I know I previously covered tips for Flying with an Infant, but after 4 round-trip flights with just me and my 15 month old, I think it is time for a new post because things change fast when your little one is mobile!
Bottom line – traveling with a toddler is way harder than traveling with an infant – so fly as much as you can with that little baby and don’t sweat it!
Plan Ahead
This was first on the Infant post so I want to mention it first here. When traveling with a baby, planning around nap and feeding time when able was a huge help. With a toddler, it doesn’t make as much of a difference. If you have a child that will fall asleep easily on an airplane, then having a late night flight may be nice for them to just sleep through – however, the wake up and transition to your accommodations at the end could be rough. There are almost equal pros/cons to any time. Personally I don’t want super early or late flights because as the parent you probably aren’t going to get to catch up any of that sleep on the flight so I would rather be rested.
Baby-wear
When traveling solo, I still chose to baby-wear. I wanted to have my hands free and also make sure she was strapped down. I also didn’t want to have to deal with gate-checking a stroller (even though this one I have fits in the overhead bin) or having to find elevators for strollers. It was definitely a bit more of a strain on my back to have 25 lbs in the front, a heavy diaper bag in the back, and my purse on my arm, but I do still feel like it was the most efficient way to handle it all.
Pack Extras
Snacks & toys, pack all the snacks and toys. I will mention here we have chosen to do zero screen time prior to age 2 and so we do not have any movies/ipads/cell-phone games for her on trips. I bring several small toys that have lots of buttons and aren’t too obnoxious, and several books. While stuffed animals and blankets are nice on car rides, I didn’t want to deal with how dirty they get when dropped on the ground. The toys and books are easily wiped down.
Cheerios are your best friend because you can draw that snack out for a while. Even though she doesn’t eat puree pouches at home, I always have them in the bag for travel so that if we miss her normal meal times I can get some food in her stomach fast before she gets hangry.
Definitely make sure you have enough clothes and diapers for a couple days – speaking as someone who had to spend the night in the airport with her 15 month old, I was so grateful that I had more than enough of the essentials.
Water bottles & milk – with the airlines continuing sub-par service post COVID, you want to make sure you have all of your drinks covered for you guys. Bring as many water bottles and milk as you can/need (this also saves you money).
Bring Cleaning Supplies
Even though your child will inevitably drop a cheerio on the airplane floor and pick it up to eat, I still try and Clorox everything down first. I bring a ziplock bag of wipes and just power wipe everything she can see/touch.
Get Ready to Walk
My newly mobile walker got bored of sitting with her toys and books on every flight and eventually wanted to MOVE. When we had a window seat, she was a bit more trapped and so I just had her stand in between my legs and play with her toys on my seat. When we had an aisle seat, it was less easy to keep her contained so we ended up doing laps up and down the aisle when the seatbelt sign was off. Most passengers didn’t seem to mind and would wave back at her when she waved at everyone as we walked. I always made sure we weren’t in any flight attendant’s way but it did seem to be a good way to get energy out and keep her from getting to angsty on the flight. Again this is probably more likely to happen if you choose not to utilize and screens at this age.
When we were in the airport, as long as we weren’t in a rush or in the way, I also let her walk a lot so that she could get more energy out before the flight. We walked circles around the waiting area for 15-20 minutes sometimes.
Give yourself Grace and Patience
On one of my “solo” flights with Galia our flight was delayed overnight and the airline would not get our carseat from below the plane. The lesson here *may* be to always gate check your carseat – which would mean ignore what I said above about baby-wearing and use the stroller. I do think using a stroller makes sense at some times, like if you have long layovers. You could also use some of the car seat trollies or straps to attach it to your carry-on.
But back to grace and patience – we spent the night on a bench in the airport. I was so grateful I had the Baby Bjorn because I kept her strapped into it over night so she wouldn’t move away. We stuck to the tips I listed above, snacks, books, toys, and walking when she wasn’t sleeping for the 5 total hours she got in the airport (I got 2?). I still chose to keep the screens away and while I would respect anyone’s choice to break out a phone at 7am after no sleep, I just want to let you know that if you DO want to travel without screen time, YOU CAN do it, so don’t be discouraged.
When it comes to traveling with a toddler, just do it and commit. Most people want to help you and will offer you whatever assistance you may need. If they don’t, then they obviously don’t have kids and have never been kids. -__-
Xx
Kali
