1. Packing the bag
This is going look seriously O.C.D., but I pack most of V's clothes in Ziploc bags inside our suitcase. I know, crazy, right. Or is it? I did this for our trip to Hawaii last year when V was only 4 months old (read: even tinnier clothes) and it worked out fantastic. Generally she is sharing a bag with one of the two of us, or this trip we packed one big bag for all of us (look at me shedding my over-packing ways!) It helps to keep their stuff manageable, especially once you start going in and out of the suitcase. Again, ignore my craziness, but I did outfits (i.e. dress and diaper covers) in little bags-- which is a huge help (especially for Dads) rather than rummaging through a suitcase trying to find a little matching pair of baby bottoms for a teeny dress! I put things like all the shorts, sleepwear, shoes, etc. in larger Ziplocs. Call me crazy, but this works like a charm! (And it's not entirely wasteful, when I'm unpacking I put all the Ziplocs into one and toss them in one of the baskets in V's room for the next trip).
2. Snacks, snacks, snacks
Anyone with a toddler knows how crucial this is, so I probably don't even need to say it, but snacks are essential. We have this little snack cup pictured below for V that works perfect to mix a bunch of dry snacks in and is less likely to end up all over the car, plane, you... I've tried lot's of different snack contraptions, this cheap Superstore find is the best. For toddler age I'd also recommend bringing a few fruit squeeze pouches. I brought some on our last trip, but didn't have enough. You can now bring liquids over the allowable amount in kids' items (at least between Canada and the US, including sippy cups or bottles full of water). I also have been known to accidentally smash a jar of baby food in the security line, this can't happen with a squeeze pouch!
3. (New) Toys & Entertainment
I'm not suggesting that every car ride needs new and exciting toys, but if you have a day of travel ahead of you, expect your child to get bored. For our most recent trip some things that went over well were a bunch of little toys packed into little Frozen purses. She happened to get two of these purses given to her, so one I filled with a set of 12 wooden animal characters, and the other with a handful of Little People. This goes back to #1 and is easy to keep organized. I've seen kids' travel kit making ideas on Pinterest, but found V is probably too young for this yet.
When we arrived in Maui we rented a baby monitor from a local company and needed to up our $ limit on the total for delivery. So we added in a bin of toddler toys to mix things up when we were there. This is such a great idea. We ended up calling pretty last minute, so I think we got the bottom of the barrel when it came to toys, but V didn't seem to care and I used this opportunity to pack away the toys I brought her mid-week so they would be new again for the ride home. She literally squealed with excitement when her baby made an appearance on the flight home! I totally recommend scouting out the options in your destination and renting those items you don't want to lug along with you.
One more note- we don't tend to buy a lot of souvenirs, but I found a ton of kids "Hawaii-themed" books in the shops there that I've never seen here. Since V loves books this worked out perfectly and is a great addition to her baby library! We also got her this beach house as a Valentines gift and waited until she was just about to lose it on the flight before busting it out. It too was a huge hit!
4. Purse Must Haves
A little collection of things for your purse or diaper bag: Johnson's hand and face wipes (I don't go anywhere without these, particularly after a recent puking-in-the-car incident, which I was entirely unprepared for); Bath and Body Works travel hand sanitizer; Skip Hop Pronto Diaper Change Station; A few bags or Ziploc bags rolled up (you really never know when you will need these). Whatever will make your trips to washrooms etc. more efficient and less chaotic. :)
5. Expectations
Last-- but probably most important-- expectations. This is something we learned on this trip. Let go of them. Our V is a great sleeper, and given we had an evening-ish flight, the fact she was sick (could swing either way), and also exhausted, we figured she'd conk out on the plane ride over. We were very wrong. Granted this was mostly due to her plugged nose and not being able to get herself to sleep because she couldn't breathe, but there were a few moments of pure frustration from either or Mike or I. Like I said to Mike after, had we gone into the flight thinking she'd be awake the entire time, we wouldn't have been so frustrated when our expectations didn't play out as we'd hoped.
On the way home we went into the flight with NO expectations and were pleasantly surprised when she fell fast asleep in my lap after only a few minutes and proceeded to be an amazing traveler the rest of the way home, delays, late-night flights and all.
Happy travels!
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