Traveling with an infant
Traveling with a newborn or toddler can be stressful and unpredictable. Listen, no child is alike and I’m certainly no expert but the more we’ve traveled with Reese, the better we’ve got. Each age group is so different to travel with too! When she was only a few months old, she slept on every flight almost the whole time. Now that she’s awake most the flight and mobil, I needed to figure out what could hold her attention and keep her busy. There’s also items that have made mine and Louie’s experience a little easier as well. I try to have new toys or products when we’re traveling so that it’s more exciting and consumes more of her time. Again, no two children are a like so what has worked for Reese, may not work for your child. This is just our experience!
Travel Stroller - So light weight and easy to use. There’s a little storage on the bottom and it folds up quick and easy once you get to the bottom of the jetway. It’s nice to have this going through the airport because it’s smaller and easier than carrying your child. We also use this at home all the time too.
If your child is not walking yet, I HIGHLY recommend traveling with the Doona! We also found out that if there’s an empty seat on your plane and you can get next to that seat, you can bring your Doona ON THE AIRPLANE. There’s a sticker on the bottom (the flight attendant will ask to see this) that shows it is aircraft approved! The flight attendants will tell you, but you’ll put the Doona at the window seat and just use the seatbelt to strap it down. We got to do this on a few flights and it was *magical* to not hold a sleeping child for 2 hours.
Tablet - I don’t want to be the parent who sets electronics in front of their kid and the child just stares at it and doesn’t interact with anyone……but on a flight, I’ll be that parent! Reese loves Elmo, Ms. Rachel or anything really. She will 100% sit down and watch a show so this is great for us. We have these headphones and this backpack that fits it perfectly so she can even carry it on her own if we want.
Snack box - This is a practical size to fit in your diaper bag and has a few little compartments for different snacks. This is just easy to use and travel with.
Water Coloring - If your child loves to color, these are fun and mess free. You fill the little brush with water and it “colors” the picture as it gets wet. It drys quick so you can easily re-color that page. Reese liked them but it only entertained her for about 10 minutes. This is just our personal experience!
Busy Mat - This is great to attach toys, use as a placemat for food or attach crayons. This way things don’t fall, get lost or go rolling to the back of the plane…… :)
Car Seat Bag - This was so great! It fit our Graco car seat perfectly (make sure you read dimensions before buying) and has padding so we knew the car seat was protected. I also snuck some of Reese’s packing cubes and diapers in there to help with the weight on my suitcase.
If you know your child will be sleeping on the plane and they use some sort of sleep sack, I reccomend bringing it on with you! Reese knows that when her sleep sack goes on, it’s time for night night and this helps her to fall asleep easier. When we used the Merlin (3-6 months) we brought this with us. Now, we bring her sleep sack. It also helps keep her warm.
