We just got home from our first official family vacation since our duo became a trio. It was such a great trip and I’m still recovering from jet lag as I write this. We spent great quality time with my in-laws, my daughter got to go swimming for the first time and we soaked up every second of the beautiful southern California weather.
It was my daughter’s first time on a plane, so I wasn’t sure at all what to expect. We also had a 5.5 hour flight to start with, so we were being thrown right into the fire! I wanted to be as prepared as possible, so about a month before the trip, I posed a question to my trusty local moms Facebook group about tips for traveling with a 20 month old. These are some of the tips that I got and how they worked for us:
Pack enough diapers in your carry-on for 12 hours. I packed about 7-8 diapers to be cautious, in case of layovers.
Wipe down the tray and armrests with antibacterial wipes when you get on the plane. You want to do everything possible to avoid unwanted germs on vacation.
Bring some gallon sized Ziploc bags for trash. This was such a great tip – I never would have thought of it. Between wipes for the tray, hands, empty wrappers, etc., it was such a lifesaver to collect all of our garbage. You can zip up the bags and toss them on your way off the plane.
Pack a change of clothes for them and yourself. I packed a change of clothes for my daughter and luckily never had to use it, but I’m glad that I had it {and it didn’t take up too much room}. I also dressed her in layers, which came in handy since the planes were different temperatures, so I could take her sweatshirt on and off as needed so that she was comfortable. I should have followed the advice and packed a changes of clothes for myself because my daughter ended up spilling an entire glass of water on my pants during our layover.
Load TV shows and movies on a tablet beforehand. We had movies on our tablet and thought this was going to keep her entertained during the plane, but I was wrong. She wasn’t that interested in it {even though she loves it in the car} because she couldn’t hear it. We did bring her headphones, but she had absolutely no desire to have them on her head. This was a fail for us and only occupied her for a short period of time, but I would still do this in the future as she gets older. She also was entertained by a doodling app on the tablet.
Bring their favorite sippy cup {empty} and ask the flight attendant to fill it up on the plane. Again, another lifesaver. We brought her cup and filled it up with apple juice on the plane. Since she doesn’t get to have juice everyday, it was a little treat for her so she was excited and it kept her occupied {and we didn’t have to worry about it spilling all over}.
Buy them a seat and bring the car seat. We did buy her a seat, since she is constantly moving and I doubted that she would sit on a lap for the entire flight. It was definitely more expensive that way, but I don’t regret it at all. Even though she ended up on my lap for a good part of the flight, we were able to spread out, have plenty of room for our carry-ons and be comfortable. Plus, she had the option to sit in her own seat for when she got bored on my lap. We didn’t end up bringing her car seat because I checked the seat dimensions beforehand and it would have been too wide for the seat. I am actually glad that we didn’t bring it and lug it around through the airports. Now that we have flown with her, I doubt that she would have actually stayed in it the whole time. I think it might have helped her sleep a little better, but, again, I don’t regret not bringing it.
Bring new toys and give them out one at a time. I bought plenty of new items, including a Travel Doodler Pro, stickers, markers, pencils, coloring books, etc. Seeing the new item did occupy her for a little bit, but she didn’t fall in love with any of the arts and crafts that I brought. However, she mostly wanted to play with her stuffed animals, look out the window and climb all over me. The Travel Doodler Pro and stickers were her favorite.
Bring their favorite snacks. I highly recommend this and they can serve as a great distraction if you sense a tantrum coming on.
Bring a pacifier, ring pop or gum for landing and take-off. The pacifier was our BFF during the trip and it avoided many meltdowns. Emmy didn’t have any problems with landing and takeoff. She doesn’t know how to chew gum yet, so we brought a ring pop and she was interested in it at first, but it just ended up being a sticky mess. It would probably have been more useful if she was just a little bit older.
Here are a few other things that I learned along the way:
- Be prepared for delays. The tablet did come in handy during our delay, since she could turn the sound up and listen. We also found an empty gate that she could run around in and we didn’t have to worry about bothering anyone.
- Find the family restroom in the airport. This will save time in case you have a tight connection and you don’t have to split up.
- Bring their favorite bedtime items {blanket, stuffed animals}, but don’t count on them sleeping. You might get lucky and they will pass out the entire time, but for our 5.5 hour flight, my daughter only slept about 20 minutes. However, our last flight was after the sun went down and she slept almost 1.5 hours. I found that letting her use her pacifier, bringing her favorite blanket and bedtime buddies, and singing to her helped her to fall asleep. She really enjoyed having her blanket and buddies throughout the whole plane ride because they made her feel comfortable.
What tips have you learned from traveling with a toddler?
