I don't count European flights as "red eyes" because...well, there is no other way to get to Europe (I've tried).
However, if you are going from CA to DC and choose a red eye with a 2 year old...it's a bit annoying. |
I did a red eye when my daughter was 6 months (as a lap child). Granted I only had one kid, but we were absolutely fine. We both slept the majority of the flight. I believe she fell asleep on the car ride home too. |
I am surprised there is only one non-stop flight back to DCA. We have gone to CA many times and never had issues. Anyhoo, I would not take a red eye with my kid because i know he would be a mess and his sleep would be really messed up for the next day. |
There is only 1 nonstop flight from San Diego every day. Thanks for the input. |
We used to live in San Diego and traveled back and forth with the kids. We took a red a couple of times with mixed resuts. One flight my DS who was 2 at the time screamed during the flight which was not fun for us or the other passengers. I personally don't recommend it because you just don't know how your kids are going to sleep. There used to be direct afternoon flights from San Diego to Dulles. |
We did it multiple times. One thing we do is not let the kid fall asleep until we board the flight. He gets an extra long nap) in the afternoon and he stays up until the late flight time. We entertain him with usual stuff until flight takes off and he falls asleep as soon as the flight takes off. However, we have always bought him a seat from the time he was 3 months old. I assume you got a seat for your 2 yr old.
Are you breast feeding the baby? That might be a lot useful. Don't worry about 'oh I don't want to spoil baby with extra feedings'. Your goal is to have a pleasant flight for you and rest of the passengers. Good luck. |
I just took a direct flight from San Diego to Dulles. Arrived at 2:40 pm. It doesn't need to be a red eye. |
We live an hour from Dulles and 10 min from DCA so we are flying in and out of DCA. Decided to try the red eye. I'll have both my MIL and FIL with me so hopefully that helps. |
I'm sure it will be fine. And remember, little kids don't have the monopoly on bad behavior. Last time I took the red eye from LAX a large group of really inconsiderate middle schoolers and their chaperones made it a miserable flight for everyone by talking loudly and swapping seats the whole way. Another time, they guy beside me downed a few beers, kicked off his smelly sneakers and snored the whole way to Dulles. |