Contributed by TeriLyn Adams
Ever since I've had kids, we’ve flown across the country to visit my family in Utah, and considering how young they are, it's not an easy feat. We don’t have a direct flight unless we drive 1.5 hours to Charlotte (an airport I loathe) so we typically have two flights, 1.5 hours to Atlanta and then 3.5-4 hours from ATL to SLC.
Aside from the obvious things like a kid's Kindle and headphones, these are the things I've learned are essential when traveling. (If you're earlier in the trenches, I've also got 10 tips for traveling with a toddler.)
1. WAYB Pico Portable Car Seat
At least once a year, we travel to Vernal, Utah, which is 3 hours from Salt Lake City and about 2 hours from any meaningful civilization (it's the Memorial Day trip I wrote about here). There are no BabyQuip providers there, so I can't even rent a car seat or a crib if we fly in there. When I realized that a few years ago, that's when I invested in the WAYB Pico portable car seat.
The Pico folds up super small and is lightweight (only 8 lbs) and it fits in overhead bins (or you can gate check it).
Plus, the boys think it’s cool because it’s a “big kid car seat.” Another perk is that because it’s so small, it leaves a lot more room in the car for somebody to ride in the middle of a bench seat, which often happens when we're with cousins. And, my older son will often want to ride in one of his uncles’ cars and it’s easy to switch the Pico to a different car, even if you’re in the middle of the desert, after finishing a hike and you know he’s going to fall asleep in 5 minutes, but he insists anyway. (Based on true events.)
The only con to it when traveling is if they fall asleep in the car, there isn’t a spot for their head to lean like a traditional car seat, but we just bring neck pillows for them.
*This is a sponsored mention but we all genuinely love the WAYB Pico. And we don't only use it for travel — we love it for daily life. We keep one in my mother-in-law's car and one in my nanny's car, and it's also nice when a car is in the shop, we're stuck with a loaner car and don’t want to move car seats out.
2. A lightweight stroller — specifically the Zoe
Neither of the boys really wants to sit in the stroller for long when we travel, and I don't really care because I want them to run out of energy before and between flights. But a lightweight stroller is nice because it essentially becomes a place to drop bags. The stroller can hold everything more easily, so one of us can carry a kid who won't get in the stroller. Then, we just check it at the gate.
If we have a tight connection, we don't bring a travel stroller because we don’t want to have to wait for the planeside checked items, but typically we have at least an hour layover in Atlanta, and it’s fine. We have the Zoe Tour with the Ride On Board but if you want to be able to bring it on board to avoid planeside check, you’ll need The Traveler. (Read my full Zoe Stroller review for more details.)
3. A travel backpack that slides over your suitcase
A good backpack is an obvious essential to keep your hands free, but if you're carrying the WAYB Pico, that gets tricky. We have backpacks designed specifically for travel that slide over the handle of our suitcase.
I have tried probably six or seven backpacks in the last year. (I oddly get sent a lot of backpacks to test because my blog post about the best mom purse ranks on Google.) Of all the ones I've tried, these two are my favorites:
- The Away, because it's so lightweight and not structured, which makes it comfortable to carry and easy to smash under the seat.
- The Dagne Dover. I gave this to my nanny, and she uses it for school. When she travels with us, she always carries things for them in it, too. It definitely feels more durable and is a little cuter than the Away.
4. Magnetic building toys (and why Play-Doh is banned)
My kids will color for about 60 seconds, and then they're bored, but they'll play with magnetic cubes and mini MagnaTiles sets for at least 20 minutes before they get bored. We've tried Play-Doh, but Charles stuck it up his nose on our last flight. And perhaps not shockingly, it was hard to get out, and we ended up texting our ER doctor friend for advice, so Play-Doh is officially off the list.
5. Corded headphones, always
I also feel strongly about corded headphones versus uncorded headphones because the Bluetooth is always tricky to connect to, and then, without fail, they’ll connect to the wrong kindle. Then, kids are mad because they have to switch headphones, and you can't plug them into the plane TV’s on the back of seats, so then you have to get the disposable ones from flight attendants. And those little things will not stay in little ears.
Bonus Tip: Get a Delta Amex for Sky Club access
This is kind of niche, but I feel very strongly about it. The Delta Amex gets you access to Sky Clubs, and that is significantly easier to wrangle kids on a long layover, especially if they're stowaways. I use it for my business credit card so it works well for us but it’s probably not worth getting this card unless you’re a Delta loyalist like me. (Salt Lake City is a Delta hub, so we always fly Delta if at all possible. And because, well Delta is the best. When we fly internationally - maybe once a year to the Caribbean - we fly American or United and I hate it with my whole heart)
Thoughts on kids' suitcases + the Doona
We've never done kids' suitcases because the novelty wears off pretty quickly, and then it's something else for us to wrangle. I have considered a suitcase with a built-in scooter, but again, I bet it’ll become one more thing that adults have to carry. If they really insist on their own luggage, we let them take their mini backpacks.
The Doona was great when Charles was a newborn, and I actually bought it specifically for a trip to Utah and wished I'd bought it sooner, but kids quickly outgrow that. Once they're 2 and up, the WAYB Pico is the only way to go. (I shared more from those early days in my tips for traveling with a baby.)
We don’t have any trips scheduled for a while since we’ve already been to Turks & Caicos and Utah two times this year, and depending on what happens with our frozen embryo, traveling with kids may get even more hectic! I’d love your tips for traveling with kids (especially if you’re a fellow boy mom since WOW, they don’t sit still on long flights).