I’ve been busy busy busy around here behind the scenes since we got back from our vay-cay.
Fun fun fun things to tell you soon.
But for now I want to share share share (had to continue with the 3 repetitive word thing) a few things I learned about plane travel with kiddos
~Red eye flights work for us. A red eye flight sounds a little intimidating at first but we loved it! Our first flight left out of LAX at at 12:30 am and arrived at 6am in Ohio. We cozied the kiddos up in their PJs and they slept most of the time.
~Flying out on Christmas is awesome! Our red eye was actually on Christmas morning. LAX was empty… it was kinda strange. But so great! Because we left on Christmas, our flight was way under booked. We were each able to claim a row of seats and sleep through the flight. Flights can be cheaper on Christmas day too!
~Security check sucks with kids. There is no way around it. This whole taking off of the shoes and getting everything onto the conveyer belt is torture. Torture. Don’t even try to be quick or you’ll end up focusing all your attention on making sure your stuff is loading quickly (and together) while doing loud blanket apologies to everyone around you and your 1.5 year old will end up 2 check points over and an angry TSA employee will be screaming for the parents of the “little blond boy.”
(Ahem)
~Electronic devices are a must for trips. These kept sanity on our 5 hour layover. Yes. FIVE HOUR LAYOVER!!!!!
~Babywearing keeps babies quiet. Tess’ sleeping schedule got a little off but she did so great in the sling. Did you know if you are wearing a baby you have to have your hands tested for explosive residue? Which gave me the hebie- geebies because that means people are hiding bombs next to their babies. That is just sick.
Sick.
~Bring a carseat for kiddos under 3. Eli and Cora Jane (5 & 3 y/o) were fine in the regular seats. We could even put up the arm and they could snuggle up and watch a show on the ipad together. Cyrus in a regular seat would have been a nightmare. He was able to sleep so well in his carseat and he is so used to being in his carseat for car rides, it was no big deal for him to be strapped in.
Warning: The carseat height puts lil’ feet in the perfect position for kicking the the seat in front of them. (Thanks for the heads up Jami!) Slippery socks make the force of impact softer and offering to buy drinks/snacks for the person in the kicking zone keeps the dirty looks down!
~Farts. We were in the very back of almost all our flights and people really do walk to the back of the plane to let one loose.
~Don’t overdo the snacks. The motherly instinct is to pack the world, but then you’ll just have more to carry and keep track of the whole trip. Pack a few non-perishables (we did almonds, goldfish, graham crackers) and empty sippy cups (anything liquid won’t make it through security check. Thanks for the tip Andrea!). Your kiddos will be so much happier eating something yummy (Ruby’s and Starbucks below) rather than a smushed PB & J.
~Rent a luggage cart. Worth so much more than the $2 they charge.
~Remember to have fun! The whole point of a vacation is to make lifelong memories for your kiddos (and you) so don’t sweat the small stuff. The worst thing that can happen is total strangers might not get to snooze on the flight because you have a loud child. Relax and keep it simple. You want your little ones to remember getting wings and a Sprite from the flight attendant not mommy having a nervous breakdown.
~Home is where the heart is. All things good and bad about a vacation are temporary. Keep in mind even the worst day has end you’ll be able to go home, shower the airport off and sleep in your own bed!
(Cora Jane asleep at the curb pick-up in LAX)
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Danika says
Great post.
Melissa says
Oh Kara! I have been traveling with kids since Nate was 5 months old!!! There is a lot of do’s and don’ts and I do believe you covered a lot of them in this blog. The only thing I did not try was the car seat with Nate, but it was just him so it was fine to have him hang out in between me and the hubby. But with Mikey, well, we won’t be letting him NOT have his own seat ever again! I love your blogs and reading about your family!
Eli's Lids says
Thanks Melissa! I love sharing stuff. Your little guys are so cute (FB), hoping all is well with you!
rachael says
Go with the flow! 🙂 You guys are fantastic parents.
Angela @ninemoremonths says
Everything you wrote is so true! I will never forget my last trip, though. On the way home, Jackson got sick in the car ride on the way to the airport. I changed his clothes and cleaned the care at as well I could. He threw up several times in the airport. Including once in the security line. By the time we got onto the plane he was on his last clean outfit (pajamas.) Worst of all, the phone towers in Florida werent working so I couldn’t get through to my husband to let him know to bring a clean carseat and clothing. I gate-checked the stinky stroller and carseat so no one had to suffer through smelling it on the plane.
Eli's Lids says
Worst nightmare!!
Brad gets motion sick and I was concerned that might pass down to more than one kiddo. Thankfully it didn’t!
Crystal Anderson says
Loved this post. You guys make it look so fun – I want to take a trip with my family now! 🙂
Happy New Year to all of you. By the way, Tess is such a gorgeous baby! All of your kids are gorgeous, of course, but I love seeing her newest pics. She’s just a doll!
Garrett & Reese love their lids! I know I promised to get pics for you & I will. I completely forgot on Christmas morning, but we’re going to the snow next month & the lids will be in full effect! 😀
Eli's Lids says
I’m so glad they liked the Lids. (I REALLY do love them too.) I’m sure they look awesome on them because your kiddos are SOOOOOO cute! Thanks for the compliments about Tess. Her personality is really starting to come out and thankfully she is sweet… so far…
You should totally do a vay-cay!! We are trying to be intentional about taking them because it’s so easy to just not do it because of busy day to day life. Didn’t you guys do Hawaii with your fam? Now that would be an awesome tradition to keep!!
Stephanie says
You are so right about “keeping your cool with the kiddos”. To this day traveling with my parents is so stressful that I try to avoid it at all costs.
When I read you guys were traveling with 3 kids and a baby I was wondering how you were going to do it. haha. Sounds like things went great. Glad you had a safe trip!
Eli's Lids says
Thanks!! Just popped by your blog and I’m always so impressed with your style and creativity!!