FLYING WITH A TODDLER

A look into our toddler carry-on.

Tutu’s first plane ride was around 5 months old. We took a weekend trip to Florida, and she threw up within the first 30 minutes. Since then, she’s become a seasoned traveler and I’ve become a professional travel mom. We’ve taken long flights to Europe, short ones to Turks and Caicos, and even ones in between like to Las Vegas. While toddlers are older than babies, they are much more difficult to entertain on planes. So with that said, it’s important that you do whatever you can ahead of time to accommodate some of their crankiness. I’ve learned that picking the right flight time and seat all play a huge role. For example, we like to fly as early as we can in the morning and pick either the window or middle seat for Tutu depending on who’s traveling with us.

Carry-On

This carry-on bag is my absolute favorite. Because I bring as much as I can, the many compartments keeps everything organized. It has zipper mesh pockets and a place to even put a hanger, so if you need a small change of clothes it’s perfectly in place.

Let’s start with the tablet. I’m against using them at home, but I’ve found it to be extremely helpful with traveling. The Amazon fire is my favorite because of the kid-friendly case and their privacy controls. We’ve downloaded all of her favorite movies on there so at the very least she can be entertained for an hour.

I also bring headphones, a blanket, a sippy cup, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and some coloring pages with crayons. These were my favorite headphones from some time, until we upgraded to these.

Snacks

Make sure you stock up on your toddler’s favorite snacks, and I bring some medicine just in case. For over night flights, I bring baby melatonin to help her sleep as well.