Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, working mom or work from home mom, you are a super hero to us! We love learning from other moms how they do what they do and traveling with little ones is no exception. With my first child, I did about ten cross-country trips before he turned two years old and we had to pay for his seat. Many of the trips were solo. People were blown away that I would travel alone and encouraged me to share my tips on our blog.
As I did this recent work trip with our second child, I thought I would share some of the things that have changed between child number one and child number two when it comes to travel. Hopefully it helps you plan your next adventure!
Pack Light
This can be difficult when it comes to traveling with kids because of all the gear. But think through what you need, what you can borrow and what you can buy if you really need it. During busy travel times, it can be beneficial to carry on all of your items. This enables you to switch flights if one gets cancelled, which happened to us on our way home. We packed one carry on duffel bag and one backpack. We love Jujube bags. In addition to being stylish, they are lightweight and machine washable. I love being able to throw my bags into the wash after we travel. I checked our Dockatot and gate-checked our car seat and stroller. How I did it: I put our duffel bag in the bottom part of the stroller and wore the backpack. I alternated between wearing the baby and her sitting in the stroller. All of our essentials are in the Be Right Back backpack from Jujube and clothes etc. are in the Starlet size duffel bag.
Left- Zoe Saldana rocking her Jujube x Tokidoki with kids in tow.
Right- Our family on the go with Jujube
Protect Your Valuables
This might be a no brainer when you are taking about jewelry, but we also include our stroller and Dockatot in this! I see lots of parents’ debate whether to get the travel bags for their strollers, car seats and other baby gear. The UPPAbaby Vista has a stroller bag and when you register it, your stroller their TravelSafe program covers any damage incurred to the Vista during travel. The Vista travel bag is amazing. Since I was traveling alone, I put our bags in the stroller underneath and the baby alternated between being worn and sitting in her seat. Once we got to the gate, I packed the stroller in the bag and wheeled it down to the end of the gate. The stroller bag is clutch too if you are over your checked bag allowance. You can sometimes put some smaller but heavier items in the stroller bag to help you even out the weight in your checked bags.
Left-Jujube Be Right Back backpack on my back, Dockatot in its travel bag, and Jujube Starlet duffel bag tucked underneath Right-UPPAbaby Vista Stroller bag packed and Jujube BRB backpack ready to roll!
Bring Your Essentials with You!
When it comes to your little ones, each one has those items that they have to have in order to travel. These items will help your little one stay in their schedule and help you to have a more successful trip. For us, we need to bring our Dockatots and a white noise machine. We put the Dockatot in the travel bag. Each airline is different so check to see how they count it when it comes to your baggage. We love our Dockatot because it lets little one sleep wherever. We also use our Soundbub white noise machine. It helps everyone drown out all the noises that come with staying at a hotel.
We also bring our Tula Explore carrier with us. We use our stroller and carrier interchangeably. Because I was at a conference, I put the baby into the carrier and would mingle at the conference and talk with the attendees. Little one enjoyed seeing all of the people. When it was my turn to take the stage and speak, a friend put her in the carrier and watched her. The baby fell asleep. It was so nice not having to worry about the baby while I spoke.
Our travel must haves-white noise machine, Dockatot and Tula carrier
Pack Snacks
With my first born, I tried to make the majority of his food. With number two, I will sometimes make the food but time is harder to come by. Thankfully, Once Upon a Farm is a great option for her food whether we are home or away. I froze a couple of pouches and put them in our Jujube Fuel Cell, which is insulated. I always like to bring a couple of days’ worth of food for the baby if I can. When I travel, I don’t know what I will have access to or what stores carry. Once Upon a Farm is cold pressed and organic which means that the nutrients are locked in for your little one. I will fully admit to eating a few too while I traveled because airport food is crazy expensive and I was hungry!
Little one enjoying a snack during the conference
We were given items from UPPAbaby, Jujube, Dockatot, Once Upon a Farm, Tula…all of our thoughts and opinions are our own.
