#Traveling with Baby / Toddlers

So you're going somewhere with your little person. If you didn't like traveling before... you probably won't love the "getting there" piece of it now either. Here are some tips and things to think about that we've learned over the last 4 years.

#Meta-advice

It's going to be fine. Odds are good that you and baby will get to wherever you're going in one piece. Doing prep work now will probably make things easier in the moment. Doing less work now may result in more temporary discomfort, but it'll still be fine.

#Flying

#Guiding Principles

1. Hands free is clutch
   • Check bags if it’s free/easy
   • Consider checking bags if it’s $$. Think about whether you can hold a baby and also transport all your things (depends on your adult to kid ratio).
   • Checking one big bag is probably cheaper than 2 small ones, and easier to handle because it’s fewer things.
   • Bring a baby carrier if you and your baby tolerate using one. It’s nice to have if they’re wanting to be held and you want to have hands to do other things.
2. Loosen the rules
   • We bring basically unlimited snacks (things they often aren't allowed to have very often)
   • No screen time limits; download all the shows and games
   • Trying to stick to a nursing/feeding schedule to avoid "snacking"? Consider being much more lax while traveling - your schedule will normalize after the trip is over
3. Everything takes longer
   • Entertaining the kids in the gate area for a bit longer (go find some planes to look at) is often much better than rushing through the airport with no time for the potty break you'd all really like to take.

#But... how do I get all the stuff there?

#Big Things (Car seats and strollers)

Let's talk about big things (in size, and probably importance) first. Options:

1. Don't bring them

   • Could you arrange for a car seat to be waiting for you at your destination (family/friends, renting from the car company)? Personally, I have read horror stories (not cleaned, wrong size, damaged) about car seats from rental car companies, so we've never gone that route.
     • Our friends bought us a used car seat from a neighbor
     • The people you're visiting might be able to borrow an extra from a friend/coworker
   • Will you need a stroller when you’re there (for napping the baby, lots of walking etc.), or will a carrier/adult holding them suffice? If you can manage to make it through the airport without a stroller, and you don't need one where you're going, it's soooo much simpler to just skip this step.

2. Gate check or bring it on the plane

   • You’ll have to put stroller and car seat through security x-ray (be ready to fold the stroller and remove the car seat from the bag)
   • Gate Check: Drop off at the end of the jetway; pick up at the end of the jetway
     • If you do this, get gate check tags for the stroller and/or car seat from the gate agent before boarding

   Pros:

   • You can use them to carry things/babies through the airport
   • Car seat/stroller stay in your possession longer - less possibility for damage
   • Maybe: If there are lots of empty seats (ask the gate agent before boarding), they may let you take a seat for your free lap child and install the car seat on the plane

   Cons:

   • More things to manage in the airport. Can’t use escalators.

   If you paid for your child to have their own seat, consider bringing a car seat on the plane. It's technically safer, but also, we've found naps are much more likely in the car seat than in the regular airplane seat.

3. Check at check-in

   Pros:

   • Don’t have to deal with extra stuff inside the airport
   • Free - airlines don’t (can’t?) charge for checking car seats or strollers; they don’t count towards your bag fees/limits

   Cons:

   • Your stuff gets handled more and may get damaged
   • You often have to pick it up at the oversized baggage area, which can take longer to arrive

