't care less about the other passengers. I've spent many a long-haul flight listening to their children, so now it's my turn!!! You go for it and enjoy it! The baby will survive and there's always at least one baby on the trip so it may as well be yours. And if you get any nasty comment or stares then prod the child a bit to make them cry all the more! Just kidding! (maybe...) As for in NZ (assuming you haven't been there before) you'll find it easy to drive around as there's hardly any traffic and the road rules are pretty much identical. Just make sure you stick to the speed limit. Pubs and restaurants usually welcome children, if unsure then just ask, I'm sure they'll say yes and be happy to accommodate. It would be one of the easiest places to get around with children I would think.

funky-footprints

ive travelled not as far as Australia but Africa flights which took half the time, and to be honest the earlier you fly with your kids the easier it becomes. Go for it before they start crawling or walking !!!! We had a moses basket at the front of the plane, and filled it with some toys for play time and our daughter was great ! if ever we had grumpy time and i heard some tutting, im afraid i was a tad gobby, but most people have been parents and have all been there with a tired or uncooperative child. The air hostess' in cases where we have flown have always been realy helpful !! and sometimes you even get a helpful passenger !! good luck !!

bylromarha

Went to NZ last Nov with my then 15 month old. the thought of the journey was far worse than the journey itself...it was fantastic and, to be honest, made it go a lot quicker as we had something to do.

Sachets of Calpol a must, as are changes of clothes (we took PJs and day clothes on board to try to give the lad a sense of times) and a blanket smelling of home. Most airlines have limited milk available, so if you don't breast feed, make sure you have more than enough powder + nappies to cover delays as well as the flight. The people sitting next to us on the way home had a baby sling which they used for thier 3 month old more than the bassinet...it may be worth considering, plus gives your hands extra room.

Flew with Air NZ and disagree with SammyD about their service (but having never been with an Asian flight that far, I can't compare!) All Air NZ planes have now been upgraded so each seat has it's own TV, so no flickery screen. The stewards couldn't do enough to help us get our luggage on and off the flight, got the little mans toddler food ready before the meal was served to everyone else, happy to warm milk/water as and when we wanted it, we received a "survival pack" each leg of the journey with nappies/creams/ toys, boarded us first, were even on hand when we had to deal with a leaky dirty nappy (gee, that was fun!!!!)put us to the front of every queue and loads of other stuff they did to make our lives really easy. It was a shock when we returned to Heathrow and Heathrow ground crew took over...

The only negative thing I would say about Air NZ is that they could have designed our TVs a little better as once the bassinet was down, it was hard (not impossible though) to get out the TVs from the side of the seat...that's about the only critisism of the entire thing.

Mind you, there was a VERY loud woman sitting on the row across from us who just would not stop laughing out loud at the TV and frustrated everyone around her. I can't believe people are inconsiderate enough to let these people on board planes...do they not think of the other 100 passengers they have to share the flight with?:rolleyes:

THE_LONE_RANGER_4

we have taken 6 month old to the philipines, no probs and two toddlers to australia, no probs and heading for kenya in 2months they are now 4 and 9 , never had any problem , go for it at that age they will sleep most of the time unless you have a live wire

Penny-Pincher!!

With most long hauled flights you are unable to book a skycot!! There is normally only about 8 to each large plane and they can be given to a child up to the age of 2...normally on a first come first serve basis.

PP
xx

ribenagirl

We flew with Malaysian to KL recently. We were in the emergency exit seating which was just across from the cot row and there were three babies on board. Despite having a private whinge to ourselves abot how we definitely weren't going to get any sleep now, we didn't hear a peep out of any of them all the way there, until the plane started to descend - they were perfect angels!

It really depends on your baby - you know him/ her best. All I'm saying is that long haul does NOT have to be a nightmare with a little one - I'd much rather do it also with a young baby than a toddler!

BTW, I always feel it's up to me to take whatever I need for the journey so that I can be comfortable, rather than for other people to take measures so that my journey is undisturbed. I always expect that it's going to be noisy so I always take ear plugs with me. You could quite as easily get a whole rugby team in the rows in front who decide they're going to sing songs all the way as you could a baby and having experienced both, I'd choose the baby any time

bylromarha

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

With most long hauled flights you are unable to book a skycot!! There is normally only about 8 to each large plane and they can be given to a child up to the age of 2...normally on a first come first serve basis.

PP
xx

We pre booked ours, and a friend who has travelled to China in the past year 3 times with 3 different airlines has always been able to pre book a sky cot, so worth giving the airline a ring before you go...even if they do say no.

treen74

Hi All,

The wife and I plus the then 14 month old girl I will be heading to NZ from Manchester in August.

We're splitting up the journey (Manchester via London to Toronto for 4 nights, then to San Francisco via JFK for 2 nights and then by road to LAX over 4/5 days and then the flight to AKL) for a few reasons -

1) we're emigrating
2) Relatives in Toronto
3) I've flown from UK to NZ before with a 2 hour stopover in singapore, 1 hours sleep altogether - Not good for me, never mind a baby. (And i watched 6 films)
4) Flight times are more manageable by doing an a 1 hour + 8 hour flight followed by 1 1/2 hr and 6 hour flight then final flight from LA which is overnight and lasts 12 hours.


We're gonna have the chance to take 64kgs each (128kgs total - have a friend at BA who is booking the flight) so the only problem will be the amount of luggage as we'll have a pram and carseat plus a big suitcase and 2 backpacks........