Traveling on a Plane with a Toddler!

Andre and I were super excited to be part of our friends wedding this past weekend. This wedding took place in Nassau, Bahamas which is also were my in laws live. I thought perfect two birds with one stone- wedding plus time with grandma! Then it hit me I was going to be traveling with my very, very, very, very busy toddler. Ari is very active and I was dreading this trip because I was not sure what to expect since we have never traveled on a plane with Ari. When you board a plane with small children in tow, no one is happy. No one wants to sit next to you. No one wants you behind them. No one wants you in front of them. Ah yes, the joy of plane traveling with children especially one that is very squirmy. As cute as your kids may seem to you, I have discovered that when push comes to shove, no one else thinks your kids are so adorable when they are trapped with them on an airplane. Until this point I thought children under 2 that were flying on your lap were free... NO THEY ARE NOT! Of course the airlines have found yet another fee to charge their passengers. You are now required to pay a $43 fee for a toddler even though they are taking up no space. Another thing I learned: Airlines have all but done away with pre-boarding for families with children.

Well, if your destination requires a flight, and you have young kids, then you better do some advance planning. Trust me, I have learned the hard way. Here are a few tips that I learned when traveling with a toddler:

1. Arm thyself. You need toys. Books. My absolutely favorite traveling piece was an Ipad!

2. Make sure that you have a large diaper bag  that could fit a purse and all of the child's toys and personal items. (This trip I took a beach bag)  Include a change of clothes or two outfits, diapers, toys,  changing pad, baby wipes, and utensils. I also brought an empty sippy cup to fill up after we passed security.

3. Purchase candy or snacks. Ari loves gummies so I brought a few with me to provide as a treat.

4. Carry aboard only the essentials!!!!!! My in laws asked for us to bring a few items with us which ultimately made our trip through the airport a bit more challenging because now we had to carry additional items.

5. Be understanding! The little ones are not used to traveling and do not understand that additional rules may apply to this atmosphere.

Overall, the trip there was way better than the trip back home but I believe was due to Ari being tired and sleepy. The Ipad was truly my absolutely favor item to bring on the place. It was light weight and I downloaded a few Dora and Elmo episodes and a few game apps and that kept Ari pretty much occupied the majority of the time.