#Other notes

• Some airlines accept limited liability for car seats and strollers - if they are damaged they don’t reimburse you - only if they are lost do you get reimbursed. It’s possible some credit cards may cover this if you book your tickets with that card - I haven’t investigated it yet.
• You’ll want some sort of bag or padding to protect the car seat from at least dust/dirt.
  • We got something like this off our Facebook free group, but even a garbage bag may offer enough protection.
  • A padded backpack-style bag made it easier to carry and offered a bit more protection, but it's also $$. More $$$ ones also have wheels. Last time we traveled with a backpack bag, we shoved all of our backpacks inside of it while walking through the airport (and had to take them all out a security), but had fewer bags to manage.
  • Or, consider getting a cart or a strap to make carrying a car seat through the airport easier. We never did either one (we tried a bungee cord, and it was okay but not great) and we made it, but it might have been a bit easier if we had something more dedicated.
• We don’t travel with our regular car seats. We have lighter travel ones, like the Cosco Scenera Next, which is so much lighter than our regular seats (~7 pounds), is not difficult to carry, and is ~$60 new. More info on other options here. I don’t feel bad if our travel car seats get banged around a bit (in theory you should replace a car seat in any accident, and the trauma of baggage handling feels like this). We also recently borrowed a RideSafer car seat vest for our older toddler (3+). It was so much easier to pack a tiny bag into our luggage than cart around a 10 lb car seat. These cost ~$170 though (but are also good for riding in non-primary cars if you don't want to transfer car seats between cars).
  • Make sure you know how to install your car seat quickly in an unfamiliar car (or with an unfamiliar travel seat)! Practice it. This will make transportation at your destination much better - there's nothing like fiddling with a car seat while cars are whizzing around you and your toddler is tugging on your shorts while your Uber driver is getting impatient.
    • For infant seats... We didn’t bring the Chicco Keyfit base for our infants because it’s lighter without it and you can do a seat belt install. It was a little more annoying when the baby fell asleep in it and we wanted to carry them inside, because then we had to uninstall/reinstall it a few times, but it was nice to have one less thing.

#Diapers, Wipes, & Clothes

For the travel day, you'll need (in a carry-on):

1. Enough diapers and wipes. Account for accidents, long delays, and worst case scenarios. Have you ever seen diapers on sale at the airport? Me neither.
   • If we're carrying on a suitcase, some of these can be in an easy-to-find pocket of that bag, so your diaper bag isn't stuffed.
2. Change(s) of clothes; definitely for baby - blowouts/liquid/messy food spills might happen. Consider bringing a change of clothes for yourself too.

Make sure these things are easy to get out quickly.

#Breastmilk/Pumping

If breastfeeding / pumping...

• Consider whether you will always be around your baby or if you need/want to bring a pump and extra milk. If you’re not comfortable nursing in the airport/airplane, you’ll need to pump/bring milk. I like to be in a window seat with my husband next to me if I’m going to nurse - it feels more private.
• You can bring >3 oz of breastmilk/formula through security (it counts as liquid medicine, essentially). Open the container and tell the TSA agent you have milk. They will probably test it with a machine. We’ve brought 4+ bottles with us before, and also frozen milk. I have a specialized ice pack + cooler for this (cheap at a used baby stuff sale), which is nice but not necessary.
• A pump is considered a medical device and doesn’t count towards your carry-on limit.
• I think they have outlets in the airplane lavatories, but a battery-powered pump is best.
• It’s easiest to not try to pump at the airport/airplane :)
• There is a mother's room in DIA on each concourse near the middle. Most airports have places (even little pods) for pumping or nursing. Mamava has a list of where their pods are, or you can look up the specific airport ahead of time. You can plan around it if you have time, or nurse with a cover.

#In the Airport

• Changing a (blowout) diaper in a family bathroom is a lot easier because you have more sets of hands in one place
• Allow more time for blowouts/nursing in the airport
• Allow more time for your personal bathroom trips because if you both need to go, you’ll want to swap baby + stuff and go one at a time
• Allow time for toddler potty breaks, even though you just stopped and they didn't have to go then
• Allow more time for using elevators if you’re bringing a stroller
• Allow more time for getting your lap child boarding pass (if applicable, see below).

#Boarding

• Most airlines have a family boarding - it might be less stressful to board then. Southwest boards families after A group. Find out how your airline does it ahead of time.

#The actual flight

#Baby’s Needs

• It’s typically advised to have the baby suck on something during takeoff/landing to help with pressure changes for their ears. Bottle/nipple/pacifier.
  • Our toddler had some bad ear pain when descending a week or two after an ear infection. Sucking on applesauce pouches seemed to help.
• There are diaper changing stations in most lavatories. Sometimes we just change pee diapers on our laps though; depends on your comfort level.
• If baby is fussy and nursing will stop the fussing, even if it’s not the right time for it, do it. It won’t screw up your schedule to feed early one time.
• Blowouts happen! Our son had a blowout on his first flight (3 months old), right before we pushed back. The flight attendants had the pilot wait a few minutes while we dealt with it.
• Crying happens! Most people are understanding, especially if it’s short lived.

