The Holiday Season is upon us—the festivities of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year will soon consume us. Both my husband and I also happen to have December birthdays, so there are loads of reasons to celebrate. What I love the most about this time of the year is getting together with friends and family for said celebrations. I love to travel at baseline, and the holiday season just provides more reasons to indulge my natural inclinations.

I am fortunate to have been able to log countless hours of travel with my kids—by air, train, ship, road–you name it! I say fortunate because my kids are two of my most favorite travel mates, third only to my husband (I say third because my second favorite is my husband with our kids…LOL).  I have taken numerous transatlantic flights with both my boys as early as age 6 and 10 months respectively and both my boys have traveled to some of the rural parts of my native country, Nigeria as babies.

Through all these journeys, I have amassed a wealth of experiential knowledge that continue to make travel with my kids sweeter and sweeter each time.

So here are the tips that I have found the most useful in creating happy trails with my kids:

1. Start Early: A lot of people are so scared of traveling with their babies but infancy is actually the easiest time to travel with children because they sleep most of the duration of travel. Just make sure that they are well fed, that their diapers are not wet and that they are not ill.  I also take my kids (starting in infancy) to Church and other programs that require them to sit for some hours and to follow my (loving) instructions. Over time, I have learned the best ways to get them to do my bidding (LOL…just kidding). Seriously, over time, I have learned what works for directing and engaging each child to achieve the goal of enduring long periods of restricted mobility. The earlier children start traveling, the more accustomed they get to it all.

Baby Cot on a British Airways flight with my 2nd son

My 1st son at 6 months of age with a British Airways Flight Attendant

2. Feeding a Baby on a Plane: There are so many options to help you breastfeed your baby on a flight. I got a Medela travel bag that helped me store pumped breast milk for long flights. For those who are formula feeding, take pre-portioned sachets of milk that can easily be poured in a feeding bottle and mixed with water. For international flights, airlines will often place parents with infants in the front row of the flight cabin so that they can place a sleeping cot for the infants in front for the overnight flights (see the first image above). Word of advice: Make sure that you have a means of feeding your baby in hand during take off (breast feeding, bottled milk, snacks, etc) in case you get stuck on the runway due to an unforeseen delay . You have to place your bags in the racks above and you cannot get up during taxiing and take off. If your baby happens to get hunger pangs during that time (and he or she will, guaranteed), then you will be ready and will avoid this particular screaming baby on the plane scene.

3. Plan to tackle Ear pressure/Pain: During rapid changes in altitude in air travel, passengers may develop pressure/pain in ears. Here is how to tackle it: for infants, feed them during takeoff and/or landing. If you will be bottle feeding, then have them seating up as much as possible. You can also use a pacifier during this time as well—the sucking motion will help to relieve the ear pressure. For kids older than 3 years, you can have them chew on baby carrots, gum or gummy bears or suck on hard candy.  Also, consider pre-treating with Tylenol or Ibuprofen just prior to the flight.

4. Get the right travel gear: Europeans are more used to traveling in tight spaces (trains and buses) with babies/kids, so their gear (which is easily available in the US and worldwide) tend to be very travel-friendly (in my opinion). I got the Bugaboo Bee (Bugaboo is a dutch company) which can be pushed easily with one hand (amazing suspension)—this allows you to be able to push the stroller with one hand and pull a hand luggage with the other hand concurrently. The Bugaboo bee also collapses easily, has many recline positions for the child, has an under carriage for bag storage and has attachments to mount an infant car seat on it. I have traveled with it all over the world and the durability is amazing—it is still going strong for us. Click here to purchase the Bugaboo Bee.

In front of Windsor Castle in Britain with the Bugaboo Bee (October 2012)

Big brother on a London Bus (October 2012)

Visiting Mommy’s medical school in Chicago (June 2016)

Baby brother in the Piccadilly Line London Tube (July 2016)

There are so many other great (and cheaper) Stroller options: Click here for a list of the best travel strollers of 2017. Also, as your kids grow and can handle their own luggage (and trust me, most toddlers will want to exercise their stubborn independence and insist on handling their own and/or your own luggage), consider purchasing appropriate size luggage for them.

Waiting to catch an Amtrak Train

On a beach in Bermuda (Pottery Bark Kids gear)

Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore had kid-sized bathrobes

I love kids travel gear by Pottery Barn Kids–I love that I can get their luggage monogrammed and my kids find it exciting to be responsible for managing their OWN baggage. Click here to check out Pottery Barn Kids gear.

African method of Baby Wearing

5. Baby wearing: Carrying a baby on your person remains the easiest way to move a baby around. There are many baby carrier options/contraptions to help you strap your baby to you. I wore my babies using these carriers but mostly on my back with a wrapper cloth like my fellow African women. Both my babies would fall asleep once I put them on my back and walked around (you can do this in the back of the plane to get a restless baby or toddler to fall asleep quickly. Click here to buy a front and back baby carrier by Stokke.

Stokke My Carrier: Front & Back Baby Carrier

6. Safe co-sleeping: Some hotels will have a crib for you to put your baby. If you are not staying at a hotel or at a home that has a crib or baby sleep space you can borrow, you can also take with you a portable (collapsible) play pen or play mat that can pull double duty as a sleep space for your baby when you travel. Click here to check out a travel Bassinet.

