WHEW! I'm back! Its been a couple of months since I have updated my blog, but I am back and I have so much to share.
If you follow me on IG, you may have seen our family trip to Ghana, West Africa during the month of June. It was such a fun trip and I can't wait to share some of my favorite aspects of the trip with you all (blog/video coming soon). But, one thing so many people have asked me about was how we made it through such a major trip with a squirmy 16 month old.
Let me start off by saying, traveling with RJ seemed so daunting, it required so much extra pre-work. But all in all, it was worth it. Before I give you some of my favorite tips, let me say this: THINGS WILL NOT GO AS PLAN. Let me repeat myself, THINGS WILL NOT GO AS PLAN. Understanding this will help alleviate the stress of trying to maintain a "perfect" schedule and will save you from having a trillion mini breakdowns during this vacation.
Our trip to Ghana was two weeks long, so I had many opportunities to try different tactics, along with a few moments of frustration (lets be honest, at least 2-3 tearful moments) before I understood that my focus was on living in the moment and creating memories.
But here are my tips for traveling with a 16 month old:
How to Survive a flight with a toddler:
IF you can, try and schedule flights either close to a nap time or closer to bed time. Our flight from Ghana to Paris was at midnight, which was great. RJ slept almost immediately after boarding.
Babywear so that you're hands-free while at the airport. We used this one while rushing between three different flights. And I wore him in this one if he fell asleep while waiting for a flight.
Change baby's diaper before boarding, the airplane bathrooms are tiny and once you get to your seat you want to give yourself a breather before the plane takes off. RJ had diarrhea on at least 2 of our 4 flights. I would def also include having plenty of extra diapers and wipes in your carry on.
Choose a window seat. It make its easy to box in a squirmy toddler who is easily distracted by the clouds.
Offer baby something to suck on (bottle, sucker, pacifier) during takeoff/landing. I am still breastfeeding so I was able to feed baby to help with the ear popping sensation.
Bring a new toy. RJ was so distracted by a new dinosaur that it helped him with stopping fussiness before it started.
Pack snacks. Snacks and drinks for the baby are allowed through security. RJ ate so many bags of cheese its during our flight. Again, typically he would never snack so much, but these were a huge help during a 16 hr flight.
Once you're able to get baby to sleep, have yourself a glass of wine. You deserve it.
I hope these tips help you to breathe easy during your next trip with baby!