Friday, August 10, 2012

10 Tips When Flying With A Toddler - Wyoming Girl *turned* Coastie ...

As a military spouse whose family lives 2,000 miles away I have flown solo with a baby/toddler more than a few times! As I wrote about in The Joys of Flying With a Toddler it can be a pretty harrowing experience! Here are my top 10 tips to help you make it through!

1. Know What You Can and Can't Check? Many airlines will let you bring a stroller, boppy and diaper bag (plus a few various stray items like teddy bear & blankie) and not count them towards your luggage total. They have started to crack down in recent years, however, so double check so you don't end up scrambling to pay for another bag! Things like pack-n-plays aren't covered so if you'll be staying in a hotel use theirs or if you're staying with family check around and see if anyone has one that you can borrow.

2. Light Up Shoes Set Off Alarms Does your toddler have a pair of those super cute light up shoes that go off when they step-leave them at home! The compound in them that causes the lights sets off the bomb detectors and will result in you both getting patted down.

3. Think Outside the Toy Box While I highly recommend the old standby options of new toys and books to bring along for the flight (a must!) toddlers are usually entertained the most by random objects. Give them a wipe to "clean" everything-the tray, the seat, them, you, etc. Not only will they find this very amusing they'll also be wiping those nasty germs away! Pens and paper (since they're usually a big no no) are also guaranteed to be winners!

4. Bring Your Own Snacks The cost of food is ridiculous on flights these days and usually not that great. While liquids are restricted you can still bring your own food along so pack up some of your toddlers favorite treats to sprinkle throughout the flight. This is one time stuffing cookies down their face is totally ok!

5. Don't Give Juice Thinking that since snacks are good drinks would be better proved catastrophic one flight when we got stuck on the runway and Amber ended up leaking through a diaper after one too many sippy cups of juice. Stick to water only to avoid frequent potty breaks or accidents!

6. Protect Your Things. There are so many things to worry about that you probably won't be thinking much about your own. Nothing spoils a flight like a scratched iPhone that got thrown and squooshed while in your purse or diaper bag. Even worse is when you arrive at the airport to realize that not only is your luggage lost the little thing tag they gave you got snapped off and who knows when you'll see or hear of it again? By buying high quality leather items like the Royce Leather iPhone Sleeve and the Royce Leather Big Tag will give you peace of mind to tackle the really important stuff-like quietly miming your child's favorite action song--for the 50th time in a row.

7. Pack Clothes for You and Baby Always pack a spare set of clothes for yourself as well as your baby. Accidents, spills, blowouts, and throw up will probably ruin both sets of clothing!

8. Ask To Move. If you're lucky enough to have a flight that's not completely full see if the stewards will let you move to an empty row or swap with someone who is flying solo-room to stretch and crawl or sit can turn a flight from a nightmare to a breeze!

9. Don't Be Afraid to ask for Help! Especially if you're going to be flying solo with baby don't be shy about asking for help. I've found that most people are especially sweet and accommodating-and just ignore those who aren't!

10. Breathe! Like all else in life-this too shall pass!

I was provided with the pictured case and tag by Shoplet your stop for Office Supplies and more! All opinions, tips, and cute rolly-polly babies are my own.

Source: http://www.wyominggirlcoastiewife.com/2012/08/10-tips-when-flying-with-toddler.html

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