Sarah Too

T.I. Park Pavillion

I recently flew from Iowa to New York and back with my two boys, ages 4 and 17 months, for a two-week visit with my family. Just me and my two busy, curious boys. Oh how I wished I was a celebrity with a nanny for each child and perhaps even a private plane.

In the weeks leading up to the trip I worried -- A LOT -- about how to get two squirmy, active little humans -- and our luggage -- through security, on and off planes, and through airports over many hours with as few mommy or kiddo meltdowns as possible. What follows are my tips for making the journey as smooth as possible even with gate changes, delayed flights, and other snags that can pop up when traveling.


1. Just the Basics, Ma'am
The key here is packing only the essentials and nothing more. One bonus of this trip was our destination was a family house with all the amenities of a kitchen and laundry facilities. As such, I only packed about 5 days worth of clothing for each of the boys and me in our one large checked baggage. This included clothing for the varying daily weather of the 1000 Islands Region in Northern New York State -- sweatshirts, long pants, shorts, t-shirts, PJs, sneakers, and sandals. Oh, and life jackets for the boys for river activities like swimming and boating.

But the real issue was this: baby gear. My 17 month old is still in a crib (at times) at night, can't walk long distances, and obviously needs a car seat. I did NOT book him as a lap child even though he qualifies as one because Lord knows he would not stay on my lap for longer than 10 minutes during a flight. So I would need a car seat for the plane in order to contain this curious monkey child. My 4-year old would go without a car seat during our air travels, but he would need one once we arrived in NY.

My solution? I shipped a cheap COSCO-brand car seat to my parents' house in NY for my 4-year-old to use. My 17 month old traveled in another COSCO-brand car seat we already owned as a spare for the grandparents here in Iowa. I attached the car seat to a $20 Samsonite wheeled luggage cart and used it as a stroller through the airport parking lots and terminals. It worked perfectly and my little dude was quite comfortable wheeling around in it. In fact, he was happier doing that than being strapped in on the plane. I had really perfected the install/uninstall process by the time we boarded our return flights to Iowa.

An easy 2nd flight from DTW to SYR

I wish I could have fit my Ergo baby carrier somewhere in all of our luggage for our outings in NY, but my parents generously purchased an economically-priced umbrella stroller for us to use. It worked great not only while out and about, but as a great outdoor push toy for my 4-year-old and my 3-year-old nephew. My parents also had a pack-n-play available for us to use for the 17-month-old. Having the stroller and the pack-n-play at our destination was invaluable and meant that much less stuff for us to bring with us.

2. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks
My carry-on backpack mostly contained snacks -- all the crap that I normally limit for my children during everyday living -- lollipops, M&Ms, fruit snacks, chocolate covered granola bars, Teddy Grahams, fluorescent orange cheese and crackers, sugary cereal. I packed enough snacks for a week or more. My rules for travel treats: (1) You can never have too many snacks; (2) There are no bad snacks (My 4 year old had 3 lollipops in a row). If it keeps the kiddo happy and quiet and performing as needed, then have as much as you want, kiddo!!

Cheers! We made it on to flight #1 toward home!

Other items in my backpack: A gallon-sized ziplock bag with a change of clothes for each kid. About 12 diapers and a pack of wipes for my 17 month old. A reusable water bottle clipped to the outside. Money/wallet. Phone and charger. Itinerary. Kleenex.

My 4-year-old carried on his own backpack filled with his iPad and headphones, coloring books, blankie, and stuffed animal.

3. Attitude is Everything
Honestly, when traveling with littles I just expect the worst case scenario. I expect a diaper blowout. I expect a pee accident with the 4 year old. I expect crying and whining and tantrums and fighting. I expect delays and side-eye from other passengers. I expect feeling frazzled, exhausted, cranky, hungry, and beleaguered. When none, or only some, of all of that happens I feel victorious! I also take it step by step. First, just get everything in the car. Then, just get to the airport. Then, just get through ticketing and security. Then, just get on the plane. Step by step and when we finally arrive at our destination -- utter relief. All of this keeps me so much more patient with my kids, the people surrounding us, and myself.

Settled in for our last flight home.

EPILOGUE
So how did our trip really go? Pretty smoothly, honestly. From Iowa to New York was our best traveling because we started our trip pre-dawn and finished traveling by 2:30 PM. Our way home was definitely more dicey because our first flight was not until 6 PM. That just made for a REALLY long day. I definitely needed a beer on our first flight because of a couple of issues with our luggage and security that tightened up our timeline. Additionally, my 17 month old just wanted to explore and there just wasn't the time or space for that in the gate area. I didn't have much choice when it came to return flight times with economical prices attached to them, so a long evening's journey was what we endured. My kids did pretty well considering and there were far fewer meltdowns than I envisioned. I could do it again if I had to, but....I would rather not. Regardless, it was all worth it to spend time making memories with family.

My beer during my first flight home. Much needed!