Product Spotlight 03/17: Travel Accessories

wanderlustsoul · March 2021

Hopefully this will be relevant in a post-covid world that will come soon....hopefully?!

Remember going on a trip and throwing a tiny stylish weekend bag together and waltzing onto a plane and scoffing at those bedraggled travelers waiting for checked luggage after the flight? Congratulations, those days are over! Now you will be traveling with an infant, or toddler, or child, and their mountains of gear.

Whether you're a seasoned traveler in and out of the airport every weekend, or only slog through the occasional big family trip, we'd love to hear all of your travel tips and accessory recommendations to make flying (or long-car-driving, or bus-taking, or train-taking, or boat-sailing) a little more streamlined and easy.

What do you do about carseats? Do you travel with them or rent at destination? Do you wrap them in plastic for the flight or use a carseat backpack carrier or one of those push-systems that attaches to the carseat? And what about strollers? Do you take your regular stroller or use a special travel one? And how about traveling with double strollers? Do you exclusively baby-wear while traveling instead? And where will baby sleep at destination--have you ever had to travel with a particular travel crib you'd recommend?

How do you pack? Do you have separate bags for you and baby, or one big suitcase? Do you have packing cubes you recommend? When you travel, what do you bring along with you for baby health (medicine, baby hygiene products)? What do you do with diapers and wipes--pack them in a special place, or at random, or Amazon Prime directly to your destination? Once they reach the toddler run-away-from-you-in-a-crowded-airport stage, do you use a harness or leash-backpack?

What snacks do you pack? How do you deal with breastmilk or formula through security and on the plane? What do you take with you on the flight for baby/toddler distraction? Any tips on managing the system--e.g., getting TSA-Pre, or Global Traveler status for fast-tracked customs, or strategies for boarding the plane, or choosing seats on the flight? Please share!

Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights

wanderlustsoul · March 2021

In a non-covid world, we travel A LOT. This didn't change once DS was born. DS was just under 4 weeks old when we went to Italy for 2.5 weeks. By 10 months old, he had been to 7 countries. We have done short flights (to Portugal or Malta), long flights (to Canada - 8 hours), a mega long road trip (to Italy through Germany and Switzerland), and short road trips around the Netherlands.

Travelling with a kid under 6 months old is the EASIEST. They don't do much and they're not mobile so it makes the plane super easy. Of course if your kid hates the car seat, that would be different. At 6 months, it started to get a bit tough as my DS was crawling and he wanted to move. At 10 months, he was walking and so he wanted to walk everywhere. The best advice I ever received is your kid does not know what they can do until they do it. Aka, you don't want them walking up and down the aisles of the plane? Don't let them know it's a possibility.

- Pack whatever you cannot buy in your destination. If you can buy diapers, then pack as many as you'll need until you can buy it. We typically do 1 suitcase for him and then my H and I always split a suitcase. I use packing cubes and fold everything super tiny. I bring all the emergency health stuff I would need - epi pens, allergy medicine, baby Advil, paracetamol, nose frida, nail filer, thermometer, etc. Anything I'd need in an emergency.
- Less is more for us. I never overpack but I do bring a few extra outfits just in case.

Carseats - we never bring it on a plane. It can be damaged in transit and you would never know. You can typically rent one, borrow one, or, most often, we never needed one so only got a taxi with car seats to get us from the airport to destination.

Strollers - I have the Bugaboo Ant and it's a great travel stroller. It fits on the plane in the overhead and it's super light but comfy. Usually I babywear in the airport but also bring the stroller to throw all our random stuff into it for carrying.

- Sleeping - we have a nuna aire travel crib and it is awesome. It's pretty light and easy to travel with it. We brought it when we went to Italy and Malta. I have the snoozeshade that goes over it and we put it in a corner for him to sleep in. My biggest recommendation is to have a strong bedtime routine and bring whatever you need for that with you. I brought his books, sleep sack, white noise and I did his bedtime routine exactly as it was at home. So he had no issues sleeping in the bed as the sheets smelled like home and he had his routine. He slept his normal 12.5-13 hours a night.

- Snacks - when they're older, bring ALL the snacks for the plane. Literally all. It's a good distraction. Before then, I was breastfeeding so I fed him whenever it was time without issues. When we flew at 3 months, it was easy as I'd nurse him to sleep and he would just sleep the entire plane ride with short wakings to play. I always bring tons of pouches on our trips since my son has allergies and it's a good holdover to find food.

On the plane, we divide and conquer. I have baby and my H has the bags. He gets everything we need out and set up and then I am in with baby. I usually recommend the front seats but we usually travel long distances with the dog so he has to go under the seat. Usually (and definitely more common now bc of covid) you can get an empty seat, which is great.

