Traveling with Young Kids

Grace 

I have been on one flight with Parker and it was not fun. She was 10 months old and we were going to Seattle to visit Meesh, Mon and some other friends. I also did it without my husband because he had to work. Highly recommend having another person with you (at least for the first flight because it’s new for both you and baby). I researched the tips and tried everything. I figured that since it’s only a 45 minute flight it would be a good one for her first flight and even if she cried the whole time at least it’s not a long flight. The way there she only screamed for part of the flight because I think her ears were bothering her. I had soooo many snacks and I made sure to do a binky at takeoff and tried to do a bottle at landing - both to help with her ears. She chugged the bottle so fast that my plan was ruined. That bottle was long gone by the time we actually landed. Thank god Meesh and Mon parked and came in to get us because I would not have managed with a baby strapped to my body, a backpack, a suitcase and a carseat all by myself. I believe where there’s a will there’s a way, so I would have figured out how to make it work, but I felt very lucky for good friends that came to help a sister out, especially after being stressed on the flight. (P.S. get a car seat travel bag from amazon with arm straps so you can wear it like a backpack. Also for first time parent flyers, you do not have to pay to check a car seat - at least on Alaska.)

The way back was even more stressful than the way there. We got to the airport plenty early but the lines for security were so long it was actually insane. I had even reserved a spot in line (I guess you can do that at Seatac now) but the wait time just kept getting longer and longer even with my reservation. I knew I could not miss the flight because I had checked my bag with the formula and I only had two bottles worth in my carry on. I had some snacks too but I was trying to keep this child happy on the flight this time. With how slow things were going I was for sure going to miss my flight so I ran over to the Clear booth and signed up right there and paid like $280 or something ridiculous. BUT I made it through security in 5 minutes after doing that and had enough time to grab a water bottle for the formula and change Parker’s diaper at the gate before being the last two people on the plane. Parker screamed basically the entire flight home. I gave her both the bottles because it was the only time she wasn’t crying. I tried to time the flight so she would sleep on the plane but that didn’t work out. She wanted nothing to do with any of the toys I had for her. I really think the altitude was bugging her ears, despite my efforts to keep her comfortable. As soon as we landed I stood up and rocked her in the carrier. She was so pooped from her raging that she fell asleep right away. 

Luckily for me, the people around me on both flights were very kind and didn’t make me feel worse than I already did. On the way home I was also crying (lol). I feel like I already tried to be compassionate towards people on planes with kids but now I definitely feel bad for parents with screaming babies on flights. It’s not like it’s fun for the mom or dad doing everything they can to get their baby to stop crying either. It goes to show that you can be super prepared and try all the things but it can still not go how you hope it does. You only have so much control over these tiny little babes so just roll with it and do your best! 

Meesh

Thea’s first plane ride was to San Francisco at 4 months. My husband and I had two different feelings about traveling with her. I wasn’t too nervous about the actual logistics of it, I was more concerned about her getting sick on the plane (spoiler alert- she did on the way home…). My husband was nervous about her crying and annoying everyone on the plane, especially since we were flying first class down (yay-points!). To our surprise, she did great! She cried a little here and there but overall there and back was a huge success. I think the key was really timing her bottle/binky for take off. The sucking can help their little ears with the pressure. For this trip, we brought literally everything, her merlin suit, nanit camera, hatch, books, toys, travel bottle cleaner kit, 2 cans of formula (because we’re crazy… two weeks of formula for 3 days) and the real winner was the travel bassinet! This thing was SO nice to have because, since she was so young and wasn’t rolling over yet, we didn't need a big pack and play. 

Our second trip with Thea was to Hawaii at 1.5 years old. That flight experience was much more difficult than flying with a 4 month old. The flight from Seattle to Oahu is about 5 hours and with a toddler who is always moving, this proved to be a challenge to keep her contained. We kept toying with the idea of paying the extra money and buying a 3rd seat, even though we didn't have to since she was under 2. We did, and we’re so glad we could because it gave her the room to sit, stand and lay down not in our laps. We also utilized the tablet which was a fairly new concept to her at this point. Although flying is hard, traveling with a baby/toddler is actually pretty fun and not as cumbersome as I thought it would be. She adjusted well to naps and nighttime sleeping and we were flexible with car naps so we could be out all day. Both trips we rented a car seat (which I didn't love so we may bring ours or buy a cheap travel one), and we also had this awesome little travel stroller. It’s about $60 on amazon and does the job! My only complaint is it doesn't recline much. 

Plane rides with littles can seem daunting, but you just have to remember, it’s a short period of time (even if they are screaming little banshees) you’ll still be glad you did it!

Mon

We took our first plane trip with the boys when they were 18 months. We went to Iceland with them, I know everyone said we were crazy. The flight over was extremely hard. My husband and I were both dehydrated, exhausted, and starving by the end of it. An hour in we both joked that we might need to ask for an emergency landing. The boys just did not want to sit still and most definitely did not want to sleep. They were squirming out of our arms and yelling if we tried to sit with them. Luckily, the flight attendants on Iceland Air were absolutely amazing and let them walk around in the back area where the bathrooms are. There were also some really awesome people on our flight that helped entertain them. We thought they would be more interested in TV we hadn't done much of it at home but figured they would want to watch on the plane but there was just too much other stimulation and shows didn't hold their interest very long and they did not want to wear their headphones.  There were a few toys that they would play with for ten to fifteen minutes but again nothing that really grabbed their attention. Somehow we got through it and had an amazing time in Iceland. Iceland is such a family-friendly place I would recommend it as a destination. Coming home was a lot easier because we had met my parents in Iceland and flew back with them. Extra hands if possible makes it all so much easier! 

Our next trip was when they were 2 and it went so much easier. We flew to Arizona and by this time they were more interested in TV. We did a few activities with them to break it up but they were happy to sit there and zone into their shows and thankfully were fine with their headphones at this point. 

Traveling through the airport can be really stressful. We always take our stroller and check it at the gate. It just makes it so much easier to have them contained. Of course, when we get to the gate they want to get out so we spend some time running after them. We usually will just ask a friendly-looking person to watch our stuff as we sprint after the boys. It is exhausting but good to have them run around right before the plane, we did not do this in Iceland, and now make sure to let them sprint around before loading a plane. My next suggestion is fun snacks. We have this fun spinner for snacks that they love and I make sure to include their favorites and something new that I think they’ll really enjoy.  We also have a motto that all rules are out the window during travel day. No rules on screen time or binkies or anything. Just do whatever it takes to get to the destination!