Hi Sarah,

I have flown back and forth from NZ to the UK with children of various
ages. We used Phenergan with our 2 yr old and it was a disaster - she
became very hyper (as another poster mentioned) and we discovered
afterwards that if you use too low a dose (which we obviously had
done) there is a paradoxical excitation effect.

With babies, we have always found (and we have flown lots of times)
that the roar of the engines and the vibration knocks them right out
and they sleep for large chunks of the flight. To be honest, I'm not
sure that Phenergan would buy you much. The best thing to do with it
would probably be for *you* to take it so that at least you get some
sleep on the flight Especially because afterwards, jet lag is a
killer - it is really hard entertaining a small baby at 3 am when they
are wide awake and well slept and you aren't. (Last time, after a
flight from NZ, I loaded my 7 month old into the car and took her
supermarket shopping in the 24 hour Tesco at 4 am. I'm sure the staff
must have thought we were crazy - but we were both wide awake and the
cupboards were bare).

Other tips - take lots of toys and quiet stuff to do. It really is a
long flight and it's tough in the nighttime stretch when they shut
down the lights and services for the 7 hours that corresponds to
nighttime for the majority, who got on the plane at the stopover
point, but is mid-morning for the few people that got on in NZ. Last
time, I ended up hanging out with the cabin staff in the galley to try
and staff off the insanity.

Good luck!

Kate

"Paradise News" wrote in message ...
We are going on a 30 hour trip, from New Zealand to the UK, with our 9 month
old next week. Many people have recommended using Penegan to help our
daughter adjust to the time zones (from NZ to LA will be her usual sleep
time, but from LA to UK will be night time in the UK - then we arrive at
10am in the UK). So they've recommended using it on the LA to UK leg to
help her sleep and arrive in the UK ready to face a full day, before
settling to sleep in the evening.

I was just wondering if anyone else has had any experience with this and
whether or not it worked for them?

I am very reluctant to use anything and am hoping that after a few unsettled
nights we'll be able to get Charlotte adjusted when we arrive in the UK -
just with longer naps on the first day - then probably sitting quietly in
the dark when she feels wakeful on the first night etc. However, I am
nervous that she might get terribly over tired on the flight, as it will be
so over stimulating for her, and that it might be handy to have 'something'
in my pocket just in case we get desperate!

We are not guaranteed a bassinet (only up to 8 months with Air New Zealand),
but we have been told that if a bassinet is available when we check-in then
it will be allocated to us. - So if we don't get a bassinet we'll have to
have Charlotte sleeping on our laps - fortunately she's a wee 7.2kg and very
cuddly - but nevertheless she'll probably feel a little 'over handled' after
30 hours of travelling!

Anyone else done a long haul flight and have any tips?

Many thanks,

Sarah