Flying with a Toddler

So you are pondering taking the little one abroad? Everyone around you looking at you like you are crazy? I can relate! We took baby from the US to Ireland last year when she was 8 months old and it went well (see my tips for Flying with a Baby). But a todder? A tiny human that can walk...er..run? A whole new ballgame! 

Since baby has turned one, we have flown with her on a 4.5 hour flight round trip from Philadelphia to Denver. Most recently, we took her from Philadelphia to Paris and back - the way over was about 6 hours and the way back was 8 (gasp), along with some shorter flights within Europe.  Here are my tips as you prep to take your babe to see the world!

Flights

Little miss enjoying "Frozen" on the flight from Paris to Philadelphia

• Booking seats: Last year, we put her on the carrier on my husband's chest. This year, at 21 months, that just wasn't realistic, so we bought her a seat for the long haul flights. This was a lifesaver for the space. I'm not sure we would be living to tell the story if we hadn't (based on the wiggle worm we had on our lap for the couple of 2 hour long flights we took within Europe where we did not buy her a seat).
• To car seat or not: If your baby likes and/or will sleep in their car seat, then bring it on the plane (ours does). If they don't, then leave it at home or gate check if you need it at your destination. Hopefully, they will lay across seats to nap instead. It is harder to corral them, though
  • The car seat I use for travel is the Cosco Scenera - it's only about $50 and we have a car seat bag with shoulder straps, like this one
  • We also throw this little desk into the car seat bag, so we can put toys and food on it for her. There's also straps that hold a drink and a tablet
• I would highly recommend bringing a tablet with movies downloaded. It's just my opinion, but this isn't the time to monitor screen time. We didn't have one when we flew to Denver and she was fine for the most part, but on the way home, after a huge delay, being stuck in the airport for hours, and flying right at bedtime, we were desperately trying to distract an angry toddler with our phones. If we'd had a tablet queued up with cartoons, this would have been much easier. 
  • A friend recommended the Amazon Kindle Fire HD Kids to me and it was a much easier pill to swallow price-wise compared to an iPad.  It comes with a case, but I bought this one that stands on its own. We didn't need it on our international flights because there were screens built in, but we have had some long haul flights with no screens (gasp), so this was great to have as insurance and we also used it for the second half of many dinners. We got these headphones, which she only kept on for a few minutes, but it was worth a shot
• I also went to Five Below and bought a bunch of cheap, noiseless toys for the plane. Stickers, Pez dispensers, etc. came in handy to bring out when she got restless, as she'd never seen them before. She loved sitting in her car seat with stickers all over her face, hands, and toes :)

Airport

• My thoughts - let them run wild in the airport. Get that energy out! Many airports in Europe have play areas for kids, so we let her go to town
• Also, try to pay attention for family restrooms with changing tables
• Some of the airports we went through had random high chairs scattered around the eating areas, so keep your eyes peeled (why don't we have these in most US airports???)

Playing in the Nickelodeon play space in the Budapest Airport

Food

• Packing space is always tight, but I suggest making room for whatever is your child's kryptonite. Whatever makes them behave and be quiet. For mine, that is Pirate's Booty. I didn't think this would be easy to come by in places like Vienna and Budapest, so I packed four sacred bags to put on reserve. It came in handy, for example, when we wanted to sit in a cafe in Paris and have rosé :)
• We also brought enough pouches to get us through the flight plus one day, along with some Cheerios and Goldfish
• I usually pick up a fruit cup and a string cheese in the airport and bring onto the flight, as those go over well and somewhere is bound to have them (thanks Starbucks)
• Seek out a food or drug store wherever you are. I was shocked that I found organic pouches in the Lyon airport, in Charles de Gualle airport, and at a drug store in Vienna. My child became obsessed with the Viennese pouches and I could only guess what was in them by the pictures. So I bought more! 
• You can also grab milk at the grocery - it helps to look up the word for milk in whatever language you need before you go, so you recognize it. Because milk in Hungarian does not look anything like "milk." One of our hotels even delivered a carton to our room, so it may not hurt to ask the front desk if you are in a hotel!
• Ask for a mini fridge if you are in a hotel for milk, etc.
• My little meat eater went on a meat strike in Lyon and Vienna. So when all else fails, French fries and fruit! Everywhere has that. And, don't worry, she became a little pork monster once she got to Budapest. 

