So my Lil Bit isn't quite so Lil anymore. She wants to go go go. And she doesn't fit quite as neatly on my lap as she did six months ago. I new flying home was going to be a challenge, but that it might be my last chance for a few years. With my husband coming home things will change. Our nuclear family of him, me, Lil Bit and her big brothers will take precedence and since we have to travel so far to pick them up we don't often go on long distance trips with them.
I bit the bullet and tried to plan for this the best I could. I packed my carry on with emergency needs and my electronics that I don't trust under the plane, and used my gigantic mommy purse. In my purse was two of my diaper packs (sandwich bag with wipes and a diaper tied up in a scented disposal bag), a few teething toys, a small book and a new toy that she only saw during our trip to Walmart. Good thing I brought the big mommy purse because one of the planes today was so little that we couldn't have our carry-ons on the plane and were checked below the plane. If I hadn't switched purses last night, we'd have been sunk. I don't know how they justified taking away our carry on baggage. There were overhead bins, all empty.
I figured the new toy would be distracting because she hadn't heard all the songs yet or heard all the voices. I planned to save it for our second plane ride of the day since that was the long ride. The first ride was barely long enough to get up in the air before we were coming back down, but she played with the phone for a few minutes before she got sleepy and curled up with me. She crashed hard both flights.
She was definitely more fun this trip, but harder to appease. For extra back up, I put in a DVD in my laptop. It would be hard to get to it, but if all else failed, it could be worth it to have so I could distract her during the flight. I didn't want to take any chances on a toddler meltdown, but the reality is that you can't get to anything you've packed with a toddler on your lap. Keep a few essentials literally as handy as possible and resign yourself to the fact that everything else is hopelessly out of reach.
I had packed two cereal bars for her and two for me. I packed her crackers and some on the go applesauce. I also packed the last pancake cut up into a baggie. She wasn't going to go hungry if I could help it. Most of her fussiness usually comes down to being hungry. Sitting next to two people instead of one was going to be enough for most travelers; I didn't want to make it any harder if I could help it. But it was hard to dig through the giant mommy purse looking for things, so I took whatever was easiest to grab and made do.
She started to meltdown about twenty minutes before we landed which doesn't sound very long unless you're sitting near a one year old who has decided that nothing makes her happy and she is going to whine incessantly. I know the people around me understood and that she was not all that bad. She had a few minutes of pretty rough whining, but I tried to keep her distracted and quiet the best I could. She really only cried when we put her in the car seat after hours of being cooped up in planes and strollers. To add another 45 minute trip was almost too much. She was near tears until we turned on some kids music. Then she was at least quiet.
It was a long day, and she was pretty good, but she fell asleep at the table and now won't go to bed. She is driving me up a wall. I won't be able to sleep with her like this. She is bouncing up and down at the foot of my bed and acting wide awake. I haven't had a nap all day. I am completely fried. And she is wired! I forgot to grab her CD and her stuffed animal so we're making do with replacements from Auntie, but they are not doing the trick. I think she finally gave up and realized I'm ignoring her. I hope she goes to sleep soon. This has been a long day.
Things I learned today:
1. Already mentioned this one, but you can't reach anything over a lap child so choose wisely what you keep in your pockets and top of a large mommy purse.
2. If you bring powdered formula, the flight attendants will fill your sippy cup or bottle with bottled water for you on the plane. No need to spend $3 for a bottle of Evian.
3. Bring snacks for you! I ate at 6 and didn't get to eat again until what would have been nearly 4 my time. I had one 140 calorie snack bar and didn't know if I was going to make it. Being hungry exacerbates motion sickness, no fun.
4. New regulations require you to pay fees to check any stroller weighing over 20 lbs. Use an umbrella stroller if you can, they are light, easy to get in and out of tight bathroom stalls when Mommy needs to go.
5. My work lap top didn't make it through security so I had to be pat down. Don't sweat it, just do it. Still haven't had to do one of the new scanners, will keep you posted on that one.
6. Choosing the quickest trip to your destination might not be the best ticket. If our connecting plane had been departing on time, we would have barely made it with 40 minutes between flights because they start boarding twenty-thirty minutes before the flight. Getting off the first flight is tricky because you have to wait for your stroller and the crowded plane of people. It takes about 20 minutes just to get off the plane and get your stroller. If you can choose a connection with an hour in between that gives you enough time to change the baby, pee, grab a drink and feed the baby something.
7. Go into the day knowing it will be an unmitigated disaster, then it can't be any worse than you anticipated.
If you have any other questions about traveling, let me know. I didn't know last trip that they will open the pre-packaged formula to test it, ruining the vacuum seal and meaning if it isn't drunk within two hours, it is garbage. If you have a whole day of traveling to do, this is not welcome news. Bring powdered formula you packed ahead in DRY bottles. If there is any moisture in the bottle/sippy cup it will make the formula turn. You don't want that to happen. You can have small amounts of formula and baby food now that wasn't allowed last time, but it might be inspected. You also need to remove all those items from your bag when you go through security.
