Traveling with an Infant/Toddler

For those of you following my blog, you probably noticed that we travel quite a bit. Bryan & I have always loved to travel & we didn't let us slow us down just because we had a baby. We still travel, but we had to adapt the way we travel :) I have people ask me all the time how we do it, so I thought I would write a blog about it.

 

 Sometimes we travel by car, but we mostly prefer to fly & let me tell you, it is a lot easier to fly the younger they are! Back in the day, Sadie would sleep most of the flight. Now days she is busy with a lot to say! A couple of tips we have learned along the way: First, always have a bottle/sippy cup/pacifier ready & available during take off & landing. This is the best way to help them pop their ears. It was much easier when Sadie was little because we would offer her a bottle both times & she drank it long enough until we were smoothly in the air or on the ground. Now days she won't take a sippy cup that long, so we still have to emphasize the pacifier. She normally only gets the pacifier when she is sleeping, but I am constantly shoving it in her mouth on the plane. Believe me, it's not worth it to hear your baby crying in pain because they don't know how to settle their ears.

 

 

Next, have snacks. Obviously we didn't do this when she was younger, but now that she is older, we always have some on hand. Unfortunately, most airlines don't pass out anything anymore & you never know how long you will be stuck on the plane. I always try to save this for mid-flight when she starts having her first meltdown :)

 

Also, have entertainment. We have a portable Blu-ray player & she loves watching her Disney movies or Baby Einstein DVDs. Anything to distract her & calm her down. Now that she is older, I always carry stickers & crayons as well. Some people use electronic devices for gaming & playing - we aren't quite there yet but I'm sure we will be one day!

 

 

Sleep. This is the best remedy for traveling with a baby if at all possible! Sadie used to sleep when she was younger, but now that she has gotten older, it is harder. She is not a social sleeper, so normally she doesn't want to nap in public or in front of people. But I always try to plan her flight around nap time. If I am lucky, I may get a quick 30 minute or 1 hour power nap out of her, but it's not her usual 3-4 hour nap that I'm used to!

 

 

 

Car Seat. When she was younger, we always traveled with her infant car seat. As far as I know, all airlines let you check this for free. I would highly recommend buying a car seat cover for it. I bought one at Buy Buy Baby & it was well worth the $40 because it protects it. Some people don't cover it & I see it coming off the plane all scratched up or broken. Our car seat looks as good as new since we have always protected it. The cover on the other hand has a few holes in it :) After she turned 1, we no longer travel with a car seat. Since she is now in a convertible car seat that it twice the size of her old one, it's a pain to mess with. Most of the time we walk everywhere or we take a quick taxi. I probably shouldn't admit this, but she is big enough now & most states don't have rules for car seats in cabs, so if it's just a quick ride, we'll have her sit in one of our laps & we will hold her buckled up underneath our seat belt. Or you have the option of renting a car seat with your rental car, which we have done as well. Some people take the car seat on the plane with them & you are free to do this if you want to pay for an extra ticket. At this point, babies fly free until they are 2, so we have always held her in our laps & not paid for the extra seat. There are always those nice flight attendants that usually sit us by ourselves when at all possible, so usually she has a seat to sit in anyway.

 

*Side note - Another advantage of having a car seat cover, is that they allow room for extra storage. That used to be where I would store all of her diapers for the trip, or I would throw the bumbo seat or the boppy pillow in when she was young!

 

 

Stroller. This can also be checked in for free, but we always gate check it because you need it inside the terminal. I will warn you though, it will still come back beat up & broken if you don't protect it, so I would invest in a stroller cover as well if you want to take care of it.

 

 

Security lines are never fun to go through, but if you have a baby, they automatically jump you to the front of the line, which is a definite plus! Kids under the age of 12 or 14 (I can't remember) do not have to take off their shoes, so that's one less thing to worry about. You do have to break down your stroller though & put it through the scanner. And if you do have a DVD player, laptop, etc. you have to pull it out separately. Along with any bottles or sippy cups. They will you bring in liquid for a baby, but they have a machine that shakes it up & tests the liquid.

