5 Tips for Travelling with Toddlers
Travelling with babies or toddlers can be nerve wracking and stressful, but there are many things you can do to make things just a tad bit easier! Here are 5 tips that I found helpful for travelling with our twin 14 month olds!
Bring an easy to fold, lightweight, 1 piece stroller!
Our children can walk, but they don’t always follow where we want to go, and they most definitely are not quick paced (easily distracted), so a stroller is a great way to keep them with you and get them to where you need to go when necessary. You can bring your stroller all the way to the boarding gate. Just get a stroller tag when you check in. You then fold it down just before boarding the plane, and pick it up right when you land!
This was super convenient for us because we could also put our diaper bag in the bottom part of the stroller (one less thing to carry on your back or shoulder)!
Just make sure that you don’t have any items in the pockets of the stroller or attached to the stroller, because you’ll have to remove everything quickly to get through security.
Since we have twins, we needed a double stroller, and I wanted to find one that was lightweight, easy to fold up and unfold, and ONE piece! So many double strollers come in 2 or even 3 pieces when folding and putting together.
We swear by the Joovy Kooper x 2 stroller! You can fold and unfold it with one hand, its lightweight and still durable!
You can purchase your Joovy Kooper x2 stroller easily on amazon through this link here!
2. Pack SO many snacks, and then pack even MORE snacks!
I really underestimated the power of snacks and a water bottle for the boys. Not only are these great to bring to make sure your little ones aren’t hungry, but they’re also a great distraction; better than any toy, in our experience.
I packed quite a few bags of the Love Child Organics lentil lovies (little cracker/rice cakes that are easy finger foods for the boys) We also packed some pouches, also from Love Child Organics. And, the night before leaving, I decided to cut up some fruit and pack it in a puree freezer container I had, and it was SO great because it entertained the boys and gave them some choice in food/took longer for them to eat it which was KEY for us!
3. Organize your diaper bag ahead of time.
We made sure to pack diapers and wipes that were easily accessible. We used our Fox and Sparrow diaper bag which was so convenient, easy to pack and easy to carry! We also packed sanitizer wipes that I could access quickly so that I would be able to wipe down our seats on the plane. I also had all of their snacks in spots I knew I could access as well as their sippy cups so that I could give them water or milk as needed. (These are the cups we use and the boys love!) We packed some books as well, since our boys love books and that was a good distraction.
Another thing that I am SO thankful we did was pack some outfits for the warm weather. The boys wore some comfy sweat suits on the plane since it was still pretty cold here when we left, but I knew when we arrived in Turks and Caicos, it would be hot, so I packed some light onesies and changed them when we arrived at the airport. I am so thankful we did because the line up was HUGE at the airport, they didn’t have a child line there, and there was no air conditioning.. It was HOT!
4. Know that it is okay to make exceptions during travel days!
I am pretty strict at home about the things our children eat, their routines, the toys they play with ect. But I knew that travelling with toddlers/babies could be stressful and difficult, so we bought some tablets for the boys to play with on the plane and they helped distract them for a little while too. (These are the tablets we purchased).
I also gave them foods to eat when we were away that I normally wouldn’t, but it distracted them and kept them from crying, so to me, that was a WIN! (Fries and Grilled Cheese are fairly accessible in most places and were easy for the boys to eat and to distract them, so they got to eat them at the airport and on vacation, even though I wouldn’t normally feed it to them at home).
5. Be gracious to yourself!!!!!! You are doing amazing!
I stressed SO much about what other people would think. Would they be mad if the babies cried, or moved around. Would they be annoyed?
Then the thing that I stressed most about happened, we sat down behind a row of people that looked VERY displeased to be around babies, and we had a lot of turbulence. Oscar had a melt down in the middle of the flight and because of turbulence, I wasn’t able to walk around with him. He wouldn’t take a bottle, boob, or sippy cup. He didn’t want food, none of his toys would help. I felt like everyone was staring and annoyed. I JUST BAWLEDDDDDD. After he stopped, everything was fine. Everyone was fine, and even if the people ahead of me were annoyed, I knew my children were okay and that made me happy. He even fell asleep afterwards, the little guy was so pooped out!
When we got off the flight, people complimented us on our boys behaviour and how well they did despite the turbulence and everything. I was SO thankful for those kind words and it made me realize, I needed to put less pressure on myself because everything worked out well.
Always show yourself grace and know that you are doing your best! The memories you will make as a family are SO worth it!
