I’ve been on exactly one round trip on a plane with Quinn
since he reached toddlerhood, and I understand that in no way makes me an
expert on the topic of air travel with a toddler. However since Quinn and I
survived our trip to Michigan
and the child was freakin’ amazing on
all of our flights, I’m sharing my experience with you.
Since Q and I went on this trip all by ourselves, several of my tips and tricks are for a parent
flying solo with a little tot. But if you’re lucky enough to have your spouse
(or any extra pair of adult hands) with you on a flight with your toddler, I
think you’ll still find this helpful.
Warning: This post is very
long – I’m talking like five posts in one – but pay attention, peeps. This
is all Very. Valuable. Information.
Seriously. Bookmark this shit.
Getting through airport
security
I spent many nights lying awake and playing out the whole
airport security thing in my head. I practiced multiple scenarios in my mind
step by step for weeks. Hence the not sleeping. Anyway, my spinning paid off in this case because getting
through security was a breeze. Here’s
how I did it by myself.
I kept Quinn in his stroller while we checked our bag and
got our boarding passes. Then we pulled over to the side, and I hoisted Quinn
onto my back using our Boba baby carrier. Having a carrier that allows you to carry the baby on your
front and your back is crucial. Luckily, Quinn loves riding on my back. We don’t
have to do it often, so the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. If you’re not used to
getting the toddler onto your back by yourself, I recommend lots of practice at
home in front of a mirror.
The second critical thing to have is an umbrella stroller
that that you can easily collapse and unfold with one hand. With Q on my back, I
collapsed the stroller and put it onto the conveyer belt first. That way it
would be the first thing that came through on the other side of the x-ray
machine, and I could put Q into it while I gathered the rest of our stuff.
Obviously, wear shoes that you can easily slip on and off
without untying. The baby can leave his shoes on. Pull out your liquids, milk,
medicine and other items you need to claim and put it all into the bins. No
need to rush with all this. I know the people behind you will be sighing
heavily and tapping their very important feet, but they can wait. Rushing and
getting all panicky will just make you flustered and you’ll take even longer.
And this advice is coming from someone who is an expert in rushing and getting all panicky and flustered. I even
let a couple of people who were traveling much lighter than I go ahead of me.
Once I got everything onto the conveyer belt, I slipped Q
out of the Boba carrier, put the carrier in the bin, and carried Q in my arms
through the metal detector. I heard that some airports will let you wear your
baby in a carrier through security, but I didn’t know if we’d have to go
through some special pat down if we did that, so I didn’t bother asking about
it.
You’re allowed to take as much medicine, baby food, milk,
formula and breast milk as you need for the kiddo. I brought a small thermos of milk, and the TSA guy
took a small sample of the milk and tested it. For what, I don’t know. But I
saw the dude put on clean gloves and open a brand new syringe to draw the
sample. Oh, yes. You know I watched all that action very closely. On our way
home, they didn’t even sample the milk in Detroit, so maybe it depends on the
airport. Or how long the line is. Or how lazy the TSA dude is feeling that day.
Who knows.
To stroll or not to
stroll
Many people advise against gate-checking a stroller and
dealing with it in the airport, but if your toddler is as busy and squirmy as
mine, a stroller is necessary for toddler containment. As long as that stroller
is moving, Q is usually content. As I mentioned, I recommend a light, umbrella
stroller that you can easily collapse and unfold. You want one that is durable
enough that it won’t get completely mangled in the baggage hold, but not an overly
expensive one because it will come out with a few scratches. Here’s the one I used.
I was tempted to use one of these awesome gate-check stroller bags that are specifically for
this purpose. If Hubs had been traveling with me, I would’ve used one. But it
would have been too hard to wrestle the stroller into the bag with Q on my
back, and who knows where he would have wandered off to if I had let him loose
while I did it. So I forewent the stroller bag for this trip.
Chasing a toddler
through the airport
I didn’t keep Q in the stroller the whole time we were in
the airport. Once we bought our six-dollar bottle of water and arrived at the
gate, I set him loose. The germophobe
in me barfed a little as I watched Q crawl all over the floor and climb on the
seats, but I let him do it. I thought he should get his wiggles out as much as
possible before he was confined to my lap for the next several hours. I really
wanted to wipe down every single seat at the gate with an antibacterial wipe
(and you know I brought a shit-ton of
those with me), but I kept the crazy to a minimum and resisted the urge.
