Traveling with Toddler

This blog post was a great deal of help in traveling with a 17-month-old practically across the country, including early morning wake-ups (4 a.m!), 4 hour layovers in Chicago, etc.  Kudos to Elizabeth for flying by herself with 2 kids.  I could barely keep up with one!

I wanted to add a teeny bit more to Elizabeth's very thorough blog post, so I hope you find this helpful.

1) I'm glad she mentioned that you need to bring your own milk, because you do.  I ordered this milk from Amazon, and while the individual pack of milk did weigh down our backpack, it definitely helped to have milk on hand when we were flying or waiting in the airport.

2) Definitely check with your individual airline on what you are allowed to check for free on the plane.  For instance, United Airline's policy is that you may check either a car seat OR a stroller for free.  They never gave us any hassle on this, as we brought both on board.  But also Andy and I were both traveling adults, so maybe that's what they counted.

3) Try to check your bag if possible, as the least amount of items you can carry, the better.  I agree with Elizabeth on bringing several small toys/books/and lots of snacks.  We splurged on Mott's all natural fruit snacks (which he never has), along with the Plum Organics pouches.  Crackers, Cheerios, any treat he doesn't eat often, we brought it.  The Kindle Fire was our last back-up with some downloaded movies on it, in case of a meltdown. And make sure to pack pacifier/lovey, whatever calms them down for nap time, as Jackson used both and slept on most of the flights.

4) I definitely second her post on letting kids run around the airport.  It will wear them out so they'll sleep on the plane.

5) Make sure the seats you're sitting in have 3 oxygen masks, if you have a child-in-lap.  We had to move on two of our United flights because our seats only had 2 oxygen masks.  It helps if you check in with the airline before boarding, but the flight attendants can also address those issues (and get the 2 mean guys out of your new seats so you can "legally" sit with a child-in-lap).

6) Have a copy of your child's birth certificate with you.  While United did not ask to see a copy of it, I have had other airlines (Southwest) ask for it.

7) Children don't have to remove coats or shoes to go through security.  Just carry them through, once you've removed your shoes and put all your gear through the X-ray scanner.  Make SURE you're holding your child and not some family member who walks off with them.  That way you can prove to security that the milk you're carrying, along with other big liquids (like their medicine, Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl) are definitely for a child.  We actually had problems getting the 4 oz. veggie/fruit pouches through Jackson Hole security, but my brother (who was generously helping us carry one of our three backpacks) convinced them that his nephew HAD to have the pouches for our long layover in Chicago.  Thankfully they let him pass.

8) I shipped diapers for free to the Ranch with my Amazon Prime account.  I'm glad I did, as that cut down on one more necessary item that I needed to pack.

9) Earlier I mentioned medicines, and I'm grateful we brought Jackson's Benadryl, Motrin, and Tylenol, as he battled his first fever virus while we were in the middle of no-where, so it was nice to have on hand.  I also had added a syringe for the medicine, thermometer, and band-aids.  Some people will Benadryl their kids if they are getting grumpy and won't sleep for a flight, but we really didn't have to do that since Jackson slept so well on the flights.
(And I have to give a huge "plug" of thanks to St. John's Urgent Care Clinic...when I called our pediatrician, they said we needed to take Jackson to a doctor to have him checked out since he had a fever, chest congestion, and is under age 2. So we raced out of Yellowstone National Park, me frantically searching for cell service and a local pedatrician's office, and both offices I called recommended this Clinic.  It was fairly quick, they had a pediatrician on hand, and he was sooo good with Jackson, making him laugh and feel comfortable while checking out his ears, listening to his chest, etc. Just an FYI for those of you traveling out to the Jackson, WY, area!)

10) And finally, realize a vacation is never truly a "vacation" for you if you're traveling with small kids.  If you have low expectations, you can relax, be more low-key, and just realize that it is a vacation from cooking, cleaning (except cute little booties), and it's a nice change of scenery to enjoy time with your family.

Happy Travels!