Traveling with Toddlers and Babies: everything you need to know.
How to hold onto your sanity while flying with two, two and under.
Four weeks ago we got back home from our week trip to Arizona and it’s taken me roughly four weeks to recover. From delays and missing connecting flights, to a full blown tantrum in the middle of the gatehouse, we now have gained some insight on traveling with two kids aged two and under. First of all, flying with a toddler and newborn means questioning your parenting skills about the same number of times as there are daily flight departures out of O’Hare. (Which is roughly 2,400 in case you were wondering). Ethan and I shared many looks of “what have we done”, and “we created these little monsters”.
The good news is that we all made it to our destination and back home in one piece, just with slightly less pride than we left with. So, here are some things that helped us and might help you if you find yourself traveling with your offspring that are in the toddler & newborn stage.
*none of the links in this post are commissionable or associated with an affiliate program, just helping my fellow mama’s out!
1. Milk - the cow kind and the boob kind.
If your kids are anything like mine, they like milk. In fact, one of my kids happens to survive off it at the moment. So, milk was a non-negotiable item in our carry-ons. Luckily two conveniently located milk containers happen to travel with me everywhere I go, so we were set on feeding the newborn. The milk situation for the toddler however, did require us to go through security with a bottle full of milk.
If you find yourself needing to bring in milk (cow, breast, or formula), know that it’s totally okay to bring it through security. Just let them know before you send your bags through. They will have to test it with a little test strip, but that didn’t phase us and only held us up for about 10 minutes during one screening. We kept our bottle in a insulated bottle holder which was sufficient in keeping it cold enough until we got on the plane. If you want to bring an ice pack - just make sure it is completely frozen.
For Konrad, I did not pump any in advance, I just nursed along the way. I did do my best to time his feedings so he would be nursing during take off. (This helps their little ears adjust to the pressure --- we gave our toddler his milk at this point too.) I always try to get a window seat when I’m bringing a nursing baby so I have some privacy and something to lean up against. If you are a nursing mama, I would urge you to consider a window seat because it’s honestly so much more comfortable than an aisle. In my experience, my infant babies typically nurse during take off and then konk out for the rest of the flight. Since you cannot fly with your baby strapped into carrier, that means that for a few solid hours your arms are holding a baby. A window seat allows for some support. Also, do yourself a favor and buy a travel pillow to go under your arm that is supporting your baby - it will make for a much more comfortable experience for both of you.
In terms of nursing covers, I like to bring an aden & anais lightweight swaddle blanket like this and tie it like a handkerchief around my neck. I roast when I breastfeed and my babies get too hot underneath anything else. This allows me to wear it like a cover, or just gently drape it on my chest so any flashing is less obvious to fellow passengers. GRR -> PHX passengers that may have caught a look-see, #sorrynotsorry.
2. Distract the toddler.
I’ll be honest that I totally considered being “that” mom and packing a small puzzle and coloring pages and other pinterest appropriate things to distract Soren. Then I realized that I was being insane and that we would be in full survival mode. So, out went those disillusioned plans, and in came… the ipad.
We bought a few movies on Amazon ahead of time and downloaded the “Movies Anywere” app, this ipad cover (super durable), and these headphones (super comfortable). If your kid will be absorbed for even 15 minutes in a movie, trust me that these items are worth it for your sanity.
3. Keep the tiny humans contained.
One would think that four hands would be enough to wrangle two children (one of whom does not yet walk), but one would be wrong. Four hands are not enough to wrangle even one child, so this is where restraints are necessary.
I like to sometimes look back at my former self before I became a mom and think about all the things I said I would never do and then laugh and laugh as I pour myself another glass of merlot.
We we went there. We caved. We bought the leash. And it was glorious. I’m mildly paranoid about my losing my toddler in public places who thinks “stop” means “yes, please by all means take off in any direction so I can chase you - this will be so fun”. So we conquered him by buying him a leash. You bet we got looks of distaste from airport dwellers, but I held my head high as we confidently strutted past the gates holding onto our toddler strapped in a backpack monkey leash.
The newborn in this case was very easy, because he can’t yet verbalize his opinions and was therefore strapped to me in our Ergo carrier. He was pretty happy about the whole thing, so highly recommend this route.
Lastly, there will be times when you need to get to places not at a snail's pace so you you will need to buckle the babies into a stroller. We totally last minute bought this stroller. I definitely appreciated many of its functions, but it was bulky and heavy. Maybe in the future we will choose something else, but for this trip we settled on this stroller that I don’t love but don’t hate and wouldn’t feel out as much if it were to get broken as I would with a really high quality stroller.
4. Germs. Germs Everywhere.
Whether or not your toddler is a thumb-sucker like mine, kids touch their faces constantly. While we don’t abide by the 5-second rule around here a lot, I do get squirmy about airplanes and germs. When we would get seated and organized, we would wipe down the seats, armrests, and tray tables (and screens too if the plane had them) with a sanitizer wipe and everyone would get a little dollop of hand sanitizer. Everyone except K - he was still strapped to me at this point. Soren actually started to think it was a fun game, and enjoyed smooshing it between his hands.
Obviously germs are part of life, and a little dirt don’t hurt, but I’ll try to lessen the chances of us catching something gross if possible.
5. Good sense of humor.
It’s definitely important to be prepared with things you know your kiddo will need, but ultimately your attitude and sense of humor will be your most important assets.
I was worried that Soren might get really scared during take off and landing, so we talked to him about how the plane is going to go really fast and it might feel funny in his belly. Like a champ, after our first landing he exclaims loudly to the enjoyment of our small city hopper plane, “SO FUN!”
Flying with a toddler and baby is a lot of work, and maybe we will get more accustomed to it as we continue to travel with our boys, but the work is totally worth seeing the wonder in our toddler’s eyes as he looks down from the night sky or out into the clouds. Kids just know how to find magic in the everyday, don’t they?
I’d love to know your best tip for flying with littles, so make sure to leave it in the comments below!
-Erin