Hi, y'all! I'm Emily from over at Being Mrs. Gentry, and I'm pretty excited to be guest posting for Happiness Is. I'm a commuting, working mom to one very handsome 13 month old boy. I also love making my house a home and all of the fun creative things that come along with it. I just wish I had more time to do it all. You probably feel the same way too.
One baby product I can't live without:
Skip Hop Zoo Bibs. Back when my son was eating baby food, these were great because they fold up into themselves to keep from getting baby food all over the inside of my giant mom bag.
Photo of my boy's life thus far that best captures his personality He's a super happy kiddo!
A piece of advice you wish you had about life before baby:
Go see a ton of movies in the theater just the two of you. That's the one thing that is difficult to do once you have a kiddo.
One misconception you had about babies/children before having one:
I grew up doing a lot of babysitting, but one thing I had never thought of was how to pick out baby bottles for my own baby. That wall 'o bottles is totally intimidating!
My must read book:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I think I have a copy in every room in my house except the baby's.
Favorite quote: (one of many)
"A woman is like a tea bag -- you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."
--Eleanor Roosevelt
If time and money didn't matter... I'd be volunteering and fundraising at our local Christian faith-based crisis pregnancy center. It's a passion of mine that I would love to have time to pursue.
Today though, I have traveling on the brain, which is so apropos since the Happiness Is family has gallivanted off on a super relaxing vacation. My little family of three is gearing up for our first vacation, which also happens to include my little guy's first plane trip. Like the planner that I am, I'm making lists, checking them twice, and scouring the internet for some of the best tips I can find for traveling with little ones. Here's what I've come up with.
1. Bring baby's birth certificate. If you're traveling with a lap child under 2 years old, you'll need a birth certificate to prove their age. Without it, you'll have to buy them a seat.
2. Know your air carrier's bag check policy. Many airlines will let you check at least one piece of baby gear for no fee, but not all of them. No one wants to buy a cheap plane ticket just to have it double in cost from bag fees.
3. Check it if you can. We plan on checking everything we can to limit what we have to haul through the airport. I'll have two carry on bags (my giant mom-bag, plus my hand luggage) to pack my makeup, a change of clothes for myself, plus diapers and several outfits for the little man. (Note: I always carry on my makeup. Always. I can deal with re-wearing clothes if my luggage doesn't make it, but I cannot deal with no makeup.)
3. Pack an umbrella stroller. Now this one is debatable because some people like to wear their kiddo and have hands free, but a stroller can haul some of your stuff, plus it gives your baby a place to be (not in your arms) if you have a plane change or layover. Most airlines will allow you to gate check the stroller so you can wheel that kiddo right down the jet bridge if you'd like. I picked the UppaBaby G-Luxe because it has a great basket underneath and reclines. Other than the hassle of security, I think we'll be glad we have it with us.
4. Pick your seats well. I like to sit at the back of the plane--even before I had the kiddo. Now that I do, I think that's a great place for him. The rear galley is close by so when the seatbelt sign goes off we can get up and stretch and talk to the flight attendants. He's a flirt, and I know that will be great distraction for him.
5. Throw in some distractions. I saw recommendations for throwing in new toys so the kiddo will be distracted by something shiny and fresh. Mine would probably be fine tearing up a beverage napkin, but I'm throwing in our iPad (and headphones!) with some kind of child programming, which he doesn't get to watch often. There will also be chocolate chip cookies in my bag, because that kid loves himself a Chewy Chips Ahoy. (OK, maybe I do too.) I'm not packing any drinks for him, because I figure I can buy a little bottle of milk in the airport or grab water on board.
6. Rent what you can when you get there. There is a baby gear rental service at our destination, and they're delivering a crib and high chair to the condo where we're staying. We're renting a car seat directly from the car rental company to keep from having to haul and check that heavy sucker!
So here's the disclaimer, as always: you'll want to check with your air carrier for their restrictions on checked luggage, baby items, and traveling with a kiddo. I'm certainly no expert.
Other than these rather common sense suggestions, I would love to hear what's worked for you. In particular, have you gate checked a stroller before? Did that work well for you?
One baby product I can't live without:
Skip Hop Zoo Bibs. Back when my son was eating baby food, these were great because they fold up into themselves to keep from getting baby food all over the inside of my giant mom bag.
 |
A piece of advice you wish you had about life before baby:
Go see a ton of movies in the theater just the two of you. That's the one thing that is difficult to do once you have a kiddo.
One misconception you had about babies/children before having one:
I grew up doing a lot of babysitting, but one thing I had never thought of was how to pick out baby bottles for my own baby. That wall 'o bottles is totally intimidating!