I think that pretty much covers it. Long day and I'm going to be woken up very early by two 5 year olds.
I bit the bullet and tried to plan for this the best I could. I packed my carry on with emergency needs and my electronics that I don't trust under the plane, and used my gigantic mommy purse. In my purse was two of my diaper packs (sandwich bag with wipes and a diaper tied up in a scented disposal bag), a few teething toys, a small book and a new toy that she only saw during our trip to Walmart. Good thing I brought the big mommy purse because one of the planes today was so little that we couldn't have our carry-ons on the plane and were checked below the plane. If I hadn't switched purses last night, we'd have been sunk. I don't know how they justified taking away our carry on baggage. There were overhead bins, all empty.
I figured the new toy would be distracting because she hadn't heard all the songs yet or heard all the voices. I planned to save it for our second plane ride of the day since that was the long ride. The first ride was barely long enough to get up in the air before we were coming back down, but she played with the phone for a few minutes before she got sleepy and curled up with me. She crashed hard both flights.
She was definitely more fun this trip, but harder to appease. For extra back up, I put in a DVD in my laptop. It would be hard to get to it, but if all else failed, it could be worth it to have so I could distract her during the flight. I didn't want to take any chances on a toddler meltdown, but the reality is that you can't get to anything you've packed with a toddler on your lap. Keep a few essentials literally as handy as possible and resign yourself to the fact that everything else is hopelessly out of reach.
I had packed two cereal bars for her and two for me. I packed her crackers and some on the go applesauce. I also packed the last pancake cut up into a baggie. She wasn't going to go hungry if I could help it. Most of her fussiness usually comes down to being hungry. Sitting next to two people instead of one was going to be enough for most travelers; I didn't want to make it any harder if I could help it. But it was hard to dig through the giant mommy purse looking for things, so I took whatever was easiest to grab and made do.
She started to meltdown about twenty minutes before we landed which doesn't sound very long unless you're sitting near a one year old who has decided that nothing makes her happy and she is going to whine incessantly. I know the people around me understood and that she was not all that bad. She had a few minutes of pretty rough whining, but I tried to keep her distracted and quiet the best I could. She really only cried when we put her in the car seat after hours of being cooped up in planes and strollers. To add another 45 minute trip was almost too much. She was near tears until we turned on some kids music. Then she was at least quiet.
It was a long day, and she was pretty good, but she fell asleep at the table and now won't go to bed. She is driving me up a wall. I won't be able to sleep with her like this. She is bouncing up and down at the foot of my bed and acting wide awake. I haven't had a nap all day. I am completely fried. And she is wired! I forgot to grab her CD and her stuffed animal so we're making do with replacements from Auntie, but they are not doing the trick. I think she finally gave up and realized I'm ignoring her. I hope she goes to sleep soon. This has been a long day.
Things I learned today:
1. Already mentioned this one, but you can't reach anything over a lap child so choose wisely what you keep in your pockets and top of a large mommy purse.
2. If you bring powdered formula, the flight attendants will fill your sippy cup or bottle with bottled water for you on the plane. No need to spend $3 for a bottle of Evian.
3. Bring snacks for you! I ate at 6 and didn't get to eat again until what would have been nearly 4 my time. I had one 140 calorie snack bar and didn't know if I was going to make it. Being hungry exacerbates motion sickness, no fun.
4. New regulations require you to pay fees to check any stroller weighing over 20 lbs. Use an umbrella stroller if you can, they are light, easy to get in and out of tight bathroom stalls when Mommy needs to go.
5. My work lap top didn't make it through security so I had to be pat down. Don't sweat it, just do it. Still haven't had to do one of the new scanners, will keep you posted on that one.
6. Choosing the quickest trip to your destination might not be the best ticket. If our connecting plane had been departing on time, we would have barely made it with 40 minutes between flights because they start boarding twenty-thirty minutes before the flight. Getting off the first flight is tricky because you have to wait for your stroller and the crowded plane of people. It takes about 20 minutes just to get off the plane and get your stroller. If you can choose a connection with an hour in between that gives you enough time to change the baby, pee, grab a drink and feed the baby something.
7. Go into the day knowing it will be an unmitigated disaster, then it can't be any worse than you anticipated.
If you have any other questions about traveling, let me know. I didn't know last trip that they will open the pre-packaged formula to test it, ruining the vacuum seal and meaning if it isn't drunk within two hours, it is garbage. If you have a whole day of traveling to do, this is not welcome news. Bring powdered formula you packed ahead in DRY bottles. If there is any moisture in the bottle/sippy cup it will make the formula turn. You don't want that to happen. You can have small amounts of formula and baby food now that wasn't allowed last time, but it might be inspected. You also need to remove all those items from your bag when you go through security.
I think that pretty much covers it. Long day and I'm going to be woken up very early by two 5 year olds.
We are flying July 8. It'll be my first time flying with Wade! I'm nervous!
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