Traveling with a Little One

Last month we headed up to Portland, Oregon to celebrate the wedding of my cousing Tracy. We obviously decided to fly, since spending 8-10 hours driving with a little one sounded miserable. We left Friday late morning, and flew home Sunday late afternoon. These are just a few tips I discovered when traveling with a little one. Shout out to my girl Bri over at sweetbabyaddy.blogspot.com for some helpful tips as well!

TIPS:
* Time your flights accordingly. We flew up to Oregon during Kendall's morning nap, and flew home from Oregon during her afternoon nap. She slept on me and it worked out perfectly.
* check in early for your flight. We flew Southwest, and were able to do the family boarding in between the A and B boarding groups. It worked out great for us!
* have all your documents, tickets, etc easily accessible. I had everything in a folder in my carryon, so when we got to the ticket counter, security, etc, it was all right there for me!
* check your carseat as luggage and take your stroller to the gate. We opted to check Kendall's carseat with our luggage and kept her in her stroller. We have this stroller, and it worked like a dream. Kendall stayed in her stroller up to security, David carried her through while I got all the bags on the security belt, they pushed her stroller through the alarm think, I walked through, packed our bags back on the stroller, and off we went!
* Take your stroller to the gate. Kendall stayed in her stroller up until we were about to board. David carried her on and I broke down her stroller, where we then checked it at the gate. It was up and ready for us when we deboarded after the flight. You do take on the liability when you check your stroller and carseat, but it was well worth it for us to have it in the airport.
* Take off and Landing. I know this is the part that every parent dreads (i know i had a little anxiety over this part of the flight!) but if you are prepared, it is relatively painless. I had a two ounce bottle for Kendall to take during take off AND landing, had a pacifier for her during the flight, and planned on her napping for most of it (which she did!).
* ask your hotel for a crib or pac N play. This was one less thing that we had to pack, and made traveling that much easier.
* take something to drown out the hotel noise. we brougth a portable sound machine, and it worked wonders drowing out people stomping walking down the halls.
* last but certainly not least, BE FLEXIBLE! no matter what, their schedules get messed up, everyone wants to hold them, etc. Kendall napped in the car, her stroller, on me, in her pack n play, etc. In the grand scheme of things, a few days off their schedule isnt that bad. We fell right back in to our routine the minute we got home. With that being said, do try to keep some things normal for them, like their bedtime routine. we still did bath, lotion, book, nursing, bed. that way, she knew it was time for night night, and slept pretty well while we were there. 

Last month we headed up to Portland, Oregon to celebrate the wedding of my cousing Tracy. We obviously decided to fly, since spending 8-10 hours driving with a little one sounded miserable. We left Friday late morning, and flew home Sunday late afternoon. These are just a few tips I discovered when traveling with a little one. Shout out to my girl Bri over at sweetbabyaddy.blogspot.com for some helpful tips as well!

TIPS:
* Time your flights accordingly. We flew up to Oregon during Kendall's morning nap, and flew home from Oregon during her afternoon nap. She slept on me and it worked out perfectly.
* check in early for your flight. We flew Southwest, and were able to do the family boarding in between the A and B boarding groups. It worked out great for us!
* have all your documents, tickets, etc easily accessible. I had everything in a folder in my carryon, so when we got to the ticket counter, security, etc, it was all right there for me!
* check your carseat as luggage and take your stroller to the gate. We opted to check Kendall's carseat with our luggage and kept her in her stroller. We have this stroller, and it worked like a dream. Kendall stayed in her stroller up to security, David carried her through while I got all the bags on the security belt, they pushed her stroller through the alarm think, I walked through, packed our bags back on the stroller, and off we went!
* Take your stroller to the gate. Kendall stayed in her stroller up until we were about to board. David carried her on and I broke down her stroller, where we then checked it at the gate. It was up and ready for us when we deboarded after the flight. You do take on the liability when you check your stroller and carseat, but it was well worth it for us to have it in the airport.
* Take off and Landing. I know this is the part that every parent dreads (i know i had a little anxiety over this part of the flight!) but if you are prepared, it is relatively painless. I had a two ounce bottle for Kendall to take during take off AND landing, had a pacifier for her during the flight, and planned on her napping for most of it (which she did!).
* ask your hotel for a crib or pac N play. This was one less thing that we had to pack, and made traveling that much easier.
* take something to drown out the hotel noise. we brougth a portable sound machine, and it worked wonders drowing out people stomping walking down the halls.
* last but certainly not least, BE FLEXIBLE! no matter what, their schedules get messed up, everyone wants to hold them, etc. Kendall napped in the car, her stroller, on me, in her pack n play, etc. In the grand scheme of things, a few days off their schedule isnt that bad. We fell right back in to our routine the minute we got home. With that being said, do try to keep some things normal for them, like their bedtime routine. we still did bath, lotion, book, nursing, bed. that way, she knew it was time for night night, and slept pretty well while we were there.