Traveling with a baby and/or toddler is no joke. I know because I just recently got back from a trip across the country with my two littles. Making sure they are happy and comfortable in a confined space for hours at a time is the number one priority, but also VERY challenging. So if you’re planning to take a trip with your little one soon here are some of my best tips.
–Pack a surprise bag/new toys for them
My 3-year-old loved this! I filled his backpack with a few activities he had never seen before. He was so excited about it and it kept him really busy. Any time I could see he was getting frustrated and bored I would tell him to look in his bag for a surprise and his mood improved instantly. I knew my 11-month-old wouldn’t care about a surprise bag so for her I just brought a few new toys she had never seen and that worked out really well.
-Also pack a surprise snack bag
Combine a mixture of favorite snacks (maybe treats they love, but aren’t given regularly) and new snacks (things you think they might get really excited about.) I also included some healthy snack foods, such as, raisins, pistachios, crackers, granola, in a fun, travel-friendly container as well and it really helped make the healthy stuff exciting to eat.
-Have snacks out while taking off and landing
This does two things: distracts them and helps with the change in cabin pressure. If your child has never been on a plane or taking off and landing is scary to them a food distraction might be exactly what they need. This can act as a reward for them being so brave as well. We decided to do this because we didn’t want them to be uncomfortable due to the change in cabin pressure. Since they aren’t able to normalize the pressure in their ears on their own by doing something like the Valsalva Maneuver getting them to swallow is really important. We let our son pick out a snack and I nursed our daughter while taking off and when the plane started to descend and it worked out great! Neither one complained about any ear pain.
-Don’t rule out electronic devices
I am definitely a strict parent when it comes to electronics. So, normally, I want to exhaust all options with my kids before pulling out the phone to play a show on YouTube. Ideally, it wouldn’t come to that at all, but sometimes it can be 100% necessary. Especially if I’m trying to save my sanity while traveling across the country with two small children on only 45 minutes of sleep. Definitely encourage playing with the new toys, but a movie can also give you an hour and half or two hours of quiet which is the average length of a flight anyway.
-Babies cry. DON’T FEEL BAD!
We had to leave the house at 3am for our flight so my kids were way off their sleep schedule and exhausted. My daughter had a really hard time with it and cried a lot on our first flight- it was stressful! Like I mentioned before, I was tired and only functioning on 45 MINUTES of sleep from the night before from last minute packing so my patience was already running thin. I tried everything I could to keep my cool and get her to stop crying because I felt so bad for her and everyone around me. Eventually, I was able to rock her to sleep, but once we got off the plane a woman stopped me in the bathroom just to tell me how great I did with my daughter. She reminded me not to feel bad and that most people have been there and understand the difficulties. So if you are in a similar situation- don’t stress out. Chances are most people will be extremely empathetic and just feel bad for you and your child.
*Pro Tip– Sit by other families with small children because they are most-likely going through the exact same thing and usually the most understanding when it comes to big emotions.
-Search for children’s play areas within airports
We stumbled upon a play area in the SeaTac airport and both my kids LOVED it. We let them play for almost an hour before our flight so they were able to get a ton of energy out. Our son took a good nap and our daughter slept the entire flight! I didn’t even realize there was such a thing, but we found another one on our stop in Las Vegas. I highly recommend checking before your trip which airports have play areas and plan any layovers with that in mind.
-Also search for Mamava Pods for nursing mama’s
I kept seeing these little pods in all the airports, but initially thought they cost money so I didn’t bother since I brought my nursing cover, but later found out they are completely free! I only used it one time, but really enjoyed the quiet space and privacy it gave. They seem tiny, but look a lot bigger on the inside. They have ample seating and a sink inside as well as a table area which I used to lay out a changing pad and change Elyssia’s diaper on. You can download the Mamava app for more info and locations.
Well that does it for all my tips for traveling with small children. Here are some of my favorite products and gadgets for traveling with a baby and a toddler. I hope you found this helpful and if you have any advice of your own to share definitely leave a comment or let me know so I can add it to the list!
xx,
Talea
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