When we first booked our tickets and decided on the red-eye flight to Sydney, I was not without my concerns. The thought of not being able to sleep and dealing with a cranky Noey on a 7-hour flight was not fun at all. The previous 2 times we flew with him were in the day and it did involve a bit of pain but at least we could keep him occupied and he would sleep for part of the flight. In the end however, on the recommendation of friends who assured me he would sleep, we decided to just bite the bullet and try it anyway.
We tried to keep him well rested in the days leading up to the flight. On the day itself, I was hopeful that he would be able to take a longer nap in the day but that didn’t happen. And come evening, he definitely knew that something was up with the luggages and the bags and some last minute packing. Even though we took pains to avoid saying “aeroplane” or “airport” or “holiday” or anything that might get him excited, he continued bouncing around, avoiding all Mummy’s hopeful queries of whether he wanted to sleep. Hah, as if he wanted to sleep! (It didn’t stop me from routinely asking anyway because I’m deluded and hopeful like that.)
The flight was at 12.25am so we got only left home around 10pm with a very awake Noey. And when we got to the airport, well, there was no getting him to sleep.
Of course once he spotted the aeroplanes, that was that.
“We are going on an aeroplane! The aeroplane is going to zoom into the sky! The aeroplane is so big! The people are putting the luggage into the cargo hold!” (This last line newly learnt from Papa.) On and on he went as Mummy here resigned herself to the fact it was going to be his latest night ever.
The little boy was so excited to see the plane take off that he valiantly tried to stay awake. But after they turned off all the lights for take-off, he just couldn’t keep his eyes open and fell asleep while the plane was taxi-ing down the runway.
And there he stayed for the next 5 hours or so, allowing his dear parents to watch some TV and catch a snooze. DD even managed to watch a movie and then some. I think he would have continued sleeping for longer but alas, they turned on the lights and started serving breakfast. Honestly at 5am in the morning, I think I would have preferred it if they just left the lights off and let me catch some more sleep. All the noise and activity woke the little man up and once he saw that the lights were on, that was it for sleep!
I must say he remained in good spirits despite the very short sleep he took. Guess it was the excitement factor? He was probably still a bit sleepy and therefore not as active as usual. Whatever it was, he didn’t cause any trouble for the rest of the flight and spent a lot of time just looking out the window at the clouds. I on the other hand was wondering to myself where this dream baby came from — he certainly was not what I was expecting!
So now I’m thinking: maybe this red-eye flight really is the way to go with Noey! And since he’s so good on planes, maybe we can venture further afield? Ah, the possibilities…
Holidays are for contraband like raisins and juiceboxes! Hee. What a dream Noey's been during the flight, envy!
i've learnt never to fly anything but the red eye with S. we flew to sydney during our melb trip (as you know…) and both there and back were day flights. she would not stop squirming, and wriggling and was generally really really restless.<br /><br />it must have been the longest one hour of my life!!<br />redeye, always, from now on!
What a dream….If nat sleeps on a flight, he needs to sleep on us like a koala…
peifen :: K has always been a dream on flights (except the last one), hasn't she? anyway, i'm glad i followed your advice taking the red-eye!<br /><br />debbs :: noey squirmed for 4-5 hours on DD laps on the way back. he was thoroughly exhausted!<br /><br />lilsnooze :: that would be a tad uncomfortable on a flight i reckon 🙂 so i guess it's day trips for you?