We've been traveling a lot with our 16 month old....and there are a few items we are loving! If you are about to go on a trip with a toddler...do not click through and buy every single one of these items. Each of these have been great for certain trips of ours....but we don't bring all of them for every trip!
Shelf Milk. When on the go, or staying in a hotel without a fridge, we started bringing a few containers of milk with us to have on hand. Shelf milk is extra pasteurized so you don't need to refrigerate it until after opening.
The Stroller sleeping bag. Great for when you will be doing a lot of walking in the cold. It has holes for the straps in your stroller and keeps your toddler warm.
Mattress sheet for travel. Not all hotels come with a sheet on their cribs/pack n plays. This is something we brought, just in case....and used it as the hotel did not have a sheet for her crib. Placing a toddler directly on a mattress was not high on my list of things I wanted to do.
Pack N Play Mattress. We found Lorelai sleeps great in a pack n play....so long as she has a mattress. This one is more bendy than our other, a little thinner and a bit crinkly...but can be folded down in a suitcase.
Inexpensive Carseat- We have a spare carseat just for traveling. We do this because our carseats at home are expensive and we don't want them to be damaged by the airline (who makes you sign a waiver saying if they are damaged too bad)
Car seat bag- To protect your carseat, but more importantly to carry it through the airport. We found this used locally as well.
Umbrella stroller- Buy these used!! We love having a bit hefty of a umbrella stroller, that still has storage underneath for traveling. Plus this has a pocket for a water bottle etc....but still folds down really well for traveling on buses, trains, and going through security.
What do we never travel without? Instant Oatmeal. Every place we stay will always have a coffee maker for hot water. Instant oatmeal allows us to know Lorelai is getting healthy food in the morning. I tend to ALWAYS forget a spoon, so we scoop it out into a plastic bag, cut off the corn (let's be honest, I bite it off) and make an oatmeal squeeze for her. She loves it.
As she got a little older, we started traveling with an ipad and a few movies too. At about 20 months she knew that an airplane meant Moana (or as she said it "Mow...Annnn...Ahhh" nice and slow and drawn out). We have a super old (2nd generation) ipad that we use as hers, and we aren't afraid to bust out movies for her.
Our secret weapon for getting her ears to pop on airplanes is giving her a quarter of a starburst. It makes her so happy, and it gets her to suck without being too messy. We started this around 20 months old as well, it just depends on when you are comfortable giving candy to your kids. Fruit snacks work, but we find they don't make as much for her to suck on, and she tends to gobble them down whole :)
Apples make great traveling foods for airplanes. It keeps her entertained, not too messy (they are a little messy) and healthy. We now always bring an apple on any flight we have, plus they go through TSA just fine.
No, we don't have her walk through the airport with her own little backpack of goodies...yet (typing this when Lorelai is currently 2 years old). We have enough things to keep track of right now, and don't expect her to keep track of her own things. It sure is cute when kids run around with their little backpacks...but you've got enough to watch out for!
Shelf Milk. When on the go, or staying in a hotel without a fridge, we started bringing a few containers of milk with us to have on hand. Shelf milk is extra pasteurized so you don't need to refrigerate it until after opening.The Stroller sleeping bag. Great for when you will be doing a lot of walking in the cold. It has holes for the straps in your stroller and keeps your toddler warm.
Mattress sheet for travel. Not all hotels come with a sheet on their cribs/pack n plays. This is something we brought, just in case....and used it as the hotel did not have a sheet for her crib. Placing a toddler directly on a mattress was not high on my list of things I wanted to do.
Pack N Play Mattress. We found Lorelai sleeps great in a pack n play....so long as she has a mattress. This one is more bendy than our other, a little thinner and a bit crinkly...but can be folded down in a suitcase.
Inexpensive Carseat- We have a spare carseat just for traveling. We do this because our carseats at home are expensive and we don't want them to be damaged by the airline (who makes you sign a waiver saying if they are damaged too bad)
Car seat bag- To protect your carseat, but more importantly to carry it through the airport. We found this used locally as well.
Umbrella stroller- Buy these used!! We love having a bit hefty of a umbrella stroller, that still has storage underneath for traveling. Plus this has a pocket for a water bottle etc....but still folds down really well for traveling on buses, trains, and going through security.
What do we never travel without? Instant Oatmeal. Every place we stay will always have a coffee maker for hot water. Instant oatmeal allows us to know Lorelai is getting healthy food in the morning. I tend to ALWAYS forget a spoon, so we scoop it out into a plastic bag, cut off the corn (let's be honest, I bite it off) and make an oatmeal squeeze for her. She loves it.
As she got a little older, we started traveling with an ipad and a few movies too. At about 20 months she knew that an airplane meant Moana (or as she said it "Mow...Annnn...Ahhh" nice and slow and drawn out). We have a super old (2nd generation) ipad that we use as hers, and we aren't afraid to bust out movies for her.
Our secret weapon for getting her ears to pop on airplanes is giving her a quarter of a starburst. It makes her so happy, and it gets her to suck without being too messy. We started this around 20 months old as well, it just depends on when you are comfortable giving candy to your kids. Fruit snacks work, but we find they don't make as much for her to suck on, and she tends to gobble them down whole :)
Apples make great traveling foods for airplanes. It keeps her entertained, not too messy (they are a little messy) and healthy. We now always bring an apple on any flight we have, plus they go through TSA just fine.
No, we don't have her walk through the airport with her own little backpack of goodies...yet (typing this when Lorelai is currently 2 years old). We have enough things to keep track of right now, and don't expect her to keep track of her own things. It sure is cute when kids run around with their little backpacks...but you've got enough to watch out for!
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