flying domestically...

Yeah we never dose Fay when flying, poor kid has been round the world and a bit more now. I just make sure that she has some water or milk ready in a bottle or be ready to bf for the take off and landing, othersise lots to occupy her. Staff are usually pretty good at diversions too

hehehe it's about an 80 mins. Smaller planes out of lil ol' tauranga

That's great advice on the bf'ing thing. Luckily I have no shame.
I just hope the person next to me isn't one that gets offended easily.

I flew from Akld to Q'town (1hr 50mins I think) by myself with Eva last month. It was quite hard work! Eva screamed her lungs out at take-off and landing but was fine once we were up in the air. Unfortunatly she wasn't interested in bfeeding at take-off, but sucked on my hand for dear life!

Things I'd do differently include:
*Using a pacifier or teething ring.
*BFing or bottle feeding at take-off.
*asking for an empty seat next to me if possible.

Good luck!

Twice when I flew when Ollie was little they let me have a spare seat beside us and I just kept him in his capsule (you strap the seat belt through it. The air hostess helped.) It was really great. He just slept like he would on a long car journey. He had a dummy and I also would have fed him if necessary. The take off and landing didn't seem to bother his ears and I think the plane noise was soothing for him.
You can't guarantee they will give you a spare seat though.
I think it easier to fly with them at that age than when they are older and move around more.

I have flown heaps with Tom and its been easy. I BF the first few flights but then found he always wanted his feed just before takeoff not during So I use the dummy. No hassles at all.

My only advice would be to make sure you have everything you might need in a little bag that you can tuck into the seat in front as it is hard to reach down to your hand bag when you are holding a baby.

Also wear trackies or something you can undo with one hand. I had to use the loo and there was nowhere to put Tom so I had to do everything whilst holding him. Thank good I didnt have a belt and fly.

A front pack can make life easy too and when you are on the plane see if they will gve you a cushion or blanket to put on the armrest to rest her head on.

I also think a window seat gives you a bit more privacy.

You can get the babe to suck your finger if breastfeeding isn't an option (for the ear stuff)

but otherwise I haven't found flying domestically to be a problem at all - Hannah was always fine on the plane.

Although I do recall a family flying with a young baby when Hannah was a bit older. The babe power chucked over all of them and they were totally unprepared. I donated a flat cloth nappy to help the cause!! hehe

So just be as prepared as you can without going overboard.

We flew to Dunedin with Hannah when she was 6mos. I packed crackers and toys but hardly used any. I let her bf for take off and landing but she wasn't all that interested for the landing. For most of the trip she just babbled and played with my empty water cup.

LOL NZpiper, that brings back memories - using a tiny airplane toilet with Maya on my knee!

I've always found the hype up to the flight worse than the flight itself, and my best advice, having flown more than 3 dozen times with my kids at various ages is to just remember that no matter how bad it gets, it'll be over soon! I've paced the space in between the rows of toilets with a gremlin in the sling to settle her, it's tiring and frustrating but it does end!

Good luck!

Yep you will. You can take it on board and put her in it but you'll have to pay for a seat for it.

On Air NZ 20kg for you and 10kg for Keziah, not sure about Pac Blue. PLus on top of that you can take one item of baby equipment (ie carseat),any other items (eg. portacot, buggy etc.) are counted in your baggage allowance. You can take the umbrella stroller free too.