My husband travels a lot for work. Not to super exotic places, but places generally more exciting than our neck of Texas. When he took the job he knew it would require him to be away from home frequently, but we both agreed this would be “perfect” because then Kendall and I could travel with him and enjoy the “experience” together. Mind you, this was before we actually had the baby. This was back when we thought traveling with a baby just meant bringing an extra bag along with you (well, and the baby, of course). “Babies are adaptable!” we thought. He will just go with the flow.
My child “goes with the flow” like a Salmon swimming upstream to spawn. To date, we have only been on 3 business trips with Scott, and each one of them we arrived via car. We had grand plans to visit Colorado with him in February. I was going to purchase a plane ticket for myself, seat my (at the time) 9 month old on my lap, and fly three hours, orchestrating our luggage, car seat, stroller and child all by myself to meet up with my husband for a one week “vacation” (as much as a week in Colorado in February can be considered a vacation).
Needless to say, I chickened out. I had only been on a plane one other time with Kendall, and he was only 4 weeks old. Don’t get me wrong. That was an extremely overwhelming experience, but at least I could keep him contained and strapped to me the whole time in my trusty Moby Wrap. He slept 90% of the time and didn’t have the ability to wriggle free from my arms and boogie down the aisle. After I finally conveyed to Scott just how apprehensive I was, we both agreed that it would be best to hold off on flying for the time being. It felt like the right decision, but it made me sad. I don’t want our traveling options to be limited just because we are scared to fly with Kendall.
That was when I met Anya Clowers, RN and author of Jet With Kids. She heard my cries for help on Twitter and chimed in with some wonderful advice (follow her @JetWithAnya). She also sent me a copy of her book to read. I wish I would have read it a long time ago!
From JetWithKids.com
Flying with children is not a simple thing to do. New airline security regulations and airports that are more crowded than ever can be tough to figure-out; add an infant or toddler to the mix, and you can see preparation has never been more important. With down-to-earth advice and recommendations from experts, Jet with Kids will prepare you for a safe andfun flight with your kids!
Inside you’ll find valuable information for your next trip: ¤ Is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA’s) Lap Child policy safe? ¤ What 3 things do pediatricians recommend to pack for your flight? ¤ Which travel products lighten your load, entertain your child, and keep them well behaved?
The book was full of helpful tips for how to make that dreaded plane flight easier, whether it’s with a baby or a pre-schooler, domestic or international. The chapters take you step by step, from booking your ticket (with a very informational chapter on the pros and cons of purchasing a separate ticket for a child under 2), to preparing kids for the stressful process of boarding and deplaning.
The seasoned traveler may find some of the tips to be common sense, but everyone can at least benefit from them as reminders. The book also has a ton of great websites listed, though some of the links are a tad long to type into a browser and may be found quicker using Google. Overall, still an excellent source of information for the family that plans on flying together anywhere at any point in their child’s early life. This would also make an excellent baby shower gift for that jet-setting friend or a military mom.
In addition, Anya has a wonderful website www.JetWithKids.com, and she’s a delightful and valuable Twitter friend (she helped me get in touch with @Starbucks re: the changing table issue, which I hope to blog about soon). She is also generously giving away 7 copies of Jet With Kids here! Here’s how you can win:
4 copies will be given way via the Contest Machine. Just fill out the information in the box below.
3 copies will be given to anyone who posts a comment and either
a. leaves their own traveling with kids tip
b. follows me on Twitter (@babyrabies), just leave your Twitter name in the comment telling me so
c. re-tweets this giveaway on Twitter (again, leave a separate comment telling me so)
d. subscribes to my feed (separate comments for all of these, please)
Will draw on Wednesday, April 22 at 11:25 p.m. CST
You can also purchase the book from her website. Regular price is $19.95, but readers can get $5 off with code JWK5
Good luck!
***** CONTEST IS CLOSED AND WINNERS CHOSEN ********
Contest Machine chose Kaitlin, Vanessa, Starrinad and Kim9212
Random Number Generator chose commenters 1, 10 and 26 (Emily, Katie and Lindsay)
Congrats! You all have been contacted via email (and/or Twitter).
