We are on our final countdown until we leave for an 11 day trip through Europe…with our toddler. So let’s get it out of our systems, “are you crazy”, “why would you do that”, “oh God, good luck”. Yes, I know, I’ve heard it all. I do know she won’t remember this trip, I know it may not be “ideal” to travel with a toddler but I also couldn’t imagine leaving her for that long or having this experience with my whole family.
Now that we got that out of the way, on to the strategy of how to make this work. I’m going to post a series of “Travel Preparation” posts starting with our pre packing must have list. We’ve flown a few times and the most successful trips have been when we took the time to be prepared.
· Saniwipes
o The germ infested part of airplanes is everything you touch NOT the air. We learned from an aviation engineer that there is some insane amount of filtered air pumped in and out of the cabin per minute that the air quality isn’t what you should be afraid of
· Entertainment for busy Toddler
o Our Miss Busy loves books, songs and specific TV shows. We love to carry one regular book, and a few small board books for her to flip through. The mini’s are the best because you can throw them into anything throughout your travels. We also purchased the Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood series onto the iPad for a backup plan.
· Snacks
o Plane friendly snacks that are easy to grab are the best. Little baggies of goldfish, blueberries and a few Golden Graham’s mixed (this is our sweet version of toddler trailmix), string cheese and crackers, crackers and almond butter sandwiches.
· Clean and Sealed Paci
o We have a back-up paci always on hand. It stays in a snack Ziploc in case one makes a nose dive in the airport or anywhere else for that matter.
· Food Supplies
o This trip I decided to add some additional products to the list since we now have a “real food eater” on our hands. I purchased a pack of disposable sippy cups that have travel lids, disposable bibs and disposable placemats. These will take up little room in our bag and will help with the unknown that can occur with traveling. I also plan to grab some forks and spoons from Target’s $1 area. This way if they are lost along the way, the financial impact is minimal.
This of course is just the preliminary list. I’ll have my detailed list for packing baby soon. Very soon since we have only 10 DAYS to lift off!!! What are your go to products or tips when you travel?
