…And babies…and adults who act like babies. Just kidding.
INTRODUCTION
The holidays are almost upon us, and most of the mothers I know are fortunate enough to be visiting family or new places. But the joy of this magical time can sometimes be overshadowed by panic: as your toddler has a meltdown on the 10-minute drive to the grocery store, you realize, “I’m going to have to keep this kid entertained for HOURS..?!?” Oh, my sweet friend. Not just entertained, but also fed and rested.
Fear not. As your fellow toddler-mom / travel agent / international family member, I can guarantee that your child will not be kicked off the plane for obsessive crying. (All bets are off if traveling by car!) Here are my tips, tricks, and lessons learned from mothers in SMMC and tested throughout 2 years and 10+ big trips with Ava.
Let’s approach this systematically, for sanity: Eat, Play, Sleep (sound familiar? ;) and Transport.
EAT
Babies:
For breastfeeding mothers, it’s perfectly acceptable to breastfeed on the plane and in airports in whatever capacity you feel comfortable. In many airports you will also find a Mother’s Room or Nursery or something of a similar name.
Note for Car Travel: If you are exclusively breastfeeding, pump some milk and bring a bottle so that you can feed the baby in the backseat without having to stop the car.
If you are using bottles, good news! TSA considers formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby/toddler food (including puree pouches) to be medically necessary liquids. That is, you can bring as much as you want through security.
Toddlers:
When it comes to travel, consider food as another tool in your entertainment toolkit. If you don’t have one of those snack containers with the spill-resistant lid, get one! (e.g. Munchkin snack catcher). For the rest of the food, you might want a snack box / bento box (I like the one by Lunchbots). Definitely pack a spill proof water bottle (I recommend Miracle 360 by Munchkin).
As for what foods to bring, you know what your child likes best, and think: more variety, more fun. See above note: TSA allows pouches through security!!! 🙌
PLAY
Babies:
Love that adorable little bundle. Make all the cooing sounds you want and don’t be self-conscious: everyone else on the plane thinks your baby is just as cute as you do, and in the few cases where they don’t, they’re probably bored enough to appreciate the entertainment. Don’t worry about the crying, that’s what ear plugs are for.
Toddlers:
This is probably the area I would spend the most time preparing for if I were you. I’m going to break this down into even smaller sub-groups because needs are different at each stage of development. For every age group, books are a good idea, but think small and light.
12-18 months:
If your child is starting to walk (aka finger-walking): be prepared to be hunched over walking with them up and down the aisle for hours on end. They are energizer bunnies and there’s no avoiding it. The crew will be courteous, so don’t stress out about being in their way, yours is not the first little walker they’ve had on board. Pro tip: bring AirPods and a podcast and wear clothes with pockets so you can roam hands free with your kid while keeping your brain occupied.
If your child can walk: same as above, minus all the back pain.
As for toys, a fidget pop sensory toy is fun, flexible, and fits in a carry-on
Phone pictures / videos can be very entertaining! Kids this age don’t have much attention span for screens.
18-24 months
Still lots of walking up and down the aisle.
Toys: Montessori Busy board, reusable stickers book, buckle toys pillow, Look and Find books
Coloring - triangular crayons that won’t roll away or an LED drawing tablet
Make a fort with blankets and pillows
Watch videos of your kid and family members on your phone
Playgrounds! Some airports (SFO, ORD, CPH to name a few) have play areas so be sure to check.
24-36 months
Toys - same as 18-24 months
Children can typically watch a show for 30-90 minutes at a time, so if you’re not opposed to screen time, this is an option. I hear a lot of moms say they limit screen time in general, but on long trips it’s unlimited. Pro tip: Kids will be somewhat entertained by the seatback screen, but will stay engaged longer if there’s sound. Look up options for over-ear headphones, but note that many which are designed for children have a decibel level limit which makes it difficult to hear over the sound of the airplane. If you’re planning to do screen time, research audio options and test different headphone fits ahead of time – maybe the smallest adaptor on your AirPods will be a fit.
