Traveling with toddlers and preschoolers

Welcome back to the traveling with kids series!

My last post was about traveling with babies, and since we recently traveled to Texas with my 15 month old and 3 year old, I thought I would talk about traveling with toddlers/preschoolers! We actually moved back to the states when my oldest was 14 months old, so it was funny remembering how different Camden and Lucy are as traveling toddlers!

The most important thing about traveling with any age child is to keep their routine with eating and sleeping. Make sure you have enough food for protein rich meals and snacks. The worst thing is a fussy toddler who has only been eating goldfish all morning! Pack food/snacks in individual bags or containers so there are a lot of "new" things to get out of the bag. Little bags of hot dog/chicken/turkey/beans/hummus, etc. are great for protein, and I also like to pack little bags of snack foods or fruit, too. Remember that too many sugary snacks for a toddler that they aren't used to eating can be hard on their stomachs and also wire them up and make it harder on you! I like to add a few new foods they haven't seen before to keep it interesting as well. You can also ask the flight attendant to bring you a cup of water with a lid for your toddler. I also ask for mine with a lid/straw as well to avoid spills! I have had a drink or two spilled on my lap by a 2 year old before I learned that trick!

The other important thing to remember is to plan flights/drives around nap times. If it's a long flight, chances are that your child will need to take a nap during your travels. I prefer for the kids to sleep during the flight/drive so that I get a little break during the travels. Between the ages of 1-2.5, I have found my kids are the most active/busy (I prefer to say this rather than "difficult"), so having a little rest during the trip is nice for all parties involved. Know how your child will rest the best in a car or a plane. Or bring some options if it's your first time. For my oldest, we would literally have to hold him so tightly as a toddler until he fell asleep in our arms bc he wasn't used to doing that. Bring favorite pacis, blankets, or stuffed toys that your child sleeps with. On the trains in Europe, we knew our son fell asleep best in the stroller as a toddler, so we would keep the stroller open in the entry car until he fell asleep. You can even bring soothing music for the car or use your phone as a white noise machine if they are used to that in their room. The natural white noise on an airplane/train/car has usually been enough for my kids, although this flight to Texas, Lucy kept waking up during her bedtime sleep cycle and we had to keep sushing and rocking her back to sleep like a baby! After my oldest fell asleep on a plane, he would sleep for at least a couple of hours on the long flight back from London. During our recent car trip last week, we planned to start driving right when both kids would normally be napping, and as luck would have it, they both slept for the entire 2.5 hour drive!! So use that to your advantage!

To pack toys, or not to pack toys!? This is the one thing I always go back and forth on, and something I have also observed from friends/other strangers during my travels with kids. It seems most people are lugging giant bags of toys around the airport that their kids never even use. On a road trip to San Francisco (6 hours from LA) recently, I forgot to pack any "toddler/baby" toys for Lucy and she didn't seem to care as long as the kids music was on. I think we listened to "Under the Sea" 30 times while we waited 2 hours at the end of our drive to get through the bridge toll at the bay bridge!!! Camden (3.5) was content to draw/color and watch his show on the iPad as well. Also try to remember  what we did as kids on road trips before DVD players and iPads, too! Games, art, and  talking with each other about the scenery outside and where we were going is also fun! As far as planes are concerned, this 3 hour flight from LA to TX, we only brought a few board books for my 15 month old to thumb through when she got bore and a play cell phone. She looked at the books during take off and landing, had some snacks and water and went to sleep for an hour and a half in between. I'm so glad we didn't over load our bags with a million toys! My oldest did the same thing he did in the car (art and iPad). We also spent a long time talking about the plane and where we were headed. We never even got out the magazines or cards in the seat back pocket like we normally do! Please post below for any questions or other ideas to add for traveling with toddlers and preschoolers!

Traveling with babies

It's been a really long time since I posted on this blog, but I recently sent a very detailed list to a friend about traveling with her new baby on an airplane. Many people have asked me about this topic, and so I wanted to start a little series on this blog about traveling and living in new places with kids! I have lived in 2 different countries, and 3 different cities since having my kids, and my oldest son (3.5 yo) has been on upwards of 30 flights. My daughter (13m) has been on 6. 

