Gear for traveling

Kessho

Plans are in the works for traveling for my brother's wedding. DS will be 8 months at that time in June. What will I need for entertaining during boarding, airplane travel, staying at hotel, etc. 

 

TIA! 

linzeek44

We just traveled across the country with E (9.5m). We didn't stay at a hotel. 

With us in the airport, we had:

a carseat, an umbrella stroller (gate checked both; used gate check bag for carseat)

baby carrier (I wore him in the airport)

diaper changing stuff, extra clothes

extra nursing pads, extra shirt for me

bag of books and toys (I brought a couple "old favorites" and a few brand new toys and books that he had never seen before)

sippy cup for him, dried fruit for us to share, bib

copy of birth certificate since he was a lap child and they wanted to confirm his age

 

For the week, I brought sheets for the pnp, clothes and bibs, his vitamins and medicines just in case, swim stuff, his lovey, white noise, and monitor for sleeping, nail clippers, toothbrush...and probably other things that I'm not thinking of. But we had everything we needed and didn't have to run to the store at all.  

SunAndRain

I flew 4 times with DD during her first year, from 2 hour to transatlantic flights.  What worked for us:

bring the carseat.  Infant car seat, take the snapngo.  Convertible carseat, we have a  rolling cart specifically for the car seat.  In both cases it was a good place to park DD for a while, or to load up with other stuff to easily transport through the airport.  THe SNG and cart were the best investments.

Pack two changes of clothes for LO and a change of clothes for each adult.  My DD who rarely throws up puked ALL over me and her on our last flight.  She wasn't even sick.  Oh did it ever stink.  Thank goodness I had those extra outfits!

Lots of ziplock bags of all sizes to compartimentalize food items and other things and to hold dirty bibs, toys, clothes, etc.

RENT or BORROW what you can.  It is simply to difficult and/or expensive to bring everything you need to LO.  Last trip we rented a stroller, crib and highchair - so convenient!  It might even be worth it to buy a $70 crib and $15 booster seat at Ikea or BRU at the destination, rather than lug those items.

thermometer, motrin and tylenol. kids get sick at the most inopportune times.

 don't pack too many toys and books.  kids are happy playing with the magazines and those items add weight and bulk. I bring one stuffed animal that has a wind up box to play a lullaby - but honestly DD isn't attached to any stuffed animal so she'd be fine without it.

smchik

We travel extensively with our daughter (including international) and I always found less was more. We only flew with a carseat on international flights. Always just rented or borrowed. We also rarely bring a stroller (carry her) and if we do, it is a lightweight umbrella. We brought the Uppa Vista the first flight. Wouldn't you know that think does not fit through the airport scanner!

Lots of snacks. These are the times my no sugar rules go out the door. We also would make trail mix. Bring raisins and some chocolate candy (M&Ms) and then when you get pretzels/peanuts, make mix in a cup. It was an activity.

Stickers. Always lots of stickers. Other than that, for toys, just 1-2 books and a small magna doodle. It was more than enough.

Check all bags except a small backpack. It is hard to watch luggage and manage a kid.

Pack extra clothes.

Give yourself plenty of time. It takes a long time to get through with a kid.

Bring extra diapers.

Be prepared to buy drinks for other passengers This was our saving grace on one bad flight and kept people happy.

If you are unsure of the sleeping arrangements, I loved the Kidco PeaPod. It is lightweight and worked great. Much easier than a PNP. 

chatita_78

If choose to bring a lot check in as much as possible! you don't want to carry that much and deal with a little one. We learned this the hard way and thought it would be better to save money and carry as much as we could... Uh H U G E mistake! We were a traveling circus. We were much smarter on our return flight home from Miami to San Fran. i used all 4 changes of clothes i packed for my son for some reason he had major exploding poopie diapers. You want to make sure you have a bottle or breast feed on takeoff and landing to help their ears pop. If you aren't flying nonstop make sure have plenty of food and diapers in the event you miss the final leg of your flight.  My son was semi entertained with the Sesame Street on the ipad. Also look for the family bathrooms for changing and privacy in breast feeding your little one. The airport in SF even had a play area which was awesome. 

cavalier79

I suggest putting an overnight diaper on for the flight, when I flew with my oldest daughter she leaked and its hard changing diapers in airplane bathrooms.

strawberrymom2

Depending on the city you are traveling to, there might be a rental option for various necessities,toys, etc.  Some even deliver diapers and food which can lighten the load.  Just search (city name) baby rental and see if anything pops up.