A spur of the moment Tuesday decision to fly 4 states away on Wednesday morning with our 16 month old was one that didn't quite hit me and my type A personality until about 6 pm when I rushed home after work to pack for our family of 3 plus 1! I had to think quickly on what to pack on the plane and what to pack for the visit, that may not have all been a bad thing considering I would typically dwell on the idea for months prior to going! This time on the other hand dewelling was not an option since we had a plane leaving the next morning at 6:00am! My little had never flown before so I was not sure how he would do so I went with the assumption that he would not be happy and his ears would bother him the entire flight however, we were pleasantly surprised that on the first flight he fell asleep just before take off and slept virtually the entire time. Oh the second connecting flight however, was another story! He was ready to get out of that tight space and burn off all that energy! This is where what I packed for the flight came in handy! Here are some helpful tips I used to keep him occupied and happy as best as I could...
1. PACK PLENTY OF SNACKS: We found on our connecting flight that food was what made him happy, I thought if we had him chewing it would help with his ears to pop on the way up and the way down! Plus a plan to get breakfast between connecting flights may be changed if or when your first flight gets delayed like ours did!
2. BRING THE COMFORT: Ours is a pacifier! My little LOVES his paci! This is kind of a given that you pack the one thing that you find calms your little but just in case, don't forget it in the bags you check!
3. GATE CHECK A SMALL STROLLER: In addition to carrying all your luggage you will also be lugging your toddler if you are not prepared with a small stroller. The airline makes it easy to hand off your stroller to the attendant right at the time of boarding that way it's waiting on you as soon as you get off the plane and head to baggage claim!
4. DRESS COMFY: This goes for all parties involved! Your toddler will be much happier in comfortable clothing and so will you! After all, being "wallered" by a toddler on a small plane is NOT fun especially if you are having clothing malfunctions at the same time! Let's face it, you will be bending down to grab the dropped popcorn puffs and toy car that was just launched and having New York Wall Street guy in the row behind having to look at your undies as you do so would not be the ideal situation!
5. TAKE A BLANKET: I packed one of his softest comfy blankets. I am notorious for being cold while flying and I assume so children are also! While he was sleeping it was nice for him to be extra comfortable with his blanket!
6. USE A BACKPACK: My diaper bag happens to be a backpack, if yours is not, I would suggest using a backpack instead! The backpack made getting to and from gates much easier! Plus once you go to pick up the checked luggage you will need all the free hands you can get!
Here are a few pics from our flight! I will warn you...you will see no pictures from the second flight due to the close quarters and nature of attitude lol! All of these tips were in few swing leaving no time for pictures!
Hope these tips help you like they did me! Good luck on your flight!
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