Thanks to everyone for entering!
30 comments
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emilyfd
We’ve traveled domestically and internationally with our son (7 1/2 months) and the best thing we did was to schedule to fly during his sleeping times. The white noise of the plane seems to help him sleep fairly well. That and sitting on the aisle so we can get up and walk around seem to help. Baby Einstein dvd’s on the computer work well too.
I have always traveled a lot…mostly internationally. With a 10 month old, I’ve been waiting for him to turn 1 so we can travel without formula. Hopefully it talks about how to handle babies/toddlers on long flights – that is one of my big fears of traveling with children. This book sounds like it has just the info I need.
@B9babyplanner
My first ever experience flying with my daughter was a month ago and I did it solo! I was completely freaked. I was told by a completely random (and wise) stranger that to survive flights with children you need to bring something that they’ve never seen before. On the flight I brought E’s sippy cup that she had never used…as soon as we took off I gave it to her and she played with it for 30 minutes (our flight was only 1:15). So I’m passing on this tip:
always, ALWAYS have something new to introduce or designate special travel toys!
@sbaca RT
My travel tip: Something that always works for Ethan, a half full water bottle with a clunky bracelet around it. He shakes the bottle like crazy, then when that gets old he pops the bracelet against the plastic to make a variety of different sounds. That buys us a lot of time!
Thank you thank you thank you for posting this! Although I am still pregnant…due at the end of Aug, this is one of my biggest parenting fears! My husbands whole family lives abroad ( Dubai) and while I have made the trip many times, I cannot fathom how I am going to do a nearly 24 hour trip with a baby!
Hey There, I follow you on Twitter! and I just love reading your blog.
When I travel with my 8 month old, I always bring something new for him to play with. That way he is intrigued by it longer than the average toy he’s already played with 100s of times!
Twitter! @EllisFan14
RT @EllisFan14
Twitter follow!
posted on twitter
Subsribed to your feed…
and, in the above comment, I forgot to leave my twitter name! (doh!) @janessao
follow on twitter stacey0313
follow your blog
My tip would be to sit next to somebody who’s understanding, perhaps another mom who’s been where you are. I’m understanding of moms with kids on airplanes, even though I don’t have any of my own. If I’m sitting next to a kid, I try to help keep the kid entertained. Not everybody is so understanding, though.
Follow you on Twitter @mandyhornbuckle
Re-tweeted: http://twitter.com/mandyhornbuckle/status/1566811567
…And I follow your blog!
I highly recommend the portable DVD player…we have not traveled by plane with either of our kids yet, but we have done a lot of long-distance driving – the DVD player has been a lifesaver, it’s more than paid for itself in our sanity!
@jollymae
following you on twitter!
@clevermom
Twitter. @starrinad
subscribe to your feed…….
we traveled at Christmas with our (then) 5 1/2 month old son. we learned while waiting for our luggage, that you should ALWAYS gate-check your carseat – NEVER luggage check!! we had taken our infant carrier on the plane with us, so no worries. but we were within earshot of a couple who had luggage checked their carseat through to our destination. it did not arrive!!!! the airline had no idea where it was. and it was 530pm on Christmas day. i was all worked up for them. i can’t even imagine!!!
Officially stalking your blog now! 🙂
My best travel advice:
invest in a good baby carrier and a good backpack! This will leave both hands free for all of the other stuff you need to deal with!
I recently traveled alone with my 9 1/2 month old from the US to Scotland. Total traveling time should have been 14 hours, but our connection was canceled and we had to get the next flight, so it was closer to 18. Flight was overnight but baby REFUSED to sleep. I didn’t manage to eat because baby kept throwing up on me and I missed dinner, so I got too hungry and almost passed out. My advice: ASK FOR HELP. People are usually willing to hold baby so you can eat/pee/cry. Having a spare seat for baby is also very very useful. And even after this, I’d do it again in a heartbeat because once you’re there, it’s completely worth the stress!
Twitter follower
tiffrenae
I follow you on twitter – MrsCole
I’ve heard Anya before on Rick Steves’ radio program. She’s AWESOME!