Travel Season: Up in the Sky

When we tell Heath we are going to ride on an airplane he quickly tells us "outside, up in the sky". I wonder if he thinks we are pulling his leg and wants confirmation this is a real legit flight, not any of that pretend airplane noises you make inside the house while we play. In his 30 month life he has probably flown more times than the average adult, totaling 7 round trips (too many legs to count individual flights). He'll complete his eighth trip next week as we head to California for Christmas with the Henkelmanns. Here are a few things that help to make our flights smooth with toddler Heath: (most of our air travel days have been 7-13 hours of travel time, so this is our prep list for those long hauls)

• Clothing: When he was a baby people told me to pack an extra set of clothes for him. I quickly learned that additionally Mamma needs an extra shirt at least when traveling. He will keep himself clean but inevitably drool (or back then spit up) or drop food or run dirty hands all on me! It was nice to change into a fresh shirt as we landed before greeting family. Also the type of clothing we both wear for the day is key. Something comfortable and a light sweater layer for cool planes (that also doubled up as some nursing privacy in early travels). For Heath having clothes that allow for an easy access diaper change is paramount.

• Essentials: every kid has their thing, whether it is a blanket or stuffed animal, pacifier. Air travel days are the first day of vacation and should be treated as such. Rules go out the window and whatever you may have been trying to wean them from, now is not the day. Heath used to be attached to his Scout for nap times and bedtimes with the music it plays. So although Scout was not compact, we prioritized it on our carry on pack list. These days 'puppy' is the essential for bedtimes so by all means he is squeezed into the diaper bag and comes aboard for setting the mood to sleep when needed.

• Snacks: You can refer to car travel here for reference on Heath and Mamma's need for snacks. Air travel is no different, except that I do get vertigo when flying many times still and so try to combat that with eating oranges and ginger snaps in addition to ginger pills before resorting to Dramamine which takes me out of commission and leaves J to single parent.

On a layover in ATL. Elmo was a new to him toy given that day on the plane. A 50 cent find at a thrift store! While he is sitting still here, we try to run him like crazy on a layover- get the energy and loudness out before we get confined.

Packaging toys/activities: One of the best tips my friend Leslie M. shared was utilizing pencil pouches for sectioning off toys in their travel bag. I picked up five different colored pouches from Dollar Tree the first time and they were golden for not loosing little pieces of things in such a big diaper/travel bag. One color held snacks, another had coloring supplies, another cars, another had small dollar tree toys that were new to him, another stickers and a roll of masking tape (pack this!). Breaking up the trip by showcasing a new pouch helped the time to go by and Heath to remain entertained.

• Movies: We have downloaded a few of our Baby Einstein videos onto the iPad and sometimes also travel with the laptop where we will bring DVDs along. This past trip we tested out the headphones on Heath and he kept them in place well, allowing us to have him actually hear the show and not annoy our neighbors. Where videos are back up for car trips, they are essential for us to time well and use during our long flight days. They break up a 4.5 hour CLT to PHX well. And I've also noticed that the movies they are showing on the plane are not appropriate for H to watch, even without sound, so I'm thankful to distract him from watching the other screen.

Next Up- How I could probably be diagnosed because of my obsession with packing light- and maybe some tips you could learn from my disease.  :)