I wrote a very detailed play by play (something I wished I had before embarking on my first flight with a baby when Camden was 6 months old. It can be very scary because you just don't know what to expect. Well, rest easy, now you will know! And as my mom always said, the flight will eventually end!

Feed baby (and yourself!) well before leaving for airport. Upon arrival, place baby in carrier (Ergo or Ring Sling) so it's easy to get on/off if they make you take baby out at security. I prefer ergo so you can go potty easily if you are alone) and have a backpack carry-on, or one that will easily set on top of the rolling suitcase you will be checking. Check bag/car seat. Airline will give you a large plastic bag for a car seat if you need to check one. I always prefer to see if I can borrow one wherever I am going or rent one from a cab company. If you have a stroller, wait until you get to the gate and ask for a tag to check it at the gate. You will drop it off right before you get on the plane. 

Proceed to security. They will let you go in the family, medical, liquids lane. Slip on shoes are easier with the carrier on. Have your formula/baby food/breast milk in a bottle out separately or in a plastic bag in case they want to test it. If you have all powder and water in bottles, they shouldn't care. They may do a dipstick test for the water/breast milk. I have taken water bottles for kids and they just dip a stick and say you are good to go. You might need to allow a few extra minutes for that in case they are backed up. They will have you proceed through scanner with baby still in ergo (They have never asked me to take baby out of ergo/carrier to go through security), and hold your hands palms up after you go through so they can swipe them for bomb traces. They will know you are an avid flyer w baby when you do that and not second guess you! :) Get carry on and re load formula/baby food, etc! Head to pee before getting on plane. It's really annoying to try and go in airplane bathroom with carrier on. Get on plane when they board family boarding or before if you have A group (southwest). Try to score an aisle so you can ask flight attendant easily if you need anything. Place carry on at your feet so it's accessible and ergo up top (or at your feet) in case you do need to pee again! I always want to keep baby on normal feeding schedule so I never nurse or feed at take off or landing if it wasn't time to eat. The paci is the same idea if baby will take one! If not, you can nurse/feed if baby is unsettled. I have never noticed it "messing" with either of my kids' ears. You can use the seat to place baby down before you get off if you need to load bags, get carrier on, etc. Get your suitcase and pee again before getting in car to drive home! Yay! You did it!!!

Packing for carry-on bag:

I put all my different items in separate gallon-zip locs so I can find things easily. 

Snacks for you! (In their own zip-loc) Easy to eat w one hand while holding baby (granola bars, sandwich, etc).

Put a book on your iphone to read if baby falls asleep! Regular book is too hard to read one-handed.

Formula/bottles in a separate zip-loc (I would make 2 extra than you need just in case!)

Paci's in a case or zip-loc in inside/outside zipper compartment of carry-on

A few toys/books (I don't usually have those in a zip-loc bag)

Extra clothes for baby (2 outfits for a domestic flight) and an extra shirt/pants if you want, for you (in case you get pooped/peed on!). Has happened to me more than once!

Blanket in case it's cold for baby. If he's bothered by the light, sometimes I put a blanket over my shoulder and their face to block some light. I always wear pants and layer tops.

Diaper clutch, w 2 diapers, that you can easily take to airplane bathroom (front bathroom is usually the one with the changing table). When you walk in look on the left wall, and it folds off from the wall. Put hand sanitizer in that clutch to use when you get back to your seat bc it's nearly impossible to wash your hands holding a baby!

I put a separate zip-loc in my carry on with 8-10 diapers and extra wipes so I can refill my clutch after I use those. In case you get stranded on tar-mac or unexpected landing somewhere, it will be good to have extra. 

For international flights, I brought a small carry on suitcase I could fit my boppy pillow in. It was a Godsend for nursing and holding a sleeping baby for long flights. You can also request the bulk head seat on international flights before hand which will include a little bassinet for baby to sleep in. We never used it bc it was too small for my 6 month old, but the extra leg room at the front of the plane was brilliant!

Hope this helps! Comment below with any questions!

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