My husband and I have always loved seeing the world. Before (4) kids, we've been fortunate to see almost every state in the U.S. (Still need to check off Vermont, Rhode Island and Alaska from the list.) We've been to Ireland, Italy, Mexico and the Caribbean together. Australia and India separately. Exploring new cities and cultures has taught us that the world is a friendly and beautiful place. (... deep down in my heart, I still believe this ...) Stepping out of our comfort zone (driving a rental car in Italy, riding a rickshaw in India, living in the rainforest in Australia) makes us feel more alive, even if it's terrifying!
We now have four children and want to continue to show them the beauty of our country and other countries. We want them to experience meeting people with different backgrounds, ideas and ways of living. Showing them that stepping out in nature is one of the best places you can be.
When our first was born, we still managed to travel quite a bit. I took him by myself to NYC for a friend's baby shower when he was a month old. He went to CA, and Mexico all before 6 months. Then our daughter was born, we were hopeful to continue our adventures as a family of 4. We took her to St. Martin at 1 1/2 months old, FL, NC... Probably some other places, but I'm blanking.
We managed to make it work. It was a lot of work, but we did it.
We managed to make it work. It was a lot of work, but we did it.
Then the twins arrived. --> Put on the brakes!
Our freedom to jet-set just got more difficult.
We've come to terms with the fact that we can't say "Yes" to every trip now. We're fortunate to have friends that live all over the country, but it has gotten significantly harder to visit them. For now, our family of 6 will be enjoying plenty of stay-cations...
When our friends were getting married, and invited us to the wedding, and asked me to officiate the wedding, ummm, we had to say "Yes!" So my hubby and I decided to divide and conquer. We arranged for grandparents to hang with the "big kids" now ages 6 and 3, and hubs and I flew to Florida with our 8 month old twins. This feat required planning, praying, and lots of deep breaths. But we did it and it was really memorable. Here are a few of my top tips for traveling (specifically flying) with little ones.
It is ideal to travel w babies/kids before they're crawling up until age 2. Once they start crawling or walking, you'll be pacing the airport or airplane with your busy-body. It's do-able, but it's exhausting. Thankfully the twins hadn't started crawling yet and they weren't too squirmy in our laps. We just made it!
Check car seats and stroller at check-in. The airline had bags for the car seats, so no need to purchase anything extra. Checking these items was free (even two car seats) but it's always good to confirm with your airline making sure the policies have not changed. Generally, you're able to check baby items for free. We felt it was much more pleasant to not have to wait for our stroller when we deplaned. I see the benefit of having the stroller with you to load bags on it, but our experience was better without having to maneuver our double stroller around the airport and waiting for it on the jet way each time. This helps with quick connections too.
We each wore a baby in our Ergo carriers. These are so easy to use, we've loved our Ergo's for 6 years now. We were even able to walk through security with the babies strapped to us. They simply swabbed our hands and scanned the swab. It probably took an extra 10 seconds.
In my diaper bag:
- Plenty of diapers and wipes. duh. I always over estimate here.
- Extra onesies for any poop explosions, burp cloth, light weight blanket to lay on airport floor for playtime. (Tip: tightly roll clothing, burp cloth and blanket for easier storage)
-Munchkin Arm n Hammer roll of disposable bags. These are KEY for poopy diapers or messy outfits. Never leave home without 'em.
- Pacifier, bottle or breast for air pressure change and little ones ears popping.
- Earth Mama Angel Baby: Morning Wellness Spray. I always get queasy during long travel days. The Wellness Spray's refreshing citrus, ginger aromatherapy helps ease my tummy. (Note: this comes in a 4 oz bottle. I just take it out and put it with my hand sanitizer and baby items when going through security. They haven't given me any hassle about it being over 3 oz. Yet...)
- Chapstick, hand sanitizer and headphones/ear buds
- Snacks for you (my faves- almonds, pb+j, granola bar, apple, prunes)
- Baby food plus a couple of baby spoons (if they're eating solids). Mum Mums, banana that you can scrape off the top for small bites, frozen home made pureed cubes. If you've made your own baby food, place two cubes in a snack size ziplock bag. Keep the cubes in an insulated bag. I love this one from Art of Liv'n. Generally baby food, in reasonable amounts, is allowed through security, but it saved us the hassle since they were still frozen when we went through. By the time I needed to feed the babies, the cubes were thawed. I just fed them from the bag. I opened it up and used it like a little dish. Slightly messy, but still easier than carrying a separate dish.
- Water bottle! Bring an empty water bottle (Vapur is my favorite!!!). Fill it up after going through security. Or if you forget to finish what you have in it, chug the water before security checkpoint to hydrate. Airplane air is so dry anyways. This water bottle collapses flat when empty, taking up minimal room in your bag. I've had Vapur water bottles for 7 years now, I'm hooked!!!
I really didn't pack any toys for the boys, I did bring a few teething items though.. I knew they'd be interested in whatever we had on hand. The plastic airline cups were the biggest hit!
A couple of key items we packed into our checked luggage.
- More baby food. If you're overly ambitious, like I was, I filled a two small cooler bags with enough snack sized ziplock bags of frozen pureed cubes, then added ice packs. I put them in our large suitcase and everything arrived safely. Thankfully our hotel had a small fridge with a freezer, so I had homemade baby food for the boys all weekend. We also bought more bananas and avocados once we arrived. Those are easy to mash on the go.
- Inglesina Fast Table Chair. Hands down our favorite travel chair! It's the one we use at home regularly because it hardly takes up any space. Since we knew the twins were going to have their own suitcase we decided it was worth it to pack these two chairs. I'm so glad we did. It was so helpful to set them up at the table in our room.
- White noise machine. I'm obsessed with our Dohm white noise machine. Had it for years and travel it to many hotel rooms. You could also use the white noise app on your phone or iPad. We didn't want to be without our phones while babies slept and we had to leave the iPad for the "big kids" survival of course. So this addition to the suitcase was also worth the weight.
- Baby monitor. If you'll be at a location that would allow you to be within range of your monitor, it's helpful to have it. We didn't bring ours because we knew we'd be at a large hotel. Having a one bedroom suite allowed us to put the babies to sleep and still have a room we could be in with lights or the tv on. There have been many other trips that we've hung out right outside our hotel door or even in the bathroom while a baby slept though. #LifeInTheParenthood
The biggest tip I can share with you, is don't worry about what others think. I think we put more stress on ourselves over what others are thinking when you walk on the plane with your little one(s) or when they start to fuss. Just do your best. Kids cry. Then they get over it. An adult can get over it too. Keep breathing. You and your babe(s) will be just fine. Promise.
Get out and see the world, your state or your city. Live and enjoy these experiences with your kids. Understand that you're going to be exhausted afterwards, and you'll definitely need a vacation from your vacation, but I promise, it's worth it!
For more travel tips, my friend and fellow #MamasBumpSquad member, Tavia, has a blog solely focused on family travel! Check it out at Big Brave Nomad. Happy exploring!