Right before demolishing a bag of Pirate's Booty in Paris. And Ma-ma and Da-da got rosé!

Sleep

• Bring whatever sleep associations your child has from home - in our case, a sleep sack, a white noise machine, and "Bun-bun" (stuffed animal)
• Obviously, the ideal situation is to book a suite, larger hotel room, or a home rental where the child can have their own room or at least a corner out of sight. In a regular room, we put her down and then both go into the bathroom for a while so she can settle. After that, we can usually sneak out, get on our phones and have wine in the dark (womp womp)
• Going east: On the flight to Paris, we all only slept two hours (yikes!). So, once we arrived in Lyon, she was out of sorts, overtired, and wouldn't nap in the crib. We put her in the stroller and walked around town for 1.5 hours so she could get a restorative nap and then we put her to bed at her normal time of 7 pm, but on their time. She slept 15 hours before we woke her up the next day and after that, she was pretty much on Euro time
• Going west: She was definitely tired and punchy and ready for bed, but we stretched her as long as we could until dinner and her normal bedtime routine. She was in bed about a half hour earlier than normal and woke up a little early, but nothing crazy

Sleeping like a baby at the Sofitel in Lyon, France with Bun-Bun

Gear

• Stroller (obviously) - we like having one that is lightweight and folds into the overhead bin, so we have and love our BabyZen Yoyo+
  • Depending on weather, don't forget the wind shield of whatever stroller your have or even the stroller muff
• Car seat (optional) - we did a car tour of Budapest, a wine tour in Beaujolais, and a couple 30+minute cabs to the airport, along with using for the flight - depends on your itinerary
• Portable booster seat - this was a lifesaver, especially in France where high chairs are scarce.  We packed it in my suitcase, as it weighs less than 2 pounds and the booster part is a zip compartment where you can store diapers, wipes, etc. We even used this at an outdoor cafe in Paris because it straps onto any normal chair with a back! It also clips onto the stroller handle for when you are out and about

Napping in the stroller with Da-da in Paris

• Things we couldn't get around bringing from home: 
  • MIlk cup, water cup, toddler spoon/fork
  • Desitin, diapers, wipes (you can totally buy in your destination, but we didn’t feel like debating foreign diapers after long travels)
  • Children's motrin & tylenol
  • Thermometer (don't want to be looking for one in the middle of the night or the Motrin to counteract a fever, even though you can find these items abroad)
  • Nosefrida
  • Favorite stuffed animal
  • White noise machine

Other: 

Travel Insurance: We don't always buy travel insurance, but with toddlers who are basically little walking calamities, we made sure to purchase some. Travel insurance can be super time consuming to buy and it gets overwhelming to look at, so I used Reviews.com, which laid out different plans based upon your needs (i.e. a family with child and needing medical coverage) in a very easy to use format.  I ended up buying the Travelex plan they recommended as "Best Coverage for Families," which fit our needs very nicely and was affordable. And, thank goodness, we didn't need to use it!

Packing: Since her clothes are so small, we packed her items in packing cubes and put them within our suitcases. So, even though she could have had a suitcase because she had her own seat, we didn't have enough hands to carry it and this solution worked

Playgrounds: When you see one, stop!  They were everywhere in Lyon & Budapest and even 10 minutes at one was a great way to get some energy out. In Vienna, where we didn't see many playgrounds, we let her run around parks and chase pigeons, which achieved the same outcome

Having fun on a playground in Lyon, France

What are your tips for traveling abroad with a toddler?

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