Flying with a toddler

How can you make flying with a toddler fun? This is how we did it, for a few weeks before the flight we talked a lot about airplanes we even went airplane spotting. We're lucky enough to live near Gatwick and the train line we use goes right under the flight path for Gatwick so whenever we were on the train we would point out airplanes to Nate. We explained to Nate we were going on an airplane to Barbados. He was involved in the process of packing the hand luggage.

Airplane spotting.

Hand luggage
We pack way too much in hand luggage. We packed three magazines, gNappies for nappy changing, wipes, two books, cuddly toy, a playmobil easter egg with toys in(mainly free toys from the front of magazines), two blankets and a change of clothes for Nate. Now on the way back as it was only Nate and I, I dropped it down to a blanket, cuddly toy, fewer nappies (night flight), two magazines and a change of jumper. This is only what we packed for Nate I still had a few bits such as a Kindle, mints etc...


Crying Toddler
He was perfect on take off and landing as there was something to look at out of the windows. However, during the time between both where you still have to have your seat belts on but there's not much interesting to look at out the windows he started to get fidgety. Now's the time to introduce a magazine.

Upgrade
This is something I found out due to flying back alone. I decided as Nate would be on my lap that I would pay for the upgrade to British Airway's World Traveller Plus. It was worth it as the cabin was half empty so Nate ended up with his own seat and also the cot seat was a window seat, which made Nate a lot happier. If you can afford the upgrade in my experience it is worth it. You have quite a bit more space and the food was nicer.

A whole seat to himself

Perfect for sleeping in

Travelling with a baby
The first flight Nate went on he was 9 months old, we packed even more in hand luggage and used half of it. We had full size sun cream, two books, ten nappies (someone suggested one per hour of flight and then a spare just in case), a full size pack of wipes and loads of toys. I would always suggest spare nappies but one per hour of the flight was overkill even with Nate having a reaction to some milk in the food we didn't use half of the nappies we'd packed. I found it impossible to book a meal that was dairy free and so ended up trying to avoid the food I thought had dairy and obviously I didn't avoid it all.

Both of the airlines we have flown with Nate said they provide baby food and have suitable changing areas. Neither provided any baby food and looked and me blankly when I asked if there was any food for Nate, so always pack your own just in case. We found the pouches came in useful, Plum or Ella's Kitchen as they don't take up as much room and aren't as heavy as jars.

Nappy changes, when Nate was 9 months old I couldn't find the toilet where the changing table was situated and there were queues in any case, so we had to change his nappy by our seat. The sky cot came in useful for this. This time when we flew Nate was that much older and it was impossible for both of us to get into the toilet at the same time and the changing surface was half the length of Nathaniel. I got him changed into his PJ's in the toilet but it was a struggle (understatement). Take your own changing mat and be prepared to change your toddler by the seat.

My Tips
Make a checklist of what you need, what would be nice etc...
Think about where you need these things, do you need everything in hand luggage
Pack a day in advance
Use your checklist
Relax!

Barbados family friendly destination?

We've just recently come back from being on holiday in Barbados, this isn't the first time we've been as a family but while there this time I started to think about it's family friendliness. The first time we went as a family was last year for our wedding and was our first holiday as a family. The hotel we stayed in had everything so you didn't need to leave at all. However, as I have family in Barbados we explored the island and found there were issues with baby changing facilities.

 One major attraction on the island told me I could find the baby change in the "ladies washroom" so off I went and there was no where to change Nate, it was the floor or nothing.
I thought this would be a one off occurrence and other places would have space to change babies but this time we went to an event and the baby change facilities with a sign post for it was on the counter top next to the sinks. For an older baby this isn't much of an issue as noted by my noticing only one place this year without proper changing facilities.

Using the carrier in town

Barbados as a whole I would say is family friendly however, unless you use a carrier it isn't going to be easy to get around. The pavements when there are pavements aren't built for prams or wheelchairs for that matter. Remember to pack that suncream and to take little children somewhere cool during the midday sun.

In the pram near Grandma's house, notice the lack of pavements.

Sunrise on a plane

I normally love flying. I dreaded flying this time as it was going to be just me and Nate with the 5000 things a toddler needs I wasn't sure I had enough hands. Nate was great, it being a night flight probably helped. I thinned out our hand luggage and I have to say I was glad I had as we used the things we had and didn't require anything else.

Packing list

iPad 

Magazines(2 for Nate, 1 for me)

A book (Nate)

Nappies & wipes (3 changes worth)

A change of clothes (for Nate) 

Passport etc
A couple of baby flapjacks

Nate slept for most of the flight, after breakfast Nate woke up walked over to me and asked for a flapjack. This flight was almost dream like. 

Flying checklist part 1

Out of the last four flights we have taken with Nate we have taken a carrier with us three times. The first time we flew with Nate he was 9 months old and it seemed silly not to take a carrier when he spent most of his time in it at home. The next time we were going on a short weekend away with no space for a pushchair and then we flew without it for a short weekend. I can't say I missed it as we were able to wheel the pushchair right up to the plane and pick it up from the same place and Nate is walking which is a help and a hindrance in equal measure at times. 

This trip we know we won't get the pushchair until baggage reclaim so we need something to carry Nate while we have to shuffle papers at customs. 

As we sit at the airport now Nate is strapped to my back in our Ergo carrier fast asleep after refusing to go in the pushchair as he was overtired. The decision to carry another item was worth it in this instance. 

All ready for his adventures. 

Travels with gNappies part 2

I've written a blog about travelling with gNappies before but I thought this time I'd show you how I travel with them. We use the disposable inserts when travelling as we are flying to Barbados, it's an eight hour flight too long for wet cloth for me.

There is a lot of things we have to remember in out hand luggage. The last time we flew to Barbados we ended up doubling our hand luggage after security with all the bits we ended up buying. "Calpol, check, nappies, check, wipes, toys, blanket, dummy etc... The list seems never ending. 

To make nappy changes easy for me, I pack a little nappy change kit which contains a nappy, nappy insert and wipes. 

Then I pack an extra complete gNappy in a nappy bag and in another nappy bag I have pack six extra inserts which should be more than enough. 

I have an emergency Eco disposable packed just in case.