Anywho, I've flown quite a bit with the kids so I wanted to write him/anyone interested a blog post with tips and tricks on traveling with hellions.
A week or two prior to trip:
- Think about the logistics of the kids and your stuff. Think about what luggage you can handle, if you need a baby carrier, if you need a stroller, what luggage your children are able to handle on their own, what car seats you have to bring, if you want a car seat travel cover, etc. Sit down and actually picture yourself every step of the way. Will you have to park far away and ride a bus from the parking lot to the airport? Can you handle getting the children and belongings on and off buses? To the check-in counter? Do you need to pare down the amount of stuff you want to bring? Should you arrange to have a car seat at your destination? Which is easier, rolling luggage or a duffle bag?
- Doing this a week or two in advance gives you enough time to shop in stores or online for items you need.
- If you are travelling alone with an active one-year-old and you are not buying him/her a seat, I would highly recommend spending a little extra on premium coach seats with extra legroom, especially if it's a long flight. Your child will need space to stand and move around.
Two days before:
- Do laundry and pack. A good rule of thumb for me is two outfits per child per day. It really helps to check the baggage with clothes and only have a diaper bag. Have at least one outfit per child in the diaper bag, plenty of wipes, and two diapers per hour (so that you have plenty in case there are delays). Don't forget all the food and bottle stuff. You can bring as much formula and baby food as you want. You can even bring full water bottles and just tell them it's for the baby bottles. (I have used this excuse to bring water even when I didn't have bottles.) TSA will test everything without breaking any seals.
- Make a list of stuff you absolutely can't replace, such as passports or vaccination records if the airline requests those for the kids, your glasses or contacts, your cell phone, your driver's license, etc.
- Buy snacks for the kids. Salty snacks will make them salivate more and therefore make them swallow more, this is important for helping them pop their ears.
- If you haven't flown in a while you might want to check your airline's website to brush up on the luggage fees, liquid policies, baby food and formula policies, etc.
Day of:
- Gather all your stuff and mentally walk through every step you have to take again. You can actually get out the stroller/baby carrier/leash, luggage, and kids and actually try to navigate around the house or driveway, just to make sure you can handle everything.
- Plan on getting to the airport at least 90 minutes early so you have enough time to go through security and use the bathroom before getting on the plane.
- Don't give your kids anything to eat less than three hours before take-off because you want them to be hungry so they'll eat and pop their ears during the ascent.
- Load up the car and don't forget to check your list.
- If you have to ride a bus from the parking lot to the airport, the bus driver will probably help load your stuff if you load your kids. If they don't, just put your kids on the bus and then load your baggage. Don't forget to write down where you parked.
- You can check car seats either when you check your luggage or at the gate. Car seats are checked free on every airline.
- Line up in the security line. Feel the glares burning into the back of your head and the silent groans from everyone behind you. You can look and see if they have a special family lane for people with baby food and bottle stuff. Kids younger than 12 (I think) don't have to take off their shoes. It helps to keep your bag of liquids in an accessible part of your luggage where you can just whip it out and stuff it right back in. You should have your quart-size bag for regular liquids and a separate bag for baby food/formula. As soon as you start putting your stuff on the belt notify a TSA agent if you have baby food to check because this takes a couple minutes and you want them checking it immediately so you can get out of there. If you have a little baby in a car seat, set the car seat on the ground and put the stroller on the belt. Then get out the baby and flip the car seat upside down onto the belt. If you can't handle this by yourself, just handle your kids and a TSA agent will come put the stroller and car seat on the belt for you. It also helps to wear shoes that slip on and off with zero hassle.
- Locate your gate. If you have time, I would highly recommend finding the nearest bathroom and using it. It is infinitely cleaner than the bathroom on the plane. Do a last diaper check. If you baby/toddler can stand well, I would highly recommend learning how to do a "standing diaper change." This will come in handy if there is a line for the changing table and you don't have time to wait. It might also come in handy on the plane.
- The best part of flying is breezing past the first-class passengers as you preboard. The flight attendants will give you plenty of help getting settled. Remember that they are not supposed to lift luggage into the overhead bins, so if your baby isn't a sitter yet you will have to either hold the baby while also putting luggage in the bin or give the baby to a flight attendant. I usually get out my wipe case, a few diapers, and the food and put it in the seat back pocket for easy access.
- Don't get out anything to eat or drink until the second the wheels leave the ground. This might be the most important tip in this post. Once I thought we were about to take off, so I started giving Jackson his bottle. Well...we didn't take off. We were just moving up a space in line for take-off. By the time it was our turn, J had sucked down the whole bottle. I had nothing else for him to eat for his ears. It was bad. So learn from my mistake. Now, as soon as the wheels leave the ground, get out the food, but think about landing. If it's a short flight (30ish minutes), cut off the food while they're still hungry so that they'll eat again on the descent. Remember that a little hunger is not nearly as painful as a nasty headache that they can get from not properly clearing their ears, so don't get yourself worked up about how little food they are eating today.
- Don't order any drink except water. The kids will spill it everywhere.
- I really hope you have a tablet loaded up with movies or something. If you have a toddler and you are a germaphobe, please just let it go for the flight. Your kid will be probably be rolling around the floor at some point. Deal with it. They are not physically able to sit still like you can, so don't yell at them to stay in their seat.
- If you have to change a diaper on a plane, good luck. Your plane probably doesn't have a diaper changer. You have a few options if it doesn't: (1) ask for a blanket and put it down on the toilet seat lid, (2) do a standing diaper change on the toilet seat lid, (3) do the diaper change on the kid's seat, or (4) change the diaper on your lap with the kid either sitting or standing. Please don't change the diaper on the tray because (1) that is disgusting, people eat food off of that and (2) the trays are not made to hold the weight of babies and can break with your baby on it. This is the one time I would say to just let your kid wallow in a pee diaper if you want. If your kid poops and there is no diaper changer...good luck. If the plane is about to start the descent, just wait until you land and can change them in the airport.
- If you have a tiny baby, he/she will probably have the most horrific blowout on the plane. I would HIGHLY suggest purchasing some type of diaper blowout blocker if you have a little baby. Older infants and toddlers probably won't have blowouts.
- If you have to use the bathroom, have the flight attendants watch your kids.
- When the plane starts the descent, break out the snacks again.
- If you have a long layover, it might be worth it to buy passes for the first-class lounge. You can usually find them on Ebay for half of what the airline charges. Usually children under 2 are free. You will find food, drinks, comfortable chairs, and clean bathrooms. However, if you child is being really disruptive you may be asked to leave.
Delta Skyclub was an absolute LIFESAVER on our seven-hour layover in Japan
Pro tip- How to keep track of small children:
Stroller
Baby carrier
Leash
Squeaky shoes
Tying a string of jingle bells around the ankles
Another tip- I have found that many people would love nothing more than to help out a struggling parent. If you need help, ask for it. Especially older women who look like grandmothers.