Quinn loved watching the airplanes from the window, so I let
him climb over the seats to get a good view. Seeing the amazement in his eyes
was worth the contamination. (Sort of.)
Boarding the plane
To board the plane, I put Quinn back in the Boba carrier,
but I carried him in the front of me so I could carry our backpack on my back.
I put our tote bag in the stroller while we waited in line. Once we neared the
end of the jet way, I quickly collapsed the stroller with one hand, dropped it
off, and grabbed the tote.
I chose an aisle seat so I could easily get up with Quinn
when I needed to. I threw our backpack and Boba into the overhead bin and put
the tote under the seat in front of us. I immediately whipped out the
antibacterial wipes and scrubbed down all the tray tables and arm rests in our
row. (Luckily no one else was seated in our row yet.) I also gave Quinn a good wipe
down after touching God-knows-what in that airport. (I can only contain the
crazy for so long, people.)
Bring your own kid
food
All that spinning and worrying before the trip led to being waaaay over-prepared. I only needed a
fraction of the food I brought. But hey, I guess it’s better than not having
enough. In the tote bag, I packed a medium-sized soft cooler. TSA will let you
bring those blue ice bricks on the plane, so I was able to keep Q’s milk
thermos cold all day. Q’s in love with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches these
days, so I packed a couple of those. I brought his favorite snacks (string
cheese, blueberries, etc.) and some new snacks that he might find interesting
in the event of a total meltdown (Goldfish crackers).
The kid loved the
Goldfish crackers, so he ate those during takeoff. Since the crackers made him
thirsty, I had no problem getting him to drinking water from his sippy cup. All
that chewing and swallowing must have worked because Quinn’s ears didn’t seem
to bother him at all.
On the second leg of our return flight, I ran out of
Goldfish crackers, so I offered him raisins instead (his new favorite thing). I
figured since they were a little chewy, raisins would be great to munch on
during takeoff and landing. This also worked great. Quinn pretty much ate his
weight in raisins and never once complained that his ears hurt.
Disclaimer: Use the
raisin trick at your own risk. I paid for my brilliant idea the next morning
when we went out to breakfast with Hubs and Quinn’s diaper exploded. I knew
raisins would make him poop, but HOLY SHIT! That was nasty.
In-flight entertainment
Get a tablet. Fork over the cash and get a tablet. Even if
you’re one of those people who say “MY
child doesn’t watch TV,” or “MY child
doesn’t use electronic devices,” or “MY child
never sees me use a cell phone or laptop,” shove your rules you-know-where just
for one day and buy a damn tablet.
Quinn doesn’t watch a ton of TV either, but when he does, he
is enthralled. So Hubs loaded up the Samsung Galaxy he got for his birthday
with episodes of Sesame Street and Yo Gabba Gabba. He also downloaded some
toddler-friendly apps. Quinn was captivated, happy and quiet.
We bought Q these headphones
by Kidz Gear, and we
practiced with them a bit before the trip. Quinn is the kind of kid who refuses
to keep a hat on, so I didn’t know how well he would like these. But he
surprised us and happily wore the headphones.
I waited as long as I could before pulling out the tablet on
each flight. I brought along some new toys for him such as a travel DoodlePro, a Thomas the Tank Engine sticker book,
and a magnet maze thingy. I
pulled them out one at a time to get as much use out of each one as possible.
Quinn's fascinated with his own reflection, so the front-facing camera on my phone kept him occupied for a while, too.
I also made some picture flash cards and had them laminated.
Quinn loves to look at his picture books and ask what each thing is, and he’ll
point to the correct object when you ask him to. So rather than bring that
gigantic book on the plane, I made a few pages of my own using Power Point. I
printed them at home and got them laminated for pretty cheap. Those kept his
attention for quite a while on each flight, and it was educational. Win, win.
If you’re interested
in the flash cards I made, email me at awideline@gmail.com
and I will send them to you. You can
just print them out as-is, or use them as ideas to make your own.
Napping on the plane
I prepared myself for the strong possibility that Quinn
would not nap all day, but Quinn once again surprised me and napped on Every.
Single. Flight. Holla!
Our sleep time routine at home involves Quinn laying on my shoulder
and holding onto his lovey while I sing “You Are My Sunshine” about 537 times. His
nursery is totally dark (blackout curtains) and totally quiet (only white noise
from a sound machine), but I did my best to reenact our routine on the
airplane.
