Product Spotlight: Travel Accessories

Re: Product Spotlight: Travel Accessories

• Wishilivedinflorida member

  January 2023

  We only did car trips and didn’t do overnights until my oldest was three. We had two under two and it was just too much to do any real traveling. 

  
  

  Once we started taking trips, we got a lot of mileage from the pack n play for my daughter. I also recommend the Oxo portable foldable potty for car trips when kids aren’t old enough to hold it between rest stops. 

  
  

  We did our first plane trip in late 2021 and it was fairly easy because they were 4 and 3. We didn’t bring car seats and they did fine. I’m not how I would do plane travel with a baby but I feel like baby wearing would be essential. My daughter wasn’t potty trained yet and we brought way more diapers and wipes then I thought we would need and used a bunch. She was a nervous pooper. 

  
  

  Not product related, but I 1000% recommend booking two room hotel suites so that the kids and adults have separate sleeping areas. I hate room sharing and not being able to watch tv or make any sort of noise. 

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• noxacanthus member

  January 2023

  Military family so we have travelled a fair amount with my daughter. We moved cross country when she was 10 months and then flew back when she was 18 months. My top recommendation for flying with an 18 month-old is don't. Seriously. We will NEVER do that again. That age is old enough that they want to be active and refused to be confined to a seat, but too young to be entertained with screens. Also she refused to nap on the plane and so it was constant over-tired meltdowns.
  
  For the trip when she was 10 months, you can get a cart on Amazon that you can strap a carseat to. It turns it into a stroller, basically. Then at the gate you can gate-check the cart and bring the carseat on the plane. You can also get a lightweight stroller and use that for slightly older kids. I brought the baby carrier but ended up not using it. She was mostly content to chill in the carseat or crawl around the gate area.
  
  For all ages on planes, the key is endless snacks and then "plane toys". Get a bunch of cheap, small stuff off Amazon that they've never seen before and rotate toys & snacks as necessary to keep their attention for the flight. Novelty is key. When you get to your destination, hide the plane toys away so they are still "new" for the trip back. 
  
  For long car trips, we time our departures with the start of nap time or leave super early in the morning so they're still tired and fall asleep again. Hubby has a smaller bladder than our daughter, so honestly it's harder to prep him for "we're not stopping until nap time is over or we run out of gas!". 😆 
  
  For all trips and all ages, mentality is really important. Travel days are all about survival. There are no rules; you do whatever it takes to survive. Kid is entertained by French fries? Let them eat a million. No screen time limits, etc.
  
  Honestly, I could write so much more. Second the pack'n'play and oxo tot potty. You can also get a separate foldable mattress for the PNP to make it more comfortable (therefore sleep is more likely). They also make light-blocking covers (ours is called snoozeshade) so that the room doesn't have to be pitch black. 

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• miss_lynn9 member

  January 2023

  We also only did car trips for the first 2 years and not many. 
  
  We had a cheap pack n play which ended up getting stolen so I invested in a second hand nuna to replace it. My daughter got a couple uses out of it before she could climb out. It was so much more comfortable than the cheap one. 
  
  Packing cubes are a life saver for organizing. I got the izy ritzy ones and I love them. 
  
  Lots of toys and snacks. 
  
  We didn't do a plane ride until she was 2. We brought the car seat on the plane on the way there and she did so well. She just sat in the seat and played. On the way back, the person that checked us in, messed up and didn't put the car seat so we weren't able to bring it on. She sat in a regular seat and that was quite difficult. 

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