Just remember the ABCs!

Alcohol (to calm yourself)

Benedryl (to calm the kid)

Cash (to calm the neighboring passengers)

I have been flying with both of my children since they were very young. I have always checked the car seat, and I would recommend this. Carry as little as you can get away with, which is still a lot when traveling with little ones.
You can bring a stroller to the plane and they will check it for you, and have it waiting at your gate on the other end.

I strongly recommend carrying extra snacks, maybe even a special treat that she doesn't get often.

You can't carry water through customs (you have to buy it for about $3 in the airport) but you can carry an empty water bottle and fill it at a water fountain.

With my kids I give them a small back pack with wheels and let them pick a few toys (travel games, coloring books and crayons, picture books, electronic games, a disc man or mp3 player with her favorite music, magnetic books ... ) and one comfort item (her blankie or a stuffed animal) then I slip a small new toy or treat in the bag for them to find later, wrapping it as a gift is an extra treat too.

I also recommend gum, but if you don't want her to have it, you can give her a small dose of tylenol shortly before take off ... if the flight is long enough to stretch over a second dose, give it shortly before landing. If she is even mildly congested, I also suggest giving a decongestant, it will make the pressure much more manageable. They also sell special ear plugs made to deal with the planes pressure changes ... check with your pharmacist.

Above all, relax and enjoy your trip!

Pleasant journeys,
Padfoot Treehuggers, Angela :)

I've had that reccomended to me before...and for long drives....

I'm just really not interested in drugging my children in such a cavalier fashion....

I tend to think that drugs should be used therapeutically...call me goofy!

It's usually a lower does than you would give to them for the sniffles.....

And, I on't consider it "drugging" children....it does help them to relax and sleep easier in a situation that causes them to be out of their norm.....

My 6 kiddiez are older now....youngest 12 and all of them have survived this low does, helped them to be more comfy on the plane....and, it was something that our pediatrician recommended to us--a doctor I trusted immensely as he actually was MY pediatrician when I was growing up.

but, of course, to each his own.....

With Peace,
6kiddiez

I understand that it is not prescription strength.....

While you may not consider it "drugging"....it most certainly is with regard to any medical definition of the word...

I always find it interesting how as a society we tend to worship those folks in white robes as if they were some sort of priesthood....

As you say, to each their own....