 

Once you make it through security, always look for a children's area. If you have time to kill, this is the perfect place to go. They had an awesome playground in Seattle & Sadie played for about an hour. She was so worn out that she took a little nap as soon as we got on the plane because she played so hard!

 

 

 

Flying is probably the hardest part, but once you get to your destination, it's worth it. The biggest thing we do to maintain some normalcy is we try to stick to her schedule. We always let her sleep in the morning until she wakes up. And we always put her down for an afternoon nap. The biggest trick we learned (& unfortunately we didn't learn it until later!) was to let her nap in the bathroom :) We always ask the hotel for a room with a large bathroom so we have space to move her crib or pack-n-play. That way, she can sleep in the dark with no distractions & we have the ability to do what we want in the room. We can watch TV, play on the computer, etc. Now days we take turns - I will go shopping while Bryan stays behind & the next afternoon we will switch. Believe me, this nap keeps her in a consistent pattern & it usually puts her in a good mood so we can go out again that night.

 

 

Speaking of night, we usually go out to eat & enjoy the locale, but we still try to put her to bed at a decent time. Most of the time she stays up a little later than normal (it is vacation, after all!) but we don't keep her up too late because she is still a baby. Another fun tidbit is that I buy Sadie a book everywhere we travel. I prefer to buy souvenirs that are practical - not another toy or t-shirt that she doesn't need! I have found a great line of books called "Goodnight -----" that is personalized for each city. It is a fun to read to remind her of all the places she has been. And the book also comes in handy when we are doing our night time routine.

 

 

I am sure most of you know ahead of time to ask for a crib, but as a reminder, call ahead & let them know that you will be traveling with an infant or a toddler. Ask them what services they provide & you will sometimes be surprised at their amenities. Most of the time, the crib or the pack-n-play is already set up in our room when we get there. Half the time they have provided a blanket for the baby. Some hotels leave all of the baby toiletries in the bathroom so that way you don't have to travel with extra shampoo, lotion etc. This last trip they even provided us with baby wipes & a diaper pail! I will admit though, that was the first time we have gotten a diaper pail. Normally I suggest bringing plastic bags, so you can take all of your dirty diapers & dispose of them outside of your hotel room.

 

The last thing I'll talk about is food, which just happens to be something this family loves! I will admit that I am a cheap skate in many ways & bring a ton of food with me. I always bring breakfast for Sadie & I. Usually I bring her yogurt, apple sauce or nutri grain bars. And I bring myself granola bars. And when we get there, we always go to the store. First off, I have to buy soy milk for Sadie, since they usually don't have that at the hotel or most restaurants. So, while I am there, I always pick up some fresh fruit that we can have with breakfast & lunch. I also pack lots of snacks from home - for Sadie & Bryan! Especially if we are having out at the pool or the beach, I always have cashews, mixed nuts, fruit snacks, etc. We tend to save a lot of money during the day but then we splurge by having a nice dinner at night.

*Side Note - When we go to the store (I say store, sometimes it's just a gas station or a drug store) Bryan always buys a 6 or 12 pack of water. You would be amazed at how much money we save by stocking our hotel room with water bottles, because they are so expensive when you go out. I always carry a few in day bag for us to drink on & then I always have safe, clean water for Sadie as well. I'll have to give props to Bryan on this one - he started doing this years ago when he was traveling for business.

 

 

 

And who can enjoy a nice dinner without dessert? Bryan & I love dessert, especially when we travel. So, my advice is to let your child indulge as well! We don't always give Sadie dessert at home, but we have made it known that it is something special when we are on vacation. And we never let her have any unless she eats dinner :) I know, I am a strict mom, but she is a good eater!

 

 

 

 

 

That's all I can think of for now, but if you have any other questions, tips or tricks - please share! I feel like we learn something new with every adventure :)