SLEEP
My biggest pro tip when it comes to international travel (and also the most difficult to arrange), is to have a family member available on the first couple nights who can take care of the baby/toddler when their circadian rhythm tells them it’s time to be awake from like, 2am-5am. Trust me on this, it sucks when you have to not only recover from the flight and adjust to jet lag, but also be awake and entertaining your toddler in the wee hours of the morning. If the option of a grandma on call is not available, I would recommend not planning any big scheduled activities in your first couple days as you’ll be needing a long nap.
Now on to the babe’s sleep:
Babies:
You want the bassinet on the airplane. Everybody does, and there are just 4 of them on the entire Boeing. As early as possible, make sure to call the airline and reserve the bassinet. Every airline has a different process for this – some allow you to do it when booking your ticket, but with most airlines it’s a bit more complicated. If you’re not able to reserve the bassinet, there might still be one available magically upon check-in so be sure to ask, unless you’re on my flight; then you definitely don’t need it and should just let your baby sleep in a front body carrier ;)
Toddlers:
Beds: We took advantage of the kids under 2 fly free policy, but on occasion were blessed with a spare middle seat. So bring a bed in case you get a bonus seat!
I never thought this would work, but the cheap hammock-like cloth with buckles that attach to the seat and the tray table in front was a perfectly suitable bed for our 2-year-old. There’s also the popular Flyaway Kids bed and other inflatable options, and the rideable Jetkids BedBox by Stokke. Note: Some of these more conspicuous beds might not be allowed on your airline and bigger ones make it harder for flight attendants to turn a blind eye. They are also bigger to pack.
Not Beds: We didn’t get a free seat on every international flight, however, and before you read what I’m about to tell you, remember the last time your child ate dirt or licked their hand after using a public restroom or any number of gross things that didn’t kill them or even make them sick. Okay so with that in mind, my recommendation for toddlers sleeping on a packed plane is: make a nice little nest in your foot space and once they fall asleep on your lap, lay your little angel down underneath the seat in front of you. Like luggage, yes, I know. But 6 hours into a 10 hour flight with an aching back, this won’t seem so uncouth.
Falling asleep: Make a tent out of a blanket for darkness, sing songs, and be sure to pack their lovey. Now, since you already know me as the lady who lets her baby sleep on the floor of an airplane, I’m going to present another piece of interesting information, should you be desperate enough to need it: Baby Benadryl causes drowsiness. And that’s all I’m going to say.
TRANSPORT
Most people know you’re allowed to check one car seat and one stroller for free. But did you also know that it’s possible to travel with one car seat, one stroller, one baby, one suitcase, and one carry-on by yourself? Yes, that’s right, your crazy-practical-travel-agent-mom-friend strikes again! My husband had to fly home from Italy for work when I was a stay-not-at-home SAHM. I didn’t let that stop my adventure, and continued to do a 1-week road trip and 2-leg international flight with my 11-month old. The reason I’m telling you this is to help you relax about the logistics of transporting all that stuff. My husband needs to read this. Sometimes I think he would literally choose to not go on a vacation if it meant having to make 2 trips from the Uber to the check-in desk or asking the hotel staff for assistance.
Babies:
Get the Doona, if you haven’t already! It’s super lightweight and you don’t need to bring the base. I brought it on the airplane so in case the seat next to me was empty, the baby could sleep in it. During a layover, it was our stroller. Brilliant.
Bring a front-body carrier on the plane.
Toddlers:
Without doubt the coolest invention you’ll see around the airport is the rideable Jetkids Bedbox by Stokke.
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So that’s all there is to it – no sweat, right? Traveling with a toddler can be difficult – but remember, so can staying at home! Get out there, and make some memories! And let me know how your trip goes, or if I can be of service in planning your next one.
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