air travel with my one year old

we surviiiiiiveddddd!  queue crazy laugh---muah muah muah!!! we recently traveled to california to visit family and of course we flew down there.  hubs and i were sooooo nervous leading up to the flight.  our son has flown two times before, but he was 3 and 4 months, and not as mobile as he is now.  we were afraid that he would want to run around and cause mayhem if he wasn't able to do what he wanted to do.  we just didn't want him to get all shouty, which would be ear piercing in the confined cabin of the airplane.  so i did what i always do, asked friends and family, researched online and read some mommy blogs and pooled all of that info to decide what to do.  some people suggested that baby should be over tired so that they will sleep on the plane, some warned against an over tired baby, everyone suggested to have plenty of toys and snacks at the ready, and to have some new things that he hasn't seen before.  one really helpful suggestion was to bring stickers.  some people said to bring new toys wrapped in tissue paper.  i really appreciated everyone's suggestions because they were very helpful and creative, and it was great to hear about other parents' experiences.  so i thought about some of the small things around the house that z really likes to play with, especially some of the things that he is not allowed to play with.  i ended up grabbing a travel makeup bag, it's cute, white with a red apple print.  in it i put this zippered makeup mirror that i have that z likes to play with while i'm getting ready in the morning, a pad of post its, an old cell phone, a cord (he loves playing with cords and i'm constantly taking them away from him), stickers, strips of velcro, a toy car and truck, a bottle with a screw top lid, a teething necklace, a plastic ring that attaches a toy to his bouncer (i don't know why, but he loves it) and a mini play-do.  then i packed 4 of his favorite books. i also brought some snacks; two pouches of pureed food, some graham crackers and ritz crackers, cheese and bread.  oh, and i also brought a tootsie pop just as my very last resort.  i have never given him candy before, so i figured if all hell broke loose i could let him lick the tootsie pop.  so, the flight there was good.  hubs was with us, so it was nice to be able to pass z back and forth between the two of us.  we didn't board early, in fact, we boarded late because we were running a little late (stupid 405 traffic).  during takeoff i nursed him a little bit.  we entertained him first with the tray table, the window, the lights above us, whatever we could for as long as we could and then we pulled out the bag of toys.  i brought out each toy one at a time, and tried to do my best to make sure we exhausted the entertainment value of each toy before moving onto the next.  we actually didn't use every toy or object in the bag during the flight.  closer to the end of the flight, z started to get antsy and sleepy since he hadn't taken his morning nap, so i strapped him into the carrier and took him into the bathroom with me and then we just bounced around in the back of the plane for a few minutes.  i was able to nurse him again, which was right at the beginning of our descent, and he fell asleep until after we picked up our luggage and got to the car.  so it was a success!  hubs and i were so relieved.  the flight on the way back home was a little different, mainly because it was just me and z since hubby had to go home earlier than us.  i was so so so nervous.  we got to the gate early, and i let him walk around to try to get out some energy.  he hadn't taken a morning nap and was already a little tired, so i was hoping that he would sleep on the plane.  we took advantage of the ability to board early, which was nice since i had to take care of stowing one carry-on in the overhead bin and getting everything set up and situated while holding z.  luckily, the people sitting next to me was a nice, grandparent-aged couple that were helpful and gracious.  z was a little restless and antsy while waiting for everyone else to board, and waiting to takeoff.  he didn't want to nurse during takeoff, so i just made sure he was sucking on his binkie.  then, i pretty much did the same thing as the first flight, just tried to keep him entertained.  about mid-flight he was not having it anymore, so i took him to the bathroom with me, and when we got back to our seat it was time to descend, so he nursed and fell asleep again until we got to the car.  he actually did really well on each flight, a little bit of fussing, but no screaming or crying.  thank gooooooooodnesssss!

here is my bag of tricks, i actually take it with me to restaurants, doctors office, etc now and it is very useful.  1) bag to hold everything,  2) post its, 3) toy truck, 4) makeup mirror thing, 5) toy car that makes noises but not too loudly or irritatingly, 6) stickers, 7) mini play-do, 8) old cell phone, 9) teething necklace, 10) toy tractor, 11) velcro strips, 12) plastic ring that connects toys to bouncer, 13) random cord

 so, i thought about some of the things that worked well for us and wanted to share:

-it was great to have hubby with me, so i would recommend having a partner
-i actually gave z a dose of tylenol after we boarded (he was teething and was uncomfortable anyway, so i wanted to help ease that discomfort and any ear discomfort he may have had, but talk to your doctor for advice on medication)
-know your child and pay attention to what toys or objects hold their attention and interest.
          -a little elaboration:
          - i know that z likes electronics, cords, so i brought an old cell phone and charger
          -he likes to try to take apart the stack of post its, so i brought some
-i made sure that z wasn't hungry and i had some healthy snacks and some water
-it was great to have the carrier so that i could strap him in to go to the bathroom, bounce him, and carry him when i was by myself and he had fallen asleep
-toys that are passive seem to hold the attention of the child more.  passive toys are ones that don't sing, light up, vibrate, etc.  the child has to manipulate the toy.  this is opposite of active toys, which are those that light up, sing, talk, etc, basically do the work for the child, so they just sit there and watch it.  passive toys keep z more entertained than active toys.  for example, and this isn't even a toy, just an object, but the bottle with screw top lid that i brought kept him busy for at least 10 minutes.  screwing the lid on and off, blowing into the bottle, blowing raspberries into the bottle, putting the lid on his head, etc.
-be creative.  i used each toy or object every possible way that i could before i put it away and moved onto the next one.  for example, i brought this plastic ring thing that attaches a toy to his bouncer.  i have no idea why, but he loves playing with this thing.  it's so simple and small, so it was easy to throw into our bag of tricks.  anyway, so he chewed on it, and passed it from one hand to the other for a few minutes.  then i showed him how to put it on his ear, and then mama's ear, and then baba's ear, then putting it around the top of the water bottle, then put it around his toes, his hand, etc.  boom----that kept him entertained for about 10 minutes.  we also had some stickers, z put the sticker on his fingers, his hand, his foot, the tray table, on his nose, mama's nose, baba's chin, our ears, the water bottle, etc, etc.  bam---another 7-10 minutes.  if you can draw out each toy's entertainment value, you'd be surprised at how much time you can pass peacefully.
-it helps to be patient with yourself and your child, it's hard for these little ones to sit still for so long
-z loves books so i brought 4 of his favorites, and they are all interactive. one of them has a finger puppet, and two of them have flaps and doors that he can open and close so it keeps his attention longer.

i'm so glad that the flights were relatively easy.  however, the flight was only 1.5 hours long, so for a longer flight it would be helpful if the child were to take a nap.  but i feel confident to fly with z again, although it still makes me nervous!  it was really helpful to hear from my friends and family about their experiences and tips, so thank you to those of you who helped me out!