July 18, 2022
Flight to Montreal: 2.5 hours
Montreal to Tokyo: 13 hours
Tokyo to Hanoi, Vietnam: 5 hours
A daunting travel itinerary, even without children. Yet, we were about to do it with two under the age of three.
3 totes
3 large bags
2 carry-on bags (well, they were intended to be carry-ons)
a stroller
a car seat
a wagon
3 backpacks
and other loose things like blankets, stuffed animals, and snacks.
They say you pack way more when you travel with children, but we may have gone a little overboard.
This is what we faced on the last leg of our summer of transitions. One last push to fly to the literal other side of the world, and then we would finally be in our home for the next two years.
We were comfortable with the idea. Having lived abroad before, the unknown of a new country wasn't that scary, but having two children in tow posed challenges I'm not sure we were entirely prepared for.
With our experience, I collected a series of tips I'd like to share.
Traveling with kiddos TIP #1
Pack diapers everywhere! You can live without wipes, but not diapers.
Pack more diapers EVERYWHERE.
I had diapers in the diaper bag and in both carry-on bags, but when I was forced to check those bags, my brain didn't think, “Grab diapers.”
It thought, “You a-hole… who are you to make me do this?”
During our first flight, I realized I only had one diaper for each child left—and I still had 19 hours of FLYING time left.
I ran through the entire Montreal airport looking and asking for diapers and couldn't find any. Finally, on my way to the gate, I spotted another mother with an infant and toddler.
I approached her with tears in my eyes and a sense of urgency because my flight was currently boarding. She was happy to give me some, and then another mother chimed in and gave me more.
I thanked them sincerely and ran off.
It was a beautiful moment of solidarity in motherhood.
Traveling with kiddos TIP #2
For all the moms who are breastfeeding and pumping: prepare for your baby to completely change the plan.
I thought I was prepared. I thought my 5-month-old would breastfeed more and bottle-feed less.
The opposite happened.
A would NOT even consider breastfeeding, so I had to pump around the clock to provide milk for him.
I was prepared for this. I packed a cooler and a ton of batteries for my Medela pump. But when my battery pack started to crap out on me, I got worried because guess where my hand pump was?
Yup.
In the carry-on that got checked.
Here is what I packed:
A good pump bag- it flies for free as a medical bag
All my pump parts and only two Medela bottles
Medela wipes to clean those parts
Medela milk bags
Cooler
Ice pack- make sure it is 100% frozen when you go through security
2 battery pack for my pump, they held 8 batteries each
Lanolin
Gallon zip lock to hold clean parts
2 feeding bottles of choice
Traveling with kiddos TIP #3
Get yourself a blow up foot rest.
Get yourself a blow-up footrest.
This thing is a game changer, especially for long flights or flying during nap time.
It was easy to blow up and place at our toddler's feet. He was able to sleep soundly for several hours because we laid the baby's nest on top of the footrest and seat.
We were also able to lay O down, buckle him in, and add his favorite blanket and stuffed animals so he could sleep comfortably.
If you are traveling with an infant in arms, ask about a bassinet seat.
I was confused about when and how to request it, so I called Air Canada and sat on hold for 2.5 hours, only to be told they would take care of it at the gate.
That information did not sit well with me, so I did some reading.
I found out that the bassinets only hook up in the bulkhead rows. These seats are highly sought after because they have extra legroom. I also found out that they are first come, first served, although I read that younger infants may be given priority over older infants.
The night before our flight, Nick checked us in and made sure we were in the bulkhead for all three flights.
Our first plane was too small to have a bassinet.
Our second flight was more complicated.
Nick couldn't book all of us together because someone had claimed the middle seat in the row of three. When we arrived in Montreal, Nick went to the desk and asked if we could all sit together and get the bassinet.
They happily changed our tickets.
When we boarded the plane, we found another mom sitting in the middle seat and requesting a bassinet. Her husband was sitting on the other side, where Nick and O were also supposed to be.
I showed her our tickets and explained that we were all seated together.
She moved over with her husband, and the next flight attendant got an earful from the situation.
We were super sweet as we explained everything.
He asked how old our babies were. Her baby was 7 months old, and A was 5 months old.
We were told to stay where we were while they moved people around so the other couple could have another bulkhead area.
I was very happy with Air Canada because they shifted people around to accommodate both families with babies.
What we learned about using the bassinet:
- It holds up to 14 kilograms.
- You can only use it when the baby is sleeping.
- You can't use it during takeoff and landing.
- You can't use it during turbulence.
- It's basically baby jail. Once the baby is inside, you have to Velcro and snap it shut so the baby can't fly out if there is unexpected turbulence.
- Even if you are sitting in the bassinet seat, you still have to request that they bring the bassinet to you.
Traveling with kiddos TIP #5
Pack toys and things to keep your kiddos busy—but be flexible.
For O, we wrapped different cars and construction vehicles. The plan was to give him one every hour.
That did NOT work.
He wanted to unwrap all of them one after another. He threw a huge tantrum, and it caused more trouble than it was worth.
So we let him unwrap them all and put them into a bag.
Then he was able to choose which one he wanted to play with.
This actually kept him busy for most of the trip, even though I had also packed books, water-painting books, stickers, and his tablet.
Which brings us to Traveling with Kiddos Tip #5a:
Be flexible with your plans and procedures.
A mostly chewed on his hands and played with his Eric Carle ladybug!
Pack a LOT of snacks.
This one might seem like a duh-red-truck kind of tip, but pack a lot of snacks.
O did not like the airplane food, so he mostly ate peanut butter crackers and cheese.
I had all of his favorite foods in little snack bags, and we did not regret giving up the luggage space.
In fact, when we arrived at our destination, those snacks got us through until we could go grocery shopping.
I had even packed extras in the carry-on bags that ended up getting checked.
Traveling with kiddos TIP #7
When everyone is overwhelmed, move.
What do you do when you're overwhelmed, the kids are crying, or someone is throwing a tantrum?
This happened several times, especially around nap time and bedtime.
A would be asleep and then get woken up by O screaming—or vice versa.
These were some of the hardest moments.
We learned quickly to pick up the child who was upset and go for a walk.
That helped keep the other one asleep and gave the screamer something new to look at.
People will stare.
People may be annoyed.
But you have to do what works best for your child and your family.
Traveling with kiddos TIP #8
Totes!
Our military friends told us that when they move, they use black totes with yellow lids because they are heavy-duty and can be zip-tied shut.They worked amazingly well.
If you decide to use them while traveling abroad, make sure you put extra zip ties inside in case security or customs opens them.
Traveling with kiddos TIP #9
The WAGON!!!
The wagon was a last-minute addition to our giant pile of stuff, and it made all the difference when traveling to the gate and moving between flights.
We checked our stroller and car seat and used the wagon instead.
It held O and some of our stuff while Nick carried A in a baby carrier.
It was AWESOME!
All I can say is “holy smack”! Just reading about your trip make’s me want to take a nap. You 2 are awesome.
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