Gearing Up For Winter Travel

Posted by Lisa Ferrier - Duckling and Mandarin mom

As the season of winter travel now upon us, what better time to do a “Travel with Kids” blog post.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we were fortunate to experience a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii with four generations of my family. Leading up to the big event, there was a lot of preparation and anxiety related to traveling both with toddlers (2 and 4.5 yrs old) AND octogenarians. We came out the other end with great memories and as always, learning lots of lessons about how to do it better next time. ☺

Before our trip, I asked another mom about her must-have list when she travels with her two girls – I love her response:

• Extra clothes for the kids (of course)
• Extra clothes for yourself (don’ forget, they are bound to throw up, have an explosion, etc. ON you)
• Plastic bags (for said vomit, etc.)
• Small wrapped gift for opening on the airplane
• Treat they choose from the airport store (snack for plane, etc.)
• Then, after all that, break out the iPad

Our friends were shocked when we told them that we do not own an iPad and we were not planning to borrow one for the trip, given that it is a 5 ½ hr flight. We did, however, spend the night before downloading as many free or cheap toddler apps onto our phones as possible (Monkey Preschool Lunchbox, Daniel Tiger, puzzles, etc.). I guess we’re not that crazy.

For the plane ride, I loaded up on sticker and activity books (Usborne has great dress-up sticker books and small travel packs), origami animals, mini markers/paper, card game (Spot It! Jr.), and a few small books. Each of my girls brought their own small backpack with a lovie/stuffed animal and small blanket. I bought them each 1 new/used toy from Toy-Go-Round in Albany (mini My Little Ponies) which I busted out about half-way through the flight, when things started to go a little downhill…

I also packed TONS of snack. If I can prevent a meltdown with a cheesy bunny or tangerine, I will do it. I was soon reminded of the agricultural restrictions, which meant my husband and I had to eat the many left over tangerines… I guess sometimes you can have too much of a good thing!

Luckily, my parents and grandparents were on the same flight, so we could venture down the aisle for periodic visits to their row. We met other parents over the course of our trip who said that after having kids, they only travel when their own parents can come along to help. I guess otherwise they wouldn’t consider it a real “vacation.” I definitely took note.

Many of you might remember my email request asking to borrow a CARES airplane harness. We own one, but needed a second, so that each girl would have one. If you haven’t seen these, they are great – easy to use and give you peace of mind, especially for the littler ones.

CARES harness installed on Josie's seat

Something I wish we had brought were kid headphones. As you may have guessed, at some point, we relinquished our phones, and between the airplane humming and the annoying game noises, kid headphones would have been nice to have.

OTHER ESSENTIALS FOR KID TRAVEL:

• TRAVEL POTTY: We take this everywhere, even on trips to Alameda beach. We ended up using it in the parking lot at the condo complex in Hawaii, when our key didn’t work and we were locked out and Josie just couldn’t hold it any longer! We have the “Potette Plus” that stands on it’s own and converts to sit on top of a toilet. It's also great for camping, when the walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night is just too far for a toddler.
• UMBRELLA STROLLER: no brainer
• TRAVEL CART FOR CARSEAT: helpful if you plan to strap the carseat on the plane seat and are lugging it through the airport. We have used it in the past instead of a stroller while in the airport, when we plan to gate-check the carseat.
• SMALL BLOW-UP CAMPING MAT  – We thought our 4-yr old would be fine sleeping in the bed with us (after all it was a king), but after the first night, I was quickly reminded of the “H is for Hell” position from “The Guide to Baby Sleep Positions” and how it is so aptly named… So we pulled out the camping mat and “encouraged” Josie to sleep on the floor next to her sister who was in a pack-n-play. By some miracle, that worked.

Sample baby sleep positions from the guys at www.howtobeadad.com

LESSONS I LEARNED:

• Talk about it: The girls LOVED it when I drew pictures of our “adventures” during the trip for them to color in. Swimming at the beach, etc. It prompted them to draw their own, and we talked about what was fun and what we wanted to do the next day, etc.
• It’s the simple things: On the plane flight home, the most entertaining thing for Josie was a plastic bowl we had bought from Target while on the trip (the condo didn’t have very kid-friendly plates/bowls). She pretended it was a boat, a bed, a space ship, for her ponies. 
• Swim diapers are not as absorbent as normal diapers: May seem obvious, but as you guessed, we learned this the hard way. Towards the end of our trip, we were running out of diapers for our 2 yr old. With only a day left to go, I suggested we just use the extra swim diapers we had. Sounds like a plan, right? Unfortunately, while eating lunch at an airport restaurant waiting for our flight, Evie leaked through the swim diaper onto her dress, down her pants, on her socks and shoes and onto my husband’s pants (remember the extra clothes for parents?). Now I realize they are designed to release all liquids, and only hold in solids… duh. We pulled out the extra clothes, plastic bag, and thankfully, a stow-away regular diaper.
• You can do it! On several occasions, I found myself without my husband or parents, left holding my work laptop bag, our backpack, my tote bag overflowing with kid activities and snacks, pushing the stroller with a carry-on in it, while herding my 2 toddlers wearing their backbacks, both competing to push the stroller instead of me, and both succeeding in driving it into the wall and into the people next to us… In these moments, just remember that you got this- you will get through this!

Do you have any travel tips or experiences to share? Post a comment!  We’d all love to hear your ideas and advice.

For those who will be traveling in the next few weeks – good luck! Breathe and practice your patience. And you can always cry on our shoulders when you get back! ☺