Last week we tried our hand at masking tape relief art. RedDog got bored quickly, but Hannie B. stuck it out through the laborious cutting of tape and the water coloring.
Her beach scene turned out pretty cute!
Another fun ongoing project involves a set of ‘pop beads’ we picked up at Target. The kids have spent hours making all sorts of creations – from jewelry for Hannie and I – to guys with weapons and vehicles for the boys.
And now, a request: Any advice on taking a one year old on a four and a half hour flight? He’ll be lap sitting and I’m having an anxiety attack just thinking about it. Advise please!
Ps. Remind me to stop taking my picture without makeup on. I look tired.
7 comments:
Try your best to get him a seat :-) Probably not the advice you want to hear, but it's the best way. If you can get him in to his car seat, he'll be 100x happier and so will you. When I'd fly with all 3 kids and me but I only had 3 tickets I would put the youngest in the car seat and double belt the other two. Mine were closer in age so could get away with it easier, but a kid to a seat is my policy.
I'd also try and get the very front of the plane so that they had a little more moving room at the bulkhead and wouldn't be kicking anyone's seat. And videos. If all else fails, bring something to play a movie on, but at that age he may not care. Others may suggest medicating him. I've tried that and it backfired on my kids so test it out first to see if it makes him sleepy or if it makes him nuts. It made mine nuts.
Good luck!
This age is definitely the hardest to keep them happily, quietly entertained. I'm all for nursery starting at 12 months. Once they're mobile, church is a nightmare. I'm sure you agree.
As for airplane rides, I'm all for medicating but agree with the above comment: test it out first. My older three it worked like a charm for but it turned Luke into a screaming, irrational terror. Thankfully, we tried it on him during a road trip so it was only our family that was subjected to his non-stop hysterics for over an hour. I suggest lots of snacks. Claire is JUST starting to really like books so if you can scare up enough fun books to keep his attention for a little while that may help. If all else fails, PRAY really hard for a couple of miraculous, peaceful hours. I'm sure Ollie will do great.
Try to think of it as sitting through church... only longer. But basically, you're restricted to the same tactics. Iphone, coloring, and lots of snacks.
I used to be able to count on asking for his own seat if the plane wasn't booked solid, but the last few times I've flown, I've noticed how crowded the planes are. Plan on them not having a spare for you to bring his carseat. :(
You can always bring his carseat to the gate and then if there isn't an extra seat - they'll gate check it. I would hold out hope until the last second.
Look at the positives: you've got 5 people to pass the little fella to. 5 people to read to him. 5 people to feed him snacks. 5 people to sing to him. 5 people to play peek-a-boo with him. You're not in it alone. Beatrix liked music at that age (with earphones, not buds). In terms of snacks, dumdums take at least 15 minutes to eat. One last idea: finger puppets.
Here's what we do: bring the car seat. If there is room, they let us use it. If not, try to carry it on. The big kids get their own seats for take off and landing. Once we are in the air, the carseat goes in and the bigger more rational ones can double up or sit on my lap. It's way easier to have a 5 year old on my lap than a one year old malcontent. Good luck. If you do bring lollipops- yes a great time user, don't forget the extra wipes!
I love Melissa's cheerful reminder of your 4 other helpers. But 15 minutes for a dumdum? My kids (Mack included) can polish one of those babies off in about 3 minutes. They've missed the whole concept of "suck"ers.
Try to stick with toys that aren't noisy so you won't have extra anxiety about the old guy sleeping in the row behind you. I would recommend not letting Ollie walk the aisles as long as you can avoid it, because once he's tasted the freedom he won't sit still for anything.
Good luck! See you in a week or so!
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