We finally made our trip back to the East Coast after delaying the trip due to the power outage/heat wave that hit DC during the July 4th week. Instead of being in DC for 6 days we were only there for 5 and two of those were spent traveling. :( Boo. BUT, we had such a GREAT TIME seeing family and friends! Riley had a blast visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Emery and they didn’t disappoint; lost of new toys and books for Riley were waiting on her. Matt and I caught up with everyone we possibly could and were so happy for that time. Although we miss aspects of DC, there are some things that we are glad to do without: Traffic, bugs, and heat! There was a ton of traffic on the beltway, the bugs were in full out attack and poor Riley got a pretty bad bite on her thigh (poor baby!), and wow…holy hotness, Batman! I was not prepared for the over 100 degree temps that smack you in the face once you step outside! But all that aside, the trip went pretty smoothly and it was something we definitely needed.
So with that, I thought that a blog post on traveling with an infant/toddler would be appropriate since we have flown with Riley so many times as a little baby and as a high spirited and energetic toddler. So here are some ideas/recommendations/tips for those that are thinking about traveling with your baby:
Streamline: I know babies come with a TON of stuff but when traveling it is best to resist the urge to take every toy and contraption out there with you. Keep it really simple. I DO NOT use our BOB stroller when traveling; I use an umbrella stroller or one that can fold up nice and tight in order for it to go through security with ease. Also, if you use an umbrella stroller, you can fit it in the overhead! So that eliminates the time you have to wait once you land to get your large, bulky, unnecessary stroller from gate check. Also, I only take two bags on board with me: diaper bag and a backpack. Each one has specific uses; 1) diaper bag has food, snacks, diapers, changing pad, 2) backpack holds toys, books, blanket, and my personal stuff like wallet, phone, etc. I do this so it doesn’t get confusing as to where things are that I need. When it comes to food, obviously if your baby is under 6 months you are only worrying about breast milk/formula (if using formula, they have individual powder packs that you only need to mix with water..do this and DO NOT get the liquid cans!). If your baby is eating foods, I highly recommend getting the squeeze bottles that have 3.14 ounces in each since they are under the 3.4 ounce liquid that’s allowed on carry on. This will expedite the security process tremendously. Then bring fruit and snacks for your baby to eat while on board. You don’t want to pack any liquid (I cannot stress this enough). You can get water, juice, milk once through security.
If you are going somewhere that doesn’t have a crib, I HIGHLY recommend the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib. It is easy to assemble and disassemble AND fits nicely into a tiny sized briefcase which can be put in your suitcase instead of checking it separately. This is vital if you have to pay for each piece of luggage checked. Other travel cribs or pack n’ plays are very odd sizes and extremely heavy. The baby bjorn is expensive but its worth it!
Seat vs. Infant in Arms: Now that I have experience doing both, my recommendation is to buy a seat for your baby if he/she is over 6 months of age. After 6 months they need space. Before six months they are fine sitting on mama or daddy but after that, they like to assert their independence and if you have to sit next to a stranger, they will probably be kicked, prodded by tiny fingers or who knows! Luckily we had a very nice lady next to us which didn’t mind this but most of the time people are very unhappy about having to sit next to a baby. If you are flying Southwest you may get lucky and the flight isn’t completely full so you can bring the infant seat on board with you if they are under 22 pounds. Also, you can check with the gate agent to see if there are any extra seats so that you don’t have to do infant in arms. But we found that Riley really, really liked her own space and since flying can be very unpredictable, you may want to just pay up and buy another seat. I say this because when we got on our plane at 6:45AM in San Diego to fly nonstop to BWI last week, we ended up not taking off until 9:00AM! So we were just on the plane for over two hours with Riley and we were SUPER happy to have her in her own seat. How terrible would that had been to just be holding her for two hours before the flight took off AND then for an additional 5 hours in the air? Yikes… So with that, if they have their own seat DO NOT bring the bulky car seat with you. There is absolutely no point to that. I feel so sorry for those parents I see lugging a huge car seat with them through the airport. Really? There is point to that. We bought the FAA approved adjustable seatbelt for babies called CARES. It was super easy to use and took up barely any room in my backpack. Why wouldn’t everyone do this? She barely used it too. You keep them buckled in during takeoff and landing but mostly they are able to play in their seat with no restrictions.
Also, always feed them during takeoff and landing so their ears don’t pop. Some kiddos have a terrible time with this. Riley has no issues at all but I hear horror stories of shrieking babies that gets terrible ear pains so its best to give them something to suck on or drink while cabin pressure changes. We also bring the ipad for her which has a ton of baby apps for her to play with. I know this next one may gross y’all out but when it comes to changing her diaper; I ONLY change her diaper in the bathroom when she goes #2; not when she pees. I change her right in the seat (since we bought one for her there is room to do this). I keep plastic bags with me and just take off the dirty one and slap on a clean one (another good idea is to buy pull up diapers which make this super easy). I have hand sanitizer and diaper wipes with me so why not, ya know? No one pays attention and if I wasn’t able to do this I would have been in the bathroom over 5 times on our last trip! I only do this on the flight and never at the airport...Oh and always bring more diapers, food and extra clothes than you think you will need just in case flight plans do not go as scheduled (not that this happens, right?). You never know! I hope this helps you guys! Believe me, I learned the hard way on all of this. Make it as simple as possible since traveling is already stressful. Happy traveling!
Here are some of the latest pics of Riley having a blast in our back yard. She loves bubbles!
