Traveling with a toddler

In October we took 18 month-old Finn to Italy, and lived to tell about it!  What's more, is that we found traveling with a toddler actually pretty awesome.  The crappy parts- airplane entertaining, time-change (lack-of) sleep nonsense, and lugging kid crap through airports- were totally outweighed by the fun parts.  Here is what we learned...

A little nervous but hopeful about flying with Finn

1. Long airplane rides take careful preparation.  We took a seven hour flight to London, then switched planes and took another two hour flight to Rome.  The name of the game for airplane travel with Finn was distraction.  We carefully paced out our bags of snacks, new toys, and iPhone time to keep him occupied, and it definitely worked. These were our top entertainment picks (a few of these must be credited to MODG's post on stuff to pack for kids on planes):

In the Elmo zone

#1. iPhone.  Finn is normally allowed about 15 minutes a day of watching (usually Sesame Street videos on youTube) on the iPhone, and so the pretty much unlimited screentime we gave him while traveling just about blew his little mind.  I find he's more interested in watching something the second or third time he encounters it, so I downloaded an episode of Elmo's World and let him watch it once before we left (while I packed = bonus).  He watched that 50 minute episode over and over and over again while we were traveling on planes, trains, and even a couple times during long dinners out.  I'm not proud of that fact.  BUT I think we asked for a whole lot of patience from an 18 month-old that week, and I was willing to reward that patience with an annoying little red creature named Elmo.  (Sidenote: I did worry that he'd want to watch it all the time when we got home too, but I told him we left Elmo in Italy and it hasn't been an issue.)

#1a. Kid-sized headphones.  Because I didn't think everyone else on the plane wanted to hear Elmo (and this includes me). I also tried to get him used to these before we left and they were pretty successful.  I downloaded some of Finn's favorite kids music (we love Elizabeth Mitchell) to my phone as well and listening to music was a good activity.  We had these: Califone First Stereo Headphones

First 100 Words Book

#2. Books.  Books are the best way besides technology to keep Finn's attention for any decent amount of time, but I didn't want to lug a whole stack of them in our suitcase.  The two that we brought were jam-packed with stuff on every page so that reading them took a long time.  They were First 100 Words and Fisher-Price Lift-the-Flap Let's Go to the Zoo.  Again, I introduced them to him a couple of days before we left so that he was already interested in them when I pulled them out on the plane.  Books and stickers are key for takeoff and landing when you can't have the almighty iPhone out.  Make sure they are accessible for that time.

#3. Stickers and other stuff that sticks.  I don't think Finn has reached his full sticker amazement phase, but he likes them okay.  He played with each of these for awhile.  Ultimate Sticker Book: Animals, Monkey Band-Aids, and a roll of blue painter's tape.

#4. A pack of glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces that link together.  I found these in the $1 section at Target for $2.50 (I KNOW).  We made a big loop of them and put it on Finn, on me, on his dad, etc etc and it killed a lot of time.  You do have to watch them carefully (I don't know how else you could watch them when they are sitting on your lap) because the connector pieces are small and they shouldn't put the glow sticks in their mouths, but I felt fine about it.

#5. A big bang for the buck toy.  Another great recommendation from MODG, the Melissa & Doug Three Little Pigs Play Set filled up a lot of time on the plane.  There are three pigs to take in and out (and in and out and in and out) of the houses, and a wolf that actually huffs and puffs when you squeeze him.  The whole set is easily squashed into a carry-on.

#6. Don't forget the snacks.  We had Annie's Organic Cheddar Bunnies, Jammy Sammies, Happy Melts, dried pineapple, and the big guns: lollipops.    I packed snacks in little ziploc bags inside a big ziploc bag and stashed them in our carryon.  I also packed an identical ziploc for the return flight (so key not to forget this!) and a few extras for during our week of travel in our checked luggage.  Don't forget a sippy/straw cup (I almost did).

 #7. What didn't work for us: he wasn't interested in the Color Wonder Marker Set or the Ring of First Word Cards.  I thought they were cool, but Finn didn't.

Skycot, I love you

2. Skycot.  Fly British Airways for the magical piece of baby equipment known as the skycot.  I think some/most airlines offer some sort of infant bassinet for a smaller baby, but British Airways is the only one I know of that has something for toddlers.  It reminds me a lot of the bouncy seat we had for Finn when he was younger, and attaches to a fold out shelf in front of the bulkhead seats.  We were allowed to reserve these seats when we booked online (for free) because we were traveling with a lap child (for international travel British Airways charges 10% of the cost of one adult ticket for a lap child FYI).  This thing was worth its weight in gold.  Finn slept here and I watched TWO chick flicks and read a magazine.  Amazing.  You do have to ask about it approximately 17 times to make sure you get it.  Here are all the times I asked about it for the flight over: when booking online, phone call to British Airways prior to flight, when checking in at airport, at gate desk before boarding, as boarding plane, and in our cabin as we took our seats.  That got us a skycot.  On the return flight I asked three times but skipped the last crucial step of asking as we took our seats.  The flight attendant informed me that they were out of skycots and that other toddlers had reserved them ahead of us, but offered us a bassinet:

Finn was NOT going to be able to sleep in this thing and I was MAD.  So then I may or may not have said to the flight attendant that I hoped he wouldn't fall out of the bassinet and break his other leg (don't forget he had a broken leg in a cast during our trip).  A Skycot then magically appeared for us.  So it's up to you, either break your child's leg prior to your trip or ask an obnoxious number of times (and then ask again) for the Skycot. 