Crib at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore

7. Entertainment options: You do not have to use electronic devices to entertain your kids—though there is nothing wrong with that (the iPad has come in useful on many occasions). You can also use doodle pads, coloring books, audio books, regular books, activity pads, puzzles. Also, I routinely travel without a lot of toys/activities—I find that my kids indulge in self-directed and creative play whenever I just let them be (less stuff to log around too 😉

With Fisher Price Doodle Pro Pads

On an Amtrak Train

8. The double diaper: When I am traveling long distances, I routinely double-diaper. I do this so that when I need to change a diaper (especially in tight quarters like an airplane lavatory), I may not even have to carry anything with me or even go to a bathroom at all. I create makeshift wipes with tissue and water and the second (dry) diaper is ready to go right there. I use Pampers Swaddlers–they have never failed me. Click here for Pampers Swaddlers.

Diaper change in a British Airways London to Lagos Flight

9. Airline Credit Cards and Reward Programs: Traveling can be expensive—traveling with kids can be exponentially expensive. Here are two ways to curb the expenses: if you tend to travel with a particular airline, like Southwest airlines for example, then sign up for one of their Rapid Rewards Credit Cards so that, as you use the card to purchase the things you were going to purchase anyway, including flights, then you rack up points that earn you free tickets and other travel perks. Also, sign up for loyalty programs—we tend to travel with British Airways, so I cohort my flights with British Airways and its partners American Airlines, Aer Lingus, Cathay Pacific, etc, so that I can earn points in the British Airways (Avios) rewards program. I added my kids to my account (creating a family account) so that we can rack up points as a family and get more rewards. I also have a Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card and I have earned thousands of dollars in cash back rewards on purchases—extra bonus points for travel purchases. Use credit cards responsibly—always have the cash to pay them off so that you do not accrue fees and large debts.   

 10. Get passports for your kids:  The US passport is a highly sort after document—it allows you into 154 countries visa-free (wow!) Both my kids had passports by age 3 months. Click here to find a list of countries you can travel to, visa free or visa on arrival, with a US Passport. Click here to get information on US passports and/or to apply for US passports for your kids. The easiest way to take a passport photo of a baby is to put a piece of white paper behind the baby’s head while in a car seat and then take the photo yourself (or take get the photo taken at a store like Walgreens) and have them print the passport photos.

11. Consider all-inclusive Resorts: Not only do you pay for your meals and entertainment up front, you can also get certain perks like complimentary child-care programs, vacation nannies, kids clubs etc, depending on the resort. You may have to pay extra with infants or for toddlers that are not toilet-trained but that may all be worth it.

My son with a babysitter in our hotel room in Fort Lauderdale, FL

12. Child care on the road: Your options are traveling with your own nanny/babysitter, getting a qualified (background-checked) babysitter/nanny via a company like care.com or via your hotel’s child care program, or alternating child care duties when you travel in a large group with friends and/or relatives (the whole it takes a village plan…LOL). Click here for a great article on care.com about finding child care on vacation.

13. Travel kits: Buy travel size containers of your favorite kids’ products or buy small containers such as the ones in the photo below (click here to order from Amazon) to pack travel size portions of the products. This will enable you pack carry-on luggage only for short trips where you have to travel by air (you avoid having to check in luggage). Remember, the TSA’s 3-1-1 security rule for flying with carry-on liquids: 3.4 oz bottle or less; 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag to carry all liquids; 1 bag per passenger. Click here for a great article on Fodor’s Travel for the Best Packing Tips with the 3-1-1 Rule.

Soft N’ Style 7 Piece Travel Bottle Set

14. Rent car seats along with Rental Cars: I always do my best to travel as lightly as possible, so I do not like logging about car seats and other bulky items. When I am traveling with my kids and I am renting a car, I rent car seats along with my car rental. It makes things so much simpler. You just set them up, get the kids and your luggage in the car and off you go. You should also check out Baby’s Away  (click here)–the largest baby and child equipment rental service with over 80 locations throughout the USA. They provide clean, quality baby gear (cribs, car seats, strollers, high chairs, toys, etc.) for your children so that you can enjoy your stay while traveling away from home.

15. Things to take along with you on an international trip: A bottle of Pedialyte and Butt Paste (click here and here to order). The most common illness a child will develop abroad is diarrhea, so you want to be able to easily keep your kid hydrated (Pedialyte) and soothe their bottoms which can become raw from frequent loose stools—Butt Paste is the best for that. Prevention is better than cure, so make sure to also avoid raw (unpeelable) fruits/veggies, and drink only boiled and/or treated, bottled water.  Also, take along Children’s Tylenol and Children’s Motrin, Bug spray, Malaria Prophylaxis (if you are traveling to a country that has Malaria risk). Click here for a very helpful article by the CDC on traveling with children.                                                                                                                                                               

The most important advice: Stay excited! Children are much better at following your example than following your instructions. So, if you are energized, optimistic and excited, then they will be too. If you are stressed, frantic, and negative, then they likely will be too. Remember mind over matter–you got this!!!!

On a British Airways flight to London

A kiss for Momma on a Southwest flight to Chicago

On an Air Peace flight from Lagos to Owerri in Nigeria

Beach bumming in Bermuda

On a Family Cruise to Bermuda

Reading Material: Southwest Flight to Baltimore

I would love to hear any tips you may have that have helped you travel well with your kids. Please share your thoughts and tips in the comment section below.

Love,

Chichi