Korean Job Discussion Forums

ABC KID · Joined: 14 Sep 2007

Hi,

Quite a lot of posters here seem to have babies. As some regular readers will be aware, My wife has also had a baby recently Very Happy

Obviously we want to show our little princess to my family back home but we want to be realistic about it. How old were other poster's babies when you took them on an airplane for the first time? (weeks/months/a year old?) I worry about two things - Our baby crying too much on the plane and the possibility of some permanent damage to her ears.

My possibilities are probably to take her at three and a half months or about nine months old.

How old was your baby the first time he/she visited your country and did you get any advice from the doctor before flying?

Any info will be gratefully received...

seoulman1 · Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Location: Jamsil

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/newbornbabies/a/babyairplane.htm

rayabk · Joined: 02 Nov 2007

Last week I flew from Bangkok to Hong Kong. I had a 2 hour stop over in Hong Kong and then I flew to Seoul. My daughter never cried once she slept most of the time. 6 months old. However the wife would'nt shut her mouth Smile

. Don't sweat mate you will be OK and other passngers will/should understand.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Our daughter took her first flight at about 3 months. She is a regular traveller and has flown about 30,000 miles including 2 transpacific flights and numerous flights to SE Asia and the Philippines.

Infants travel for 10% of the regular priced ticket on international fights so it is pretty cheap to travel. Lots of airlines let them travel free on domestic flights as well.

Airlines will give you a travel pack for your baby (diapers, bum cream, wet-wipes, etc). You can also request a sky crib. It is a little basket/crib that attaches to the bulkhead in front of you so she can sleep in peace and your lap will be free to eat or read or watch the movie.

Babies love to fly and usually don't cry except on landing. To solve this, let them drink during the landing to equalize pressure on the ears so there is no discomfort. They often sleep for most of the flight (because of the motion of the plane).

Don't worry. Have a good trip home to show your princess to the family.

indytrucks · Joined: 09 Apr 2003 Location: The Shelf

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

hmm..babies don't cry on airplanes. I don't buy that. Maybe yours doesn't, but all the planes I've been on which had a family with a small baby did. Personally I think it is rude to the other people on the plane and cruel to the child.

Young FRANKenstein · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:27 am Post subject:

Hanson · Joined: 20 Oct 2004

betchay · Joined: 23 Aug 2005 Location: Seoul

I flew with my son to the US last year when he was 5 months old. We had a layover at Narita Airport for three hours. There's a separate diaper changing room for mom's with babies at the women's comfort room of the airport.

The only time my son cried was during the take-off at Incheon Airport. After that he was fine. He never cried in all the other flights that we took (California-Ohio, Ohio-New York).

When my son was 10 months old, we traveled to the Philippines and he enjoyed it that he never slept in both flights.

Bring a book or your daughter's favorite toys. On our trip to the US, I brought a blanket that I laid down near the galley so he could crawl and play. Most passengers would understand if your daughter cries. Some of the passengers on our flight even volunteered assistance (mostly Japanese on our way to the US) and played with my son. I think I was lucky I and my son didn't have any unpleasant experience on our flights.

tzechuk · Joined: 20 Dec 2004

Letty never cries when she flies and she's been flying since she was 4 months old. Granted we've only flown to Hong Kong and Taiwan so far but she will be coming to NYC and the UK with me next year when I go for a conference in April and to go home in the Summer.

I took the sound advice of letting her nurse when we took off and landed and that really did the trick. Now that she is older and not nursing, I just make sure she is entertained and distracted by story books and telling her to look out of the window. She is lucky that she hasn't inherited my travel sickness.

I don't have a lot of other advice, other than always be over-prepared when flying with an infant and young children. I always take TWO extra sets of clothes and everything with me - just in case.

SuperHero · Joined: 10 Dec 2003 Location: Superhero Hideout

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

Typhoon · Joined: 29 May 2007 Location: Daejeon

The only time my daughter cried on our trip to Canada was when the flight attendant dropped a fork on her and work her up. Most babies (under a year) seem to sleep pretty well on planes from what I have experienced and know. I think the crying and problems come at 1 year and older (terrible 2s).

Hanson · Joined: 20 Oct 2004

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

Hanson,

If you take what I'm saying so personally, maybe you ought to go get your head examined. Yes, I personally think it is cruel, however I did certainly not mean cruel like killing someone (which is how you are percieving it) but more like causing temporary pain. Considering their ear canals and head are still growing and maturing there is no way to know for sure how much pain or stress it causes a baby to fly.

Whether or not I would take a baby on a flight before he/she was 2 years old, I don't know if I would.