Other tips for the plane - bring some new never seen before toys. It always captivates their attention. Do whatever you have to do to survive the plane ride/road trip. When you get to your destination, you'll be glad you did the journey.

akoros · March 2021

Question: my friend is lending me her basically-new Fisher-Price Baby Dome (COVID unfortunately meant that she never got to use it). Would that be ok to take as a travel crib for ~1 week when the baby is about 2mo old? I'm not opposed to picking up a pack & play or other option, but love how small this folds down and would prefer to not bring more than we need. I think I read somewhere that it's safe to use as a bassinet, but not sure if I'm missing anything.

wanderlustsoul · March 2021

@akoros, looked it up and looks like it would be good! May just be low when taking baby in and out at night? But otherwise qualifies as a safe space for sleep!

mc0303 · March 2021

No advice - but I am traveling for the first time ever with my 1.5 year old and terrified. We’re moving so we’ll be flying across the country.

I did purchase a travel car seat (Cosco something or another) for him - it’s a non-negotiable for me for him to be strapped in. I bought him his own seat and called the airline to confirm seat dimensions.

I also bought a light umbrella stroller for the airport... gb pocket or something. Fits under the seat folded up.

I have a running list of every snack, toy, drink that this babe will ever need. And chocolate and Netflix in case of a real emergency.

We’re checking a ton of luggage since we have no idea when our moving truck will arrive.

We’re planning on checking his 4moms pack n play too.

Maggie1202 · March 2021

FTM question! We are planning on travelling to San Diego in December (when the little guy is around 6 months old) and I have questions about umbrella strollers. I always thought of them as being for toddlers, more than babies, but are there umbrella strollers that are okay for babies as young as 6 months?

ellieemc26 · March 2021

@mc0303 I put that gb pocket stroller on my registry and already received it. FTM so no chance to use yet but I took it out and played with it and I love how small it folds up! I think that one was for 6 months and up.

wanderlustsoul · March 2021

@Maggie1202, yep! It’s all dependent on head control. My DS had great head control so was in the regular stroller from 3 months. We used our ant with him from 6 months. It reclines back which is good for that age. So find one that can recline well enough for a younger kid but most are targeted from 6 months+.

Omie_Wise · March 2021

We traveled A LOT with DS1. AkuzReve’s advice is solid. I like having a ring sling. I’ve found it to be the most versatile, compact, and easy to put on in a small space. The Sakura bloom scout is also great because it’s super easy to put on and the kiddo is literally strapped to you so it’s easier to move dynamically but it’s bulkier. I believe in checking bags. There’s so much crap with kids that carrying on is too much. We have a Yoyo and it’s mad love. I’ve considered buying a second but we haven’t really traveled enough to justify it. We have the Bjorn travel crib and I really like it. It has to be checked but it’s got a small footprint which is helpful at hotels. I would also not recommend a red eye with an infant.

_orchid_ · March 2021

@mc0303 good luck! We've traveled cross country with our kids several times (and to HI from the east coast). It's soooo much better when they have their own seat and car seat. My advice would be to switch out the car seat now if you can do that so he starts getting used to the seat- we always took my kids' car seats onto the airplane and they sat so well bc they were used to being in their seats. We always brought a ton of toys, books, coloring things, and food. One time ds1 was memorized for HOURS by a binder clip, other times he wasn't interested in anything and I had to spend 6 hrs singing nursery rhymes. You'll get through it!!!

mc0303 · March 2021

@_orchid_ thank you!! I feel like I’m gearing up for battle 😂 I got new toys for him to surprise him on the plane. I’m hoping he takes his one nap on the plane but not holding my breath. Our car seat isn’t here yet! We’re cutting it close. He does well in the car, stroller, and high chair so hopefully he’ll get with the program

ramzlau · March 2021

I don’t think there is a lot of gear we use specifically for traveling. Just the Cosco Scenera car seat (that DD just outgrew). It is lightweight and can attach to our Mountain Buggy stroller, that is a beast that can do a 1 hand push and folds up small enough for overhead bins. Those two items have been game changers for us for both domestic and international travel. When we went to NYC we used a car service to get us to hotel and they had a car seat, so we just got around there with our Lille Baby carrier when DD was about 8-9 months. Oh and we do have a pair of noise canceling headphones that DD would wear for ear protection on planes when she was younger. It kept her asleep through noisy announcements. Other than that it really depends on the kid and what it takes to keep them fed and entertained.

Does anyone have a stokke Jetkids? Or the harness for kids that have outgrown the Cosco?

ramzlau · March 2021

@mc0303 You sound well prepared! I hope it all goes smoothly! If for some reason the car seat doesn’t make it in time, I have seen them at Walmart and maybe Target if you need to grab one.

wanderlustsoul · March 2021

@ramzlau, I don’t but I plan to get the stokke jet kids for our next international trip! My friend used it for her trip to South Africa and highly recommended it.

@mc0303, you got this! And it’s only a few hours of plane confinement and then you’re on the ground and it’ll be over before you know it. You sound prepared and I bet the new toys and snacks keep him occupied!

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Product Spotlight 03/17: Travel Accessories

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