Travelling home with your older child

One year ago, on September 14 we left LM's home country to take two very long flights home. When I think about that journey now I am astonished that it went as well as it did. I think a lot of the success was due to the advice we took about travelling with an almost 4 yr old. We dressed him in pull-up and pj's, with overalls on over top. Easy to remove and settle in for a good long sleep. I rocked him on my lap, in the airplane seat to settle him - it didn't matter how big he was. We used the Camelback brand water bottle to keep him hydrated and we had to teach him to bite and suck before hand. He was really worried about his luggage being taken away but a great "all about airports" app solved that for us. We used the two previous weeks getting him accustomed to watching a movie on the iPad, with his own headphones. We ordered special meals for him as if he was a vegetarian child, resulting in his favourites of eggs and/or pasta being served. We told the flight attendants exactly what was going on. They helped us every inch of the way and then applauded us as we passed through customs in our home town. It was all about eating, drinking and sleeping. When we landed after our 8.5 hour flight the man behind us commented that he didn't even know a child was there - LM was so content to hang out peacefully. We let him clutch the teddy bear and blankie we had given him on our first visit to him 4 months previously - they were his constant comforts. Yeah - can't believe all that was a year ago. I still tear up when I think of the whole flight crew clapping for us.