I put Q into the Boba carrier and held him in front of me.
We brought his lovey with us, so he cuddled with that. I walked with him to the
back of the plane where the flight attendants sit and asked if we could hang
out back there for a bit. They were all very nice and even turned the light off
for us. I sang softly in Quinn’s ear, and though it took him a little longer
than usual, he eventually fell asleep on my shoulder. If I didn’t have the
Boba, my arms would’ve fallen off.
Then I was able to walk back to our seat and slowly sit back
down. Hubs had the brilliant idea of putting the e-book I’m reading onto my phone. So I easily whipped my
phone out of the seat pocket and read for ninety
minutes while Q slept on me. By the time he woke up, I could barely turn my
neck, but it was totally worth it.
When we were getting off the plane, everyone around us
commented on what a good boy he was. I’m not trying to be smug here. The look on my face is one of bewilderment and immense
relief.
Diaper changing
I kept a small bag inside our backpack with just the
diapering essentials in it: two diapers, wipes, diaper cream, hand sanitizer
and a changing pad. That way when you change the baby, you’re not hauling
everything you own into that tiny airplane bathroom.
On Southwest planes, there is a changing table that folds
down in the bathroom at the front of the plane, but not all planes have this.
Sometimes you have to lay the baby on the floor in the bulk head. If you’re
lucky enough to have an empty seat in your row, you might be able to use that.
All of those options are disgusting, but you do what you have to do.
I made sure I changed Q’s diaper right before we boarded
each flight. Since the longest leg of our trip was less than four hours, I
figured he would probably be okay until we landed unless he pooped. I slathered
the diaper cream on super thick in case the diaper got really heavy, but it
didn’t. (I love you, Pampers.) AND… he
didn’t poop on the plane. Not once. Hallelujah.
Bring some plastic grocery bags with you to put the diaper
in, even the wet ones. Some airlines don’t want you throwing diapers away in
the bathrooms and will ask you to bring it out and throw away up front.
When you have to pee
One of the bazillion things that had me spinning about this
trip was worrying about what I would do if I
had to pee on the airplane. You always hear how important it is to stay
hydrated while flying, but hydrating means peeing a lot, especially if you’re
also trying to stay caffeinated, like me. (I love you, Red Bull.)
The idea of holding Q on my lap while I peed totally grossed
me out. The idea of letting some stranger who just happened to be sitting next
to us hold Q while I peed totally freaked me out. The idea of asking a flight
attendant to hold Q while I peed sounded like the only plausible option, but
not every flight attendant was friendly (although most were), and I only wanted
to use that as a last resort.
In an attempt to avoid the whole situation, I peed right
before we boarded each flight. Airport bathroom stalls are often larger to
accommodate luggage, and the handicap stalls are really freaking huge. So I
waited for the biggest stall to become available and hauled Q and all of our
crap in there with me. ( an ideal situation, but neither is holding it for
twelve hours.) Yet another reason to bring the stroller with you in the
airport.
The joy that is the
baggage claim
I did my best to pack all of my and Quinn’s stuff into one
bag. The good news is I totally did it. I made everything fit into one bag.
Whoo hoo! The bad news is the bag was over 50 pounds. Doh! So I took out a few
things and shoved them into a second backpack that I also checked. Plus, we had
two carry-on bags and the stroller.
Figuring out how to haul a giant roller bag, two backpacks,
a tote bag, a stroller and a toddler through the airport by myself posed a
significant challenge, one which I also replayed in my head a million times
prior to the trip. Hubs recommended the use of straps, hooks and bungee cords,
which totally worked. (If you got a
problem, yo, he’ll solve it. I love this man.)
When we arrived at baggage claim, I put Q in the stroller
for toddler containment while I grabbed our bags and tied them all together. I
set the tote bag on top of the roller bag and secured it to the extended handle
with a bungee cord. I used a big hook to attach the backpack to the same
handle. I then put Q back in the Boba and carried on my front, and I put our second
backpack on my back. Then I collapsed the stroller (see why you need a stroller
that’s easy to collapse with one hand?) and tied it to the roller bag with a
giant buckled strap.
Have I mentioned that I stand a whopping 5'1"? I looked ridiculous
pulling all of that behind me with a baby and backpack strapped to my short body.