#Toddler Wants

• We allow unlimited screen time on airplanes. Once your kid is ~2??, this will work great. Between the snuggly baby phase and the “entertained by a tablet” phase, you’ll have a toddler who just wants to move around and touch everything - that's the hardest age to fly with.
• For tablet kids:
  • Test headphones for toddler before you leave
  • Download lots of shows/movies the night before (Netflix, Disney+, random games, etc.)
  • Sometimes they just like to press all the buttons; don’t have anything on the tablet that you don’t care about getting deleted and you’ll be way less stressed
• For toddler who doesn’t want a tablet (for more than 10 min):
  • Snacks. So many snacks. All their favorites. Don’t hold back, unless you run out. If you ran out, you didn’t bring enough. Their diet will be fine, unless you’re traveling every other week on an airplane.
  • There are bunches of blogs out there around what other toys are helpful to entertain your kid. A few things we usually bring:
    • Mess-free drawing is usually popular: Melissa & Doug Water Wow!, LED drawing tablets, or even just a handful of crayons and a blank notebook.
    • 2-3 small books (double as bedtime stories; hey, they want to read them multiple times a day at home anyway, even when there are 40 other options). We let our kids pick, and they're more excited about reading them because of it.

#Other Prep

#Lap Child Boarding Pass

• Highly airline dependent
• For Southwest, you can do as part of check in process at kiosk in the airport (used to have to go to the full-service desk)
• For other airlines, check out their websites and/or call/chat to add. Some airlines allow you to add a lap child when making the flight reservation.
• Definitely know if you'll need to see the full-service desk at check-in. This can take a looooong time, or no time at all.
• Have a digital and/or physical copy of the birth certificate (we put one in Google Drive and make sure it's downloaded so it works without internet connection).

#Hotels

• Most hotels should have a Pack n Play so you don't have to bring one. You should put it in the notes or whatever when booking the hotel, especially if you're arriving late and want to have it ready right when you get there. However, the last 3 times I asked for a Pack n Play ahead of time, it wasn’t in the room when we checked in :( It might be worth calling the hotel day-of if it's really important (e.g., you have a little baby who really can't sleep in a regular bed).
• Make the room dark!! This works well in most hotels, but not great in condos or friends' houses. We've considered getting some portable blackout blinds, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

#Packing

Before you stuff everything in your child's room into a suitcase, consider whether you'll be able to easily do laundry at your destination. If so, you might need less “just in case” backup items.

• I highly recommend packing cubes. It’s way easier to keep the little stuff contained/organized in a larger suitcase. We have 1 set of these and they've worked well for 2 kids under 4 in not-winter weather. They’ve also held up great for ~4 years. These are also good for weekend trips to the grandparents' house, diaper bags, etc. We just pop the cube out into a dresser drawer in the hotel, and the kids can self-serve to get themselves dressed.
• Short on space? If you check your car seat in a car seat bag, you can pack diapers/wipes in the car seat. I recommend buckling the diapers in as sometimes TSA opens the bag or they get shifted around.

#Packing List

My dad was a pilot, and I've traveled to more than 40 countries. My biggest recommendation is to developing a packing list (for you, and for baby). It’s helpful for every single trip to incrementally add to, for packing peace of mind. This has saved my sanity in wracking my brain about what I might be forgetting. If you're on a trip and you forgot to bring something, add it to the list. After the first few trips, I found I never needed to add any more. If I went through the list, I could relax and know I had everything I really needed.

Here are my lists:

1. Little Baby
2. Toddler
3. Adult

#Summary

Follow these tips to make your trips go more smoothly. But also, come up with your own tips! Experiment with what works for you and your family - we debrief at the end of a trip to see what went well and what needs tweaking for the next time.

Traveling with a baby/toddler is both a lot of work and also very rewarding. Making sure everyone and everything gets to its destination safe and sound is no small feat. But showing our kids new places (and new forms of transportation - planes! buses! trains!) is also quite fun.