Flying with small children: my experiences and advice

We have travelled by airplane quite a bit with our kids (Annika was 9.5 months old when she first went on a plane and Emmett was only 2 months old for his first flight), and I've learned a lot over the years, so I thought I'd share some of our experiences and advice. 

• Be prepared for the unexpected.  I can't stress this enough. 
• I learned this one the hard way when we were travelling home from Florida last year and got stranded for a night in Minneapolis.  We only had our carry-ons with us, not our checked bags, and I wasn't sure if I'd have enough formula and diapers to get Emmett through till the next day when we got home.  At the time I was weaning him off nursing, so I still did have a little milk, but not much.  So Carey made an early morning run to a local drugstore to buy more formula and we ended up buying diapers in the airport (2 diapers and 5 wipes for $5!! And they weren't even the right size).  So the lesson I learned is this - always be prepared for an extra night/day.  Make sure you have more than enough of essential things (like diapers and formula, or in my case - my contact lens case and glasses) in your carry-ons. 
• Pack jammies and a change of underwear in your carry-on bags. 
• Most toiletries can be obtained from a hotel, or from your airline (we were flying with Delta, and they gave us these handy toiletry bags that had toothbrushes, combs, toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent, etc and even an extra t-shirt), so don't worry too much about bringing along that stuff in your carry-on.
• To help kids with their ears:
• for babies, try to time a feeding with take offs/landings.  The sucking will help clear their ears.  A soother can also help.
• for older kids (but not quite old enough for gum), we like to use lollipops.  These are a huge treat for Annika, and she's never once complained about her ears hurting.  Emmett was a bit more of a challenge this year, as he doesn't take a soother or bottle but he's a bit too young for a lollipop.  So we gave him water in a sippy cup and some Cheerios.  He seemed to be fine.
• To keep kids entertained:

• Bring along a combination of old, favorite toys and new, exciting toys.  Bring toys that are small, so they don't take up too much space, but not so small that you have to worry about losing little pieces.  Little People are a good size, in my opinion, and they appeal to a wide range of kids.  Annika likes to act out little stories with them, and Emmett likes to chew on them and bang them on things.  Win-win.  This year I bought a bunch of little finger puppets that were also a hit with both kids.
• Movies are great for older kids, if you have a portable DVD player or laptop computer.
• Coloring/activity books or sticker books are also great for older kids.  Lately Annika has really been into "picture searches" (like in Highlights magazine, where you find the little items in the big pictures), so we found a bunch of those online and printed them off for her to do.
• One year olds are the hardest to entertain.  At least our one year old is.  We had one flight coming home that was 3 hours and 17 minutes and Emmett did not sleep at all during it (except finally when we landed he dozed off).  So how did we entertain him?  Little toys, snacks, walks up and down the aisle, snacks, peeking over the seat at all the people, snacks, looking out the window, snacks, letting him stand by my feet (not much room for that, but he could still do it briefly) - oh, and did I mention snacks?  Good thing he didn't suffer from motion sickness! 
• Do not underestimate the value of "found" toys.  Our kids got great entertainment from playing with the barf bag (Emmett would put all his toys in it, shake it, dump them out and then start the process all over again), looking at the plane safety card (Annika must have studied it for 10 minutes) and playing with the lid from Carey's coffee cup (thanks for the idea Wes!).  Kids find the weirdest things entertaining - just go with it.
• If all else fails - drug 'em.  Just a little bit of Tylenol to make them a bit drowsy.  Even my doctor recommended this, and I wish we had done it with Emmett for the long flight.  We considered giving him some when there was about an hour left in the flight, but by then we figured we'd almost be landing by the time it kicked in so it wasn't worth it.
• Consider shorter flights, if possible.  On the way down to Florida we had 3 flights, the longest being about 2.5 hours.  Even though it's more ups and downs, and it might take longer to get there, it might be worth it.  Both Carey and I thought that the kids did better on the way down (with the shorter flights), than on the way home (with the longer flight). 
• To keep yourself entertained:

• Don't worry about this.  You won't have any time to read a book or do whatever you'd normally do when travelling without kids.  I don't even bother packing anything for myself other than maybe a magazine or my iPod.  And I don't think I even touched those while travelling this time.  When the kids did finally fall asleep, I think I quickly perused the SkyMall magazine (I love seeing the crazy stuff that people come up with and try to sell) and then closed my eyes and tried to sleep a bit myself.  When travelling with kids, it's a bit like having a newborn - sleep when they're sleeping!
• Other bits of advice:
• Check with your airline about bringing along baby-related stuff.  We were able to check a car seat for free (we had to pay for our other checked bags), as well as gate-check our stroller for free.
• If you're not happy with your seating arrangement, ask at the gate if they can make changes (e.g. change where you're sitting, or get an empty seat next to you, if you're travelling with a baby-in-arms).  It never hurts to ask - the worst they can say is no, and most likely they'll do whatever they can to accomodate you.
• Helpful items to bring - stroller (good for loading up with all your carry-on bags), baby carrier (this is great for when your baby sleeps on the plane, so your arms don't get tired from holding them), kiddie leash (to make sure that toddlers don't run away in the airport).  Dress in layers to accomodate changing temperatures in airports/airplanes/your destination and have shoes that are easy to get on and off (for at security).  It's also handy to bring along an empty water bottle, so you can fill it up once you're past security, instead of buying expensive airport water bottles.  Also bring along lots of snacks.  LOTS (unless your kids are prone to motion sickness, then you may want to limit what they eat).
• Don't worry about it if your kids cry during the flight.  Well, I mean, do whatever you can for your child, but don't worry about what the people around you think.  Most likely they don't even notice over the noise of the plane or with their earphones in.  And even if they do notice and are bothered, it's not your problem to make them more comfortable.  Just focus on your child and know that you're doing the best you can in a less-than-ideal situation.
• Stay calm.  This one is hard for me, since I tend to get a bit stressed when travelling, and especially when things start changing at the last minute (which seems to happen to us on almost every trip).  However, it's important that you don't freak out in front of your kids, since they will take their behavioral cues from you.  Like I said, this is still something I need to work on (I freaked out a little bit on our way down), but I think it's very important for the kids to know that the parents are still in control, even if you feel like you're not.

So, there you have it.  Most of this is probably common sense, but I just thought I'd share it anyways, in case it comes in helpful to someone else out there.

Back home

I'm back!  Most of you probably know that we were on vacation in Florida for the past week and a half, however, I didn't want to announce it on my blog before leaving because it makes me sort of uneasy to let the whole world know that our house is empty for 10 days. :P  And that's also why I didn't blog during our vacation, even though it would've made it much easier now!  Now I have so much to tell and share, I don't know where to start.  I think I have about 650 pictures to sort through. :P  I'm not sure if I'll try to blog all the details of our vacation or not (I'm guessing only a few people would be really interested in it, but it would be a nice record for myself), but I'll just say that it was a really good break, the weather was gorgeous, the kids were mostly well-behaved and our travelling went fairly well (a few little hiccups here and there, but nothing we couldn't manage).  Here are just a few pics for now.

Go, Jets, go!!  Cheering on our team in Tampa Bay, and they won in overtime!

Annika collecting seashells at the beach

Emmett, after some pool time



Hot tub time!



The koi pond at Mixon Fruit Farm in Bradenton



The Butterfly Estates in Fort Myers



So there's a very brief glimpse of the past 10 days.  More will likely be coming.  I'd like to write a post about travelling with children, because it's definitely a challenge, and I think I have a few tips to share.  Stay tuned!

Just a little cuteness...

Night-time

I've put off writing about this for quite a while, mostly because I was hoping that the problem would resolve itself and would no longer be something to write about, but since nothing seems to be changing, I figured I'd put it out there and see if anyone has any advice for me.

The problem is that Annika is no longer dry at night.  In fact she's been wet almost every night since September.  Some of you may remember this post from the beginning of August last year, when we were just getting ready to start putting her to bed without a Pull-Up.  She had been either dry at night or waking up to pee for about 2 months at that point.  And before that, she was wet maybe once or twice a week.  So, we took the plunge, put an extra layer of sheets/waterproof protection on her bed (so we could quickly strip it in the middle of the night, if necessary), and she slept quite successfully without a Pull-Up for a few weeks.  Then September came.  She got sick (just a cold) at the beginning of the month, and after a night with 2 accidents, I decided to put her back in a Pull-Up until she was feeling better.  She also started preschool in September, a major change for her, but one that she seemed to adapt to quite well.

We planned to get rid of the Pull-Ups after her sickness passed, however, Carey and I were also planning to go away for a few days at the end of the month, and the kids would be staying with their grandparents, so we kept her in Pull-Ups until after we came back, so the grandparents wouldn't have to worry about wet sheets (and it wouldn't be a big deal about having to wear a Pull-Up at Grandma and Grandpa's house).  I figured after we all got settled back at home, we would make the switch back.  Except by then, she was wet almost every night again.  She'd have the occasional dry night, but it was the exception, not the rule.  And now I can't even remember the last time she was dry at night.  It's probably been at least a month or more.  Nothing has changed in her routine otherwise (she doesn't drink much after supper, and goes pee before going to bed; no other big "life" changes).

Just a side note - most of you know that we use cloth diapers, so you may be wondering why we buy Pull-Ups for Annika, and don't use cloth trainers.  There are several reasons for that.  One, she loves the princesses on them.  Two, initially I had a hard time finding a cloth trainer that fit well and didn't leak (if anyone can recommend one, let me know).  Three, before Emmett came along, I didn't want to worry about washing cloth trainers when I didn't have any other diaper laundry (I guess that excuse is no longer valid, now that I'm washing diapers twice a week :P).  I have been thinking about trying cloth trainers again lately, as I'm getting so sick of buying Pull-Ups each month, and I hate the stink of a wet Pull-Up.  Anyways, just wanted to address that.