Midday nap

3. Toddlers don't do time zones.  Here is one that I don't really have any advice about except maybe brace yourselves?  The first night in Italy we were all exhausted from a day of traveling and Finn actually slept pretty well.  The second night he decided bedtime was 3 am and not one minute sooner.  He was able to adjust a little bit as the week went on and by the time we left he was going down for the night around 11 pm.  I'm not sure there is much you can do to avoid this with a seven hour time change (we could have started moving bedtime up a bit at home but honestly I think it just would have prolonged the suffering), so we just tried to change our attitudes about it.  His naptime often coincided with dinnertime, so he passed out in a couple of restaurants while we enjoyed a leisurely meal, and then we just let him chill out with us in the evening.  We all slept in in the mornings and we were able to get up, get dressed, and have a cup of coffee before waking Finn.  It didn't ruin any of our fun but I'll say it wasn't awesome, especially at first.

Snoozing in Heathrow during a layover

First cone!

4. There are actually some perks to traveling with a kid.  Italians in particular are SUPER into kids and Finn got a ton of fun attention and free gelato just for existing.  The flight attendants were all super accommodating with getting him milk and snacks and an extra blanket (even that one that I was snarky to about the skycot turned out to be so nice that I felt awful about it later).  During both of our times in Heathrow Airport we were grabbed out of supremely long Disneyworld-style lines and led to a super special VIP line for folks with disabilities and people with kids.  There was, I kid you not, a secret private elevator just for us and we were ushered there with our stroller in order to bypass the normal line and escalator. Pretty awesome. 

Hiking in Cinque Terre

Headed to the top of the Duomo

5. Ditching the stroller can be a great idea.  We used our Uppababy G-Lite (learn from me and get the way better G-Luxe instead) stroller in all of the airports, but while traveling around Italy we used a backpack style carrier exclusively (we have and love this one: phil&teds Escape Baby Carrier).  I would STRONGLY recommend having a way to carry/wear your child, either a Bjorn or Ergo/Beco style carrier or a backpack, depending on their size.  This allowed us to go up and down stairs, weave through crowds, and cross busy streets so much more easily and safely than with a stroller.  Finn napped in it all around Italy, which allowed us freedom from having to take breaks in the day without getting him too far off of a decent nap schedule.  It was great for him to be up high where he could actually see whatever cool thing we were touring a little better.  Another awesome perk to the carrier we have is that there is a lot of easily accessible storage space for stashing baby stuff, your stuff, and even two cup holders.  We typically didn't carry any other bag with us.  All this said, the one drawback to the backpack carrier was that it was really too heavy for me to carry.  Hubs took on 100% of the toddler-carrying responsibility, including during an intense 3-hour hike in Cinque Terre, and up all 463 steps up to the top of the Duomo in Florence.  He didn't complain once, for which he should win a medal. 

Vatican Museum- not a toddler favorite.

6. Travel with a kid is definitely a different experience, but seeing new stuff through your toddler's eyes is worth the hassle.  We planned our trip much differently than we would have a couple of years ago.  We only had one day heavy on museum type sightseeing (and it was definitely the hardest to get Finn through), we took everything at a much more leisurely pace, and we spent more time just running around in parks or enjoying downtime after dinner.  I firmly believe that the key to enjoying travel in general is having a huge amount of flexibility when things don't go as planned, and never is this true more than when kids are involved.  But if you're willing to shift your perspective just a bit, I think you'll be rewarded as we were with an amazing experience.  We showed Finn how to throw coins in the Trevi Fountain, he ran around and became fascinated with the larger than life angels inside St. Peter's Church, and he splashed in the water in one of the most beautiful towns I've ever seen in Cinque Terre.  We made the coolest memories traveling for the first time as a family of three and I love that we were able to show Finn a different part of the world, even if he won't have clear memories of it (we'll be sure to show him lots of pictures when he's older).

Running around in Vernazza

Inside St. Peter's Church

Swimming in Manarola

7. Learn from everybody else's experience.  Read these momma's blogs for way more detailed info on getting through the airport, how to pack, and getting a passport for your kiddo.

MODG - 5 Steps to a Successful Flight with a Toddler
Delicious Baby - Travel Tips
elefantitas alegres - International Travel with an Infant
Tulip Family Travels - Packing a Toddler's Airplane Carry-on Bag

Buon viaggio!