I was a spectacle. People stared. I
got over it.
Renting a car
When the rental car shuttle arrived at the curb to pick us
up, the driver jumped out and grabbed my bags for me. He was able to keep everything
attached together, and he put it all in that special cage that’s usually
reserved for golf clubs.
I chose Hertz because I’m a Gold Member and I could just
walk to my car and leave without waiting in line. However, that was not the
case upon arriving in Detroit. The toddler seat I asked for was not in the car,
so I put all our luggage in the trunk, put Q in the stroller and wandered up to
the Gold Service desk and found… no one. So then I waited forever in the regular line. I finally get to the front and tell
them my problem, and then I waited forever
for someone to bring the toddler seat.
By this time, my toddler, who had been a total angel all day,
had finally had it. We were exhausted, hungry and cranky. (I hate you, Hertz
Rental Car.) When the guy finally arrived with the seat, he just tossed it in
the back and started to leave. Oh, hell
no! I waved him down and asked him to install it for me, and he did. The
look on my face must have scared him, which says a lot considering we were in
Detroit.
Moral of this story: call ahead and make sure your toddler
seat will be waiting for you. I actually did
call ahead, but it rang forever and eventually went to voicemail. Then the
outgoing message said the mailbox was full, and the system hung up on me. Jerks!
Upon returning the rental car at the end of our trip, I
pulled into the stall and asked if someone could me with my luggage. I
explained that I was traveling alone with a toddler, and it would be great if
someone could put everything on the bus for me. They did me one better. The
very nice lady got on her walkie-talkie and called a guy over. The guy drove us to the terminal, dropped us off
at the curb and took all of our bags to the curbside check-in for me. (Didn’t
even have to bust out my straps, hooks and bungee cords.) Wow. That was some
phenomenal service. (I love you, Hertz Rental Car. You have totally redeemed
yourself.)
Moral of this story: Ask for stuff even if you don’t think you’ll
get it because you actually might get it and then some.
Sharing a hotel room
with your toddler
Quinn and I shared a hotel room during our stay. This was
not as bad as I thought it would be. We spent most of our time at my mom’s
house and out and about with family and friends, so we were really only there
for sleeping. A couple of days, it was over one hundred degrees, and the room
where Quinn napped at my mom’s house didn’t have air conditioning. So we ended
up back at the hotel for some of his naps, and I was really glad that we had
the room.
Of course, I wiped down the whole room with antibacterial
wipes, but I know I can only do so much. Once again, I was forced to give into
the contamination and let Q crawl all over the hotel room floor. Bleh.
I asked for a travel crib when making the reservation, and
Hubs called again to confirm that it would be in the room upon our arrival.
Even though it looked brand new (the hotel was less than a year old), I still
wiped it down. And I brought my own pack-n-play sheets. (Speaking of, checking
out this quilted one!)
Hubs also made sure I got a small refrigerator in my room.
They were first-come-first-serve, and we weren’t checking in until late that
night. So Hubs called the morning of our arrival when he figured they would be
getting the rooms ready. He explained that I needed to keep our son’s milk
cold, and they put a fridge in my room while
Hubs was on the phone with them. Awesome.
The first night was rough. After a long day of traveling and
the time change, Q was not happy to be in such an unfamiliar place. But after a
couple of nights, Q started to feel more comfortable and would put himself to
sleep in the crib, just like at home. The downside was that if I stayed in the room
where Q could see me, he wouldn’t put himself to sleep. So I went into the
bathroom, spread a towel on the floor and sat. Yes, this germophobe sat on a bathroom floor. In a hotel room. (*shudder*) So if you're staying in a hotel room with a toddler, bring a haz mat suit something to do while you're camped out in the bathroom. .
The housekeeping staff at this particular hotel was very
nice. One morning, I saw one of the housekeepers as we were leaving, and she told
me that they took extra care with our room since there was a baby in it, which
I totally noticed. She told me to let her or the front desk know if there was
anything extra that I needed, and that I could put in a request with the front
desk to have my room serviced at a certain time as to not interfere with Q’s
nap. Again, all stuff I didn’t know I
could ask for.
In conclusion
Okay, I know that was a doozey of a post, but it’s all
valuable stuff, right? If you have any tips for traveling with a toddler, please leave them in the comments below
and make this page even more bookmark-able. Thanks!
(See also Air Travel with a Baby.)