Traveling with kids is terrible. Exploring new places with your children is amazing but getting there is the worst. I don’t know one mom who would say they would rather travel with their kids versus sitting in an airplane, uninterrupted with a good book, good tunes and a cocktail. If you are one of those moms then do you want to trade kids? I’m sure it gets better but a toddler confined to an airplane is not an ideal situation. In all honesty you guys, we have absolutely no idea what we are doing when it comes to traveling with kids. I think the secret is you have to go into it with very little expectations of your kids being good and you’ll think it went great!
Our trip to Denver was so much fun! We had a blast visiting our family and it was exciting to go on an adventure as a family of four. The trip down was pretty okay. Charlie had his moments and of course fell asleep 15 minutes before landing. Charlie is a huge napper so when he misses his window and starts to get overly exhausted – all hell breaks loose. I knew getting him to sleep was going to be tough (he wanted to say hi to everyone!) so I tried to keep his spirits up with sticker books, new trucks and videos on our phones/Amazon Fire. BUT, we made it in one piece and although Charlie was tired and cranky he perked up! Jack was a dream baby. I nursed him during take off and he slept the majority of the flight.
Our flight home was a different story. My biggest recommendation is try to book flights around nap times if you can. If your baby is a good napper (unfortunately Charlie only really naps in his crib/day care) then fingers crossed they sleep on the flight. We couldn’t quite line up our flights with his nap so we ended up taking off about 2 hours past his typical nap time. #fffffffff
I think he screamed 92% of the flight home. He hated being confined, the internet wasn’t working on the plane so he couldn’t access Youtube Kids (his obsession) and he was sooooo tired. Ultimately there is only so much negotiation you can do with a screaming toddler so you just kind of have to ride it out.
I asked you guys to send over some questions you may have about traveling with kiddos and I received so many good ones! Seriously you all think of everything.
Answering Your Questions About Traveling with Kids
Did you get a seat for your little one? We are traveling in April and can’t decide if we should get our daughter a seat or have her on our lap.
We did get a seat for Charlie but not for Jack. Once your child turns two it is required that they have a seat and honestly I wish we would have bought an entire row for Charlie. Ha!
How do you bring all your pump stuff and travel with milk? Any easy ways?
I did bring my pump but did not bring any milk that I had already pumped. Honestly, I am not pumping as much with Jack. I have some milk stored in the freezer but if I do pump anything it is usually used right away (or the next feeding). Obviously this would be different if I were not traveling with Jack and had to bring home pumped milk. I’ve heard buying a little cooler and ice packs is the easiest way to get home without much trouble from security. It would be considered a carry on!
How do you manage car seats and kiddos in the airport and at your destination?
We always travel with both and check them at the ticket counter. We have the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio convertible car seat for Charlie and we use this travel bag. We have the Nuna Pipa car seat for Jack and use this bag. If we were going to take a longer flight, we may use his car seat in flight but we haven’t had to do that yet. When we only had Charlie we would snap his car seat into the stroller and then gate check both before boarding the flight.
Would love to know recommendations for travel stroller!
We love our Baby Jogger City Mini GT (pictured above!) and our City Mini GT Double Stroller.
What do you bring to keep Charlie occupied on the plane? Do you have a recommendation for toddler headphones for use with a tablet?
We bought an Amazon Fire tablet that is filled with games and apps for him. We also have these headphones which he loves! I also like to buy stickers that he can use on the airplane windows and a few new toys that will spark his excitement once we board.
How do you feed a baby on a plane? Ie if you’re pumping and also curious how one does that if they’re formula feeding (ie do you bring water bottles or a gallon of nursery water? And how to get through security with breast milk/formula and water)?
I usually always plan to nurse at takeoff (even if it means it is pretty close to his last feeding) to prevent his ears from popping. The swallowing helps! I am pretty comfortable nursing in public when I need to but I’ll make sure I’m wearing the right shirt and a cover. When Charlie was on formula I would buy a room temperature bottle of water after going through security and I would use this container with portions of his formula for bottles.
When it comes to getting through your security with pumped milk, I think you should be able to carry on a mini cooler with milk and ice packs!
How do you keep everyone healthy and germ free in the middle of flu season??
I try to prevent this as best I can but it is hard to protect your babies all the time. Charlie gets sick but I also think he has a pretty tough immune system thanks to daycare. I use these wipes to wipe down the seats, arm rests and tray but he still manages to crawl all over places I haven’t wiped down. So just lots of washing hands! Jack stayed in my arms wrapped up in a blanket so I would wipe down his hands but otherwise he didn’t touch anything! I know these wipes aren’t natural but with all of the germs, sometimes I think you need the strong stuff.
Where does each child sleep? Pack n plays?
Charlie sleeps in a Pack n’ Play and Jack was in a bassinet! We were lucky to be staying with family who actually had everything that we needed. We do have this bassinet for Jack (it can stay on a couch/chair/table) and we have been known to Amazon Prime a pack n’ play and donating to a hotel or renting when we can!
How do you deal with parking your car and getting to the airport with both kids and all of your bags?
Dave usually drops me off with the boys and our luggage and goes and parks the car! We pack up the car seats and make sure Charlie is in the stroller before he leaves and then I get inside and wear Jack in my Solly Baby Wrap. We personally felt that this was the easiest (rather than taking our double stroller) since we knew we wouldn’t be using our stroller too much.
Let me know if you have any more questions in the comments! xoxo
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