My must read book:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I think I have a copy in every room in my house except the baby's.
Favorite quote: (one of many)
"A woman is like a tea bag -- you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."
--Eleanor Roosevelt
If time and money didn't matter... I'd be volunteering and fundraising at our local Christian faith-based crisis pregnancy center. It's a passion of mine that I would love to have time to pursue.
Today though, I have traveling on the brain, which is so apropos since the Happiness Is family has gallivanted off on a super relaxing vacation. My little family of three is gearing up for our first vacation, which also happens to include my little guy's first plane trip. Like the planner that I am, I'm making lists, checking them twice, and scouring the internet for some of the best tips I can find for traveling with little ones. Here's what I've come up with.
1. Bring baby's birth certificate. If you're traveling with a lap child under 2 years old, you'll need a birth certificate to prove their age. Without it, you'll have to buy them a seat.
2. Know your air carrier's bag check policy. Many airlines will let you check at least one piece of baby gear for no fee, but not all of them. No one wants to buy a cheap plane ticket just to have it double in cost from bag fees.
3. Check it if you can. We plan on checking everything we can to limit what we have to haul through the airport. I'll have two carry on bags (my giant mom-bag, plus my hand luggage) to pack my makeup, a change of clothes for myself, plus diapers and several outfits for the little man. (Note: I always carry on my makeup. Always. I can deal with re-wearing clothes if my luggage doesn't make it, but I cannot deal with no makeup.)
3. Pack an umbrella stroller. Now this one is debatable because some people like to wear their kiddo and have hands free, but a stroller can haul some of your stuff, plus it gives your baby a place to be (not in your arms) if you have a plane change or layover. Most airlines will allow you to gate check the stroller so you can wheel that kiddo right down the jet bridge if you'd like. I picked the UppaBaby G-Luxe because it has a great basket underneath and reclines. Other than the hassle of security, I think we'll be glad we have it with us.
4. Pick your seats well. I like to sit at the back of the plane--even before I had the kiddo. Now that I do, I think that's a great place for him. The rear galley is close by so when the seatbelt sign goes off we can get up and stretch and talk to the flight attendants. He's a flirt, and I know that will be great distraction for him.
5. Throw in some distractions. I saw recommendations for throwing in new toys so the kiddo will be distracted by something shiny and fresh. Mine would probably be fine tearing up a beverage napkin, but I'm throwing in our iPad (and headphones!) with some kind of child programming, which he doesn't get to watch often. There will also be chocolate chip cookies in my bag, because that kid loves himself a Chewy Chips Ahoy. (OK, maybe I do too.) I'm not packing any drinks for him, because I figure I can buy a little bottle of milk in the airport or grab water on board.
6. Rent what you can when you get there. There is a baby gear rental service at our destination, and they're delivering a crib and high chair to the condo where we're staying. We're renting a car seat directly from the car rental company to keep from having to haul and check that heavy sucker!
So here's the disclaimer, as always: you'll want to check with your air carrier for their restrictions on checked luggage, baby items, and traveling with a kiddo. I'm certainly no expert.
Other than these rather common sense suggestions, I would love to hear what's worked for you. In particular, have you gate checked a stroller before? Did that work well for you?
8 comments:
Thanks for the tips- we're about to take our first out-of-state trip with our 15 month old next month. I hadn't heard the birth certificate thing, so I'm glad you mentioned that! I'll have to call our airline to confirm everything we need! Also, I bought a lightweight convertible carseat just for traveling - I wasn't comfortable renting a carseat and not knowing whether it had been in an accident, was installed properly, is it expired, etc... I'm a worrier!
Hope your first trip goes well!
These are all great tips. We took our first trip with our daughter when she was 10 months in January and used many of these tips. I'm guest posting later this week. :)
Great airplane tips! We flew with my little guy at 10 months and I wish I had this list then! Now he's a toddler and I'd imagine an air trip would be an entirely different ballgame!
Thanks! I hope your trip goes well too and that these help out a little!
Thank you, ma'am!
Glad to hear that some of them are tried and tested!
I know - it would be so much easier if he were still a sleepy little baby. But that is definitely not the case with my wiggle worm!
Great tips - we do many of these too!
The only thing I do differently is pack liquids - drinking can help offset ear discomfort on takeoff/landing, and with all the hubbub of getting the kid on the plane, having his milk & water sippys ready to go saves us the hassle of buying in airport. It does mean taking an extra minute at security to get them screened.
I'm also a fan of shipping diapers, wipes, and baby toiletries to my destination; along with the good "rent what you can" advice, this has saved me precious packing space.
Post a Comment