Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Traveling with Toddlers is NOT for the weak at Heart!

This blog starts with the drive to help all moms and dads out there who are about to embark on the last vacation of the summer. My husband and I are a little ridiculous. I cant tell you how many times we have had people ask us? How do you do it? How do you travel so much with children?

My mind goes a little dizzy, and flashbacks of nursing children to shut up, or switching out DVD's to keep them sane, or thousands of snacks we stuff them in hopes they fall asleep, or playing endless games of I Spy, frustrated Daddy, and tired Mommy.....I shake my head of those visions and instead we shrug and say...We just do it.

If we didn't travel, I feel like we would be missing out on things we should be seeing, or experiencing. We both come from families, that didn't pawn the children off so they could site-see, they TOOK the kids with them! My husband and I always traveled as children, and now find it second nature to travel with ours.

My first born has traveled to more states then I probably did.

We first flew Chloe to Washington State when she was a year old. Thankfully she was still young enough she didn't want to run up and down the isles of the plane.

Some things you MUST remember when flying with children:




Your airline WILL check a car seat for each child for FREE!
You CAN take a stroller (preferably an umbrella stroller) through security and onto the plane, where they will then stow it where luggage goes. Thankfully as you come off the plane, there awaits your stroller.
You CANNOT take liquids through security but you can pack TONS of snacks for the kiddos. Once passed through security, wait ++++++++ get your toddler a sprite on the plane FOR FREE!

Then you say...wait, I don't give my kids sprite. Well you will now, Sprite is Caffeine free, plus it has the most bubbles, when you drink sprite (ice free!) through a straw it will equalize your child's ears!!! And they have been SO GOOD up till this point, they think they are getting a treat~!

TIPS TO EQUALIZING THE EARS:::
Chew gum
If baby: suck on bottle or pacifier
Bring inflatable balloons for each kid (tell them to blow while plane takes off!)
Drink sprite through a straw

Must remember continued:
If your child is under 2 they can be considered a lap child, and you will not have to buy them a ticket
however...mine are not anymore (grrrr)

In January we flew 6.5 hours to Maui with both kids. I have never been so terrified in my life!!! Ok yes about flying, but flying 6.5 hours with TODDLERS???? Who would ever put themselves in such a situation? Well, we do.

 
What you should pack for your kids:
Each toddler gets their own seat, which means don't have them sharing ANYTHING! They each get a backpack and a lunch box. Pack plenty of snack, but only pull a few out at a time...this is not a sit down lunch kinda deal!! Keep these kids occupied!
They each had a small blanket and pillow, because yes they eventually do fall asleep.
They each got 2 reading books, and 1 coloring book, a sandwich baggy with a few crayons (try to match their bags!)
My son got a few action figures and a few cars.
My daughter got her leap frog.
We took our time with each thing a drew it out as long as possible with activities and stories. In between each "ok mom I'm bored on to the next", we would do potty break.
Yes, get your kids up and walk them to the back of the plane, stretch their little legs, and make it an ADVENTURE! Which wont be hard, because those airplane bathrooms are quite noisy!

Extra set of clothes if your potty training! (whoops)
Extra diapers & Wipes!!! (you will need lots of wipes)

Most planes up and down the west coast have 3 seats on one side of the isle, and 2-3 on the other side so Daddy always had his own seat. Fair? Yes I think so, because at a burnout period, I can send one over to him when they need a little comfort or change of scenery. Also because Mommies have more patients and understanding, and I feel its better to have a stressed out Mommy then an angry Daddy!

In between each story or playtime, pull out 1 or 2 snacks, and have a drink. No not the kids, YOU MOMMY AND DADDY! Have one or two! Relax! Don't stress, if your kid cries, your kid cries. Everyone can go......you know what I mean.

Eventually your kid may fall asleep, and in the most uncomfortable position. Luckily the arm rests come up and you can pull them to the side. This is where those blankets and little pillows come in to play!

Let your littles experience the whole thing, let them be independent with their own little luggage - they may walk slow, but this whole flying bit is an experience in its own!

 
Driving with your Littles!

 
We have driven with the kids up to about  10 hours and everything below. This is a tough one, almost worse then flying!! Our first born even hated her car seat and would literally scream for hours without exhausting herself. There would be many pull over points just to feed her and pray for her to fall asleep, to give us just a few more hours of driving time. Having two kids, the screams and cry's got so bad, we made it a point to NEVER EVER EVER drive during the day again. Come bedtime, we throw the kids in the car, grab a few energy drinks, and hit the road. Arriving to your destination at 2 am was HARD! Too many yawns and slaps on the arm to keep the other awake! But.....it was peaceful...oh so....peaceful.

There would be times when driving at night, was just not a possibility, and packing things for the kids was extremely important. Refer to above on what to pack for your kids while traveling. Many activities and small toys, and plenty of snacks!!

Take a few potty breaks, let them stretch their legs, and its extremely important to have a comfy car seat, try putting a piece of cloth on plastic and see how long you can sit there. Not easy huh?

We THANKFULLY invested in a TWO screen DVD player for the back of our headrests. THE BEST INVESTMENT WE'VE EVER MADE. Why I ask myself did It take so long to figure this gem out? Trial and error I guess. This is one thing (on top of toys and snacks) that helps keep the kids at bay. Judge me? More power to you if you have two kids that scream and whine and cry, and you think you can handle that on a 6 hour drive. I dare you. Its not easy.

Eventually the time will pass, and you will reach your destination. The few hours of stressful travel time is not enough to ruin a good vacation, and its not worth stressing over like I did. Dig deep into your inner preschool teacher self, and make it an adventure. Have bribery, and reward, and have a drink. Talk to your kids well in advance that this is the type of traveling you will be doing, let them interpret what your saying, let their imaginations grow!

This blog post is in dedication to our very short 2.5 hour flight to Washington my little family of four will be taking on Thursday.

I'm bravely not checking any luggage, each child will have a packed backpack and a carry on roll-away. I will also pack ourselves a backpack and carry-on...gotta cut the costs when your buying that many plane tickets!! I can do this! 2.5 hours is nothing now!!

Good Luck to all on your last MONTH OF SUMMER! Bon Voyage!

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