Travelling with a One Year Old
I always intended to writing a post about flying with a four-month old, but really there's nothing to it. So, I never wrote it. Really, my carry-on bag for Cannon back in November looked like this:
- diapers
- wipes
- burp cloth
- blanket
- bottle (in case he was hungry in a place I couldn't nurse him)
- Sophie the Giraffe
- Life Factory Teething Ring
- nursing cover
- a book for me
After that trip there was NOTHING I would have added to the list. It was sufficient.
This second trip to New York with a one-year old looked a little different. I read blogs and asked friends for all kinds of suggestions for keeping Cannon entertained.
This time my packing list looked like this:
- diapers
- wipes
- blanket
- Blue Bunny (Cannon's lovey)
- straw sippy cup
- Hot Wheels cars
- stacking cups
- stickers
- My First Little Word Book
- a Wiggles dvd in the lap top
- snacks, snacks and more snacks
- a ring pop for him to suck on during taking off/landing
- white cheddar cheetos
- apple cinnamon rice cakes
- vanilla wafers
- freeze dried apples
- trail mix for Danny and I
- raisins
Let me tell you that each of those activities last approximately five minutes. Well, the ring pop lasted longer but it was SO MESSY that Danny begged me not to bring it out again on the flight home. I would just suggest having a bib and a washcloth handy if you plan on attempting the ring pop - which I still think is a good idea.
The flight going to NY was really quite miserable. We took off an hour after his normal nap time - so we started our time in the sky with zero energy and absolutely no good mood left. The flight coming home was much better because we took off an hour before his normal nap time, so we had some time to play and look around before the tiredness set in.
If I could plan my perfect flight with a child I would:
- schedule any/all flights during a meal time, as that would give us something to do for AT LEAST 30 minutes. And meal times never really fall during nap times
- choose seats in the back of the plan where the roar of the engine is so loud it acts as white noise - both for your baby and for the other passengers
- ask, ask, ask and ask again to be seated in a row with an empty seat - either for the baby's car seat (I'm convinced Cannon would have fallen asleep MUCH faster had been sitting in his carseat) or just so you don't have to keep you child from whacking the person next to you
- and yes, pack multiple compact little activities because I'm pretty sure there's nothing that will entertain a 12-month-old for more than 5-10 minutes.
So there you have it. Two-cents from a very inexperienced travelling mom.
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