My Travel Buddy

 

Taylor and I just returned from a great mommy/baby vaca to Cali!  I was in disparate need to get some quality time in with my girl and to see my sister and BFF, Brooke.  We had an absolute great time and Taylor was the perfect little traveler.  Traveling alone with a one year old across the country required me to be very prepared and organized.  Packing light was also a necessity because I needed to manage all my things - carry-ons, suitcase, baby, stroller, and car seat all by myself.

One successful trip doesn’t make me a pro-traveler by any means, but I did do a few things that worked really well for me and learned a few lessons along the way that I thought I’d share…

1.  Yogurt Melts!  The best tip to traveling with a toddler is SNACKS!  Lots and lots of snacks!  To be more specific, YOGURT MELTS!  These things are like baby crack.

2. In attempt to pack lightly, I doubled Taylor’s favorite snack case as storage for her yogurt melts and to use as a toy.  Tay loves to rattle things around, shake them, and hit the table with them, so, her Sesame Street snack case was a big hit.  During the trip, she even learned to open it up and carefully grab the yogurt bites to snack on.

3. Disposable placemats.  Since everything on the plane is nasty dirty, I used disposable placemats to cover the tray table.  I don’t even want to touch those things, so I felt much better with Tay using it covered.

4. Paci Clip!  I used to be so against these things.  I thought they were so dorky, but heck, I am such a believer in the paci clips now!  They saved me from having to constantly wash her paci and plus, I always knew where it was.  I would even consider using these dorky sippy cup leashes now too, especially on dirty planes or in restaurants.  Taylor is getting to be at that age where she will toss her sippy cup down as soon as she’s done drinking it, so I am usually under the table trying to find it.

                                                  

http://booginhead.com/product/pacigrip

5. Formula Packets!  Even though my big girl is past the formula stage, I didn’t want to have to worry about needing milk while on the plane.  I had Taylor drink a bottle at take off and at landing (if she was awake), so these pre-measured formula packets were perfect!  All I needed was bottle water and volia! I was a little worried if she’d drink the formula after being on milk for 4 weeks now, but she had no problem at all.

6. Food, glorious food!

Food was the key to keeping my girl happy and content throughout the 5 hour plane ride.  I packed a little cooler with fruit cups, nutrigrains, and lunchables.  Eating and swallowing always helps me pop my ears on a plane, so I’m sure it helped her too. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

 

 

 

Taylor is a huge fan of these Lunchables!  I know they aren’t the healthiest, best food, but heck, when you are on a trip, you want easy and convenient!  She ate these on my lap and was happy as a clam!  I even stole a few bites.

 

7. Comfy Clothes.  I dressed Taylor in these sleepers on the flights.  This way, she could nap comfortably and we weren’t ever messing with shirts riding up, or missing socks, etc.  It worked very well and she was cute and comfy!

 

http://www.carters.com/carters/carters-baby-girl-1-piece-pjs,default,sc.html