So, now she'll be four in a few months, and she's still wet every night.  It feels a bit frustrating, because it seems like such a big step backwards.  I'm torn between trying to do something to "help" the situation (should we wake her and try to make her go pee before we go to bed?  Should we take her out of the Pull-Ups and let her wet the bed for a few nights??  Is there a different solution???), and just waiting for it to resolve on its own.  After all, we didn't do anything the first time around and her body figured it out.  Does she just need more time?  Anyone have any advice for us??

My "old lady giving unwanted advice" moment

Today we were at the doctor's office.  I was worried that Emmett might have an ear infection, but turns out he's fine, just a cold - glad I had it checked out though.  Anyway, while we were sitting in the waiting room, waiting, waiting, waiting (our doctor is never on time), Emmett started making eyes at an old lady.  He's turning into quite the little flirt, which is kind of a nice change, considering how shy Annika is.  So this lady (who was quite old, she told me she had a great-grandson that was about Emmett's age) starts talking and playing with Emmett, and talking to me.  And I could tell it was coming... the "old lady giving unwanted advice" moment. 

If you're on Facebook, you may have seen this article being shared recently, talking about how people (usually old ladies), love to tell young mothers to "carpe diem, enjoy every moment because they grow so fast."  The author talks about how she hates being told that (especially while her kids are acting up), because honestly, there are some moments that are just not that enjoyable, and it's okay if we're not enjoying every moment.  We can still be good mothers and can still love and enjoy our children, even while admitting that it's not that fun to clean up 5 potty accidents in one day, or get only 3 hours of sleep at night (some of my personal experiences).  I know not everyone agreed with her article, but it definitely spoke to me (maybe because I read it after a particularly difficult week).  It was nice to know that there are other mothers out there like me, having days when they count down the minutes until bedtime.  Will my perspective change as my children grow up?  Will I regret not enjoying these moments more?  Maybe, I can't predict the future.  There will likely be moments (probably the good ones) that I'll look back on and miss, but hopefully it's with a clear memory that not every moment was like that.

So, back to the doctor's office, and the old lady.  With this article fresh in my mind, I suspected that an "enjoy every moment" statement would soon be coming from this lady.  And I was okay with that, since she seemed pretty nice and well-meaning, and my kids were actually being quite well-behaved at the moment.  But she said something a bit different, something that I really appreciated - she just said "love them, the years go by quickly."  A bit of a twist on the usual line.  I thought, that's so true - we don't need to enjoy every moment of parenthood (or even every moment of life in general), we just need to have love.  Really, that's what it all comes down to.

Thanks old lady.  Oh, and I hope your insurance problems got sorted out. :)

Dear new sewing machine...

I apologize for leaving you in the box for almost a full month after receiving you (except for one brief test run).  Thank you for waiting so patiently for me.  I have a long list of projects, just waiting to be created.  I even have a bunch of fabric ready to go.  Now I just need to find the time and energy.  Hopefully it will be soon.  In the meantime, thanks again for understanding and not judging me, as night after night I collapse on the couch to veg out in front of the TV (the TV gets very jealous, so I need to spend adequate time with it). ;)
Sincerely,
~Pam

Rookie mistake

I made a rookie parenting mistake yesterday.  I should've known better.  I should know this by now...



Never, EVER, brag about how well your child sleeps. 
They will inevitably have a terrible night after that.



Yup, yesterday I wrote about how Emmett hasn't had that many bad nights, and sure enough, he had a terrible night last night.  I'm not sure how he knew what I wrote (I'm guessing maybe his Fisher Price aquarium/music player in his crib picks up a wi-fi signal and he can check the internet through that :P), but he knew. 

I woke up around 3:30 to go to the bathroom.  This is nothing unusual - since being pregnant and then having to get up with little babies, I seem to have lost the ability to sleep through the night.  Most nights I can fall back to sleep pretty quickly, but last night I tossed and turned for a while.  Then Emmett started crying around 4:15.  I let him cry for a few minutes before going to check on him.  He felt a bit warm, so I took his temp and gave him some Tylenol.  I rocked him back to sleep and I was back in my bed by around 4:35.  Not bad.  But just as I was finally drifting off, he woke up again at 5:00.  This time he cried for a few minutes and went back to sleep on his own (I didn't have to get up, yay).  Again, almost back to sleep, and then he's crying again at 5:30.  This time I had to get up again.  I finally got him settled down and headed back to bed just in time to hear Carey's alarm going off, shortly after 6:00.  I think I finally fell asleep sometime after Carey left around 6:40.  Then Emmett woke up again at 7:00.  Luckily he went back to sleep after a few minutes (and on his own), and I got to sleep until 7:30, when my alarm went off.  I dragged my butt into the shower, and by 8:00 both the kids were awake and ready for the day (but no one was terribly happy about it - I think Emmett's crying must've disturbed Annika as well).

So now Annika is at Grandma's for the morning, and I was hoping Emmett would have a little morning nap (we got rid of morning naps this week because it was messing up his afternoon nap, but I figured he might need one today), but I can still hear him chatting in his crib.  Probably checking Facebook on his aquarium. :P  I'm looking forward to this afternoon when Annika will be at school and Emmett will be at Grandma's.  I was planning to do a bunch of errands, but now I think the number one priority will be a nap!  Can't wait for that blissful silence.