Traveling with a Toddler
The first time I set foot on an airplane with Baer, he was five months old. Nate, Baer, Mimi (our min pin mix), and I flew nonstop from Phoenix to Milwaukee. It wasn’t too bad, I just nursed him on the ascent, and he slept the entire three-and-a-half hours, only waking periodically to nurse again. The second time we flew, it was just him and me, and I employed the same technique. Also, people were very kind to the (clearly stressed) mother of an infant, toting a baby by herself!
Then Baer got a little older. We still wanted to travel, but traveling with a toddler is completely different than traveling with an infant, especially in this post-Covid world (I say “post” not to minimize the ongoing existence of Covid 19; rather, I use it to differentiate as a “before” and an “after”). We had to plan in a way we had never done before. It took us a few tries to get it together, and I won’t lie: the plan changes with every new developmental phase Baer enters. That said, while some things change, some fundamentals remain the same:
Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. Baer has some interesting tastes. He particularly likes snacking on crushed ice and the snack mix bag Cheez-Its the airlines give you (he won’t eat any other Cheez-Its. I’m not even kidding). So while I know he’ll eat those, I also bring items to keep him occupied. Those snacks vary — anyone with a toddler understands that — but I make sure I have them in decent quantities and constantly on-hand!
Load up the tablet! I’m pretty relaxed about screen time in general because Baer is rarely interested in television other than Spidey and Bluey now that we’ve successfully weaned him off of Blippy. So I really don’t mind him popping his earphones in and watching a few episodes while we cruise above the clouds. It keeps him still and entertained. Just make sure you download the episodes before you get to the airport; the Internet is often spotty both at the airport and in the air. Otherwise, a tablet full of cartoons = happy kid = happy parents!
Bring a change of clothes for the kid and for you. One of my friends from Happy Mom’s School has a horror story about her baby’s first flight: she gave her kiddo a bottle while the plane was ascending, to offset cabin pressure. The baby was a little grumpy, but she didn’t think too much of it until the baby projectile vomited all over her. She had a change of clothes for the baby… but not for her. Lesson learned! Baer may be out of the spit up phase, but he has peed on his pants while going pee on the airplane potty and has spilled his juice on both of us. I now travel with changes of clothes for all of us.
Last, try to relax. That’s certainly easier said than done, but it is true that kids feed off of your energy. As a naturally high-energy (code for anxious) individual, I can personally attest to the fact that my nervous energy has put my child on edge. So when I travel with him, I make sure to try and use relaxation techniques like breathing and meditation. I also try to see the experience as he does. I don’t always make him sit still, I let him have treats, I pack surprises. This is a vacation for both of us, so I try to make it as enjoyable as I can for him.