Traveling with kids is a trip, not a vacation. Do what works for your family when deciding when/if/how to travel. It can be tough but traveling doesn’t have to end when you have kids.
collective wisdom
“We bring our umbrella stroller. We didn't buy an extra seat and it was great. You can check your carseat for free, we bought a carseat bag and throw stuff in there too (although they might ask you if there's stuff in it and if you tell them the truth they'll make you take it out). Bring snacks and just a few toys…”
“As much as I hate encouraging excessive use of ziplock bags, get the big ones, create 3-4 sets of two diapers and a change of clothes (we always traveled in zip up footie pjs until they could walk). Make another bag with wipes, cream and changing pad. Each time you go to change him, grab your wipe bag and a new bag of diapers/clothes, that way'll you'll be prepared if you quickly need a change of clothes (and you'll have a bag to put the soiled clothes in). And definitely bring an extra pair of clothes for you too!”
“Nurse for take off and landing, good chance [they'll] just pass out.”
“Easy grab carry on and only one! Baby carrier for the flight - though be aware they make you take it off for take off and landing (I just take the straps off, not the whole thing). And nurse or bottle for take off and landing, the paci will work if you can't do either of those but not quite as effective as it's the act of swallowing not sucking that helps prevent ear problems.”
“Bring changes of clothes for both of you. I even brought plastic Ziploc bags with a change of clothes. Makes it easy to grab from the bag with only one hand!
“Bring a *copy* of the baby's birth certificate. You need this to check-in. They may tell you you don't need this. But we always do. Every airline wants to see it even if TSA says you don't during the security line.”
“I highly recommend bringing the nursing pillow, especially for longer flights. Just stick it in the low basket of your stroller and carry it on. Makes it easier to nurse and have a place to rest him to sleep if you don’t bring on the car seat (I never have).”
“Take your time. Don’t get upset if he does. He'll feed off your anxiety and will make things worse. I was terrified she would meltdown and people would hate us, but everyone was so nice and patient. And the ones who aren’t, well who cares.”
“Call your airline to see if they'll upgrade you to bulkhead seats ... depending on size of plane they have basinets for those seats and it's extra legroom for you and all your…stuff.”
“For the hotel: I bought a travel bottle cleaning kit for bottles and pump parts so I didn't have to pack so many bottles. My little guy's bedtime is really early so I was trapped in the hotel room and had to learn through trial and error the amount of light and sound he could sleep through in such close quarters. Pack a blanket to drape over the pack and play otherwise you may be stuck in the dark. Pack headphones so you can stay up past his bedtime. I also packed a sound machine. And let's be honest, without the house stuff staring you in the face, it was pretty nice to just go to sleep at his bedtime!”
“Curb side check everything (the only cost is a nice tip, which we usually do $2 per bag) but your stroller, then gate check that. See if you can back carry him for hiking, then just use your simplest “city”/collapsible stroller for everything else. Unless you’re planning on needing to have him nap in the car and easily transition him to a stroller, don’t worry about stroller compatibility.”
“Now that our kid is a toddler, we just rent a carseat when we are renting a car. Experts don’t recommend it because you may not know if it has been in a car wreck that damaged it. To each their own, but convenience and less stuff is important for us.”
“People recommended a lightweight, simple travel carseat for our recent travels and it ended up working out great! We still brought the folding jogging stroller and even though that carseat didn't fit on it for him to actually ride in, it worked to set it on top and gate check all of it, and use it to help us with carry on luggage. We wore him in the carrier around the airport. It is a bit of a hassle in the security line, but for me, the stroller was helpful to have for that reason alone even though we didn't use it a lot on the actual vacation.”
“We [bring] a ton of snacks, a tablet, and some coloring pages with the color magic markers that are clear so that they can't mark on anything else. Also, he LOVES painters tape and post its to stick everywhere. I can't praise painters tape enough. The yellow Frogtape is awesome too.”
"The best advice I got from someone was to make sure you have a change of clothes for both yourself and your baby for the plane. You don't want to sit in pants with poop on them anymore than your baby does!"
activities for kids, by age
0-18 months:
Toddlers
K-3
surprise bags, sticker books, all the way up to kindles, etc)
surprise bags, sticker books, all the